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<br /> <br /> <br /> SKATEBOARDING TESTIMONY <br /> <br /> <br /> What is the result of a little untended disorder? An increase in crime. <br /> For those of you skeptics who do not believe that a little disorder may increase crime in the long <br /> <br /> run, I quote from an article called "Broken Windows. " It is a study of crime written by James Q Wilson <br /> <br /> and George Kelling in the March 1982 issue of the Atlantic Monthly. They suggest that `untended' <br /> <br /> behavior leads to the breakdown of community controls: <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> "A stable neighborhood can change, in a few years or even a few months, to an <br /> inhospitable and frightening jungle. A piece of property is abandoned, weeds grow up, a window <br /> <br /> is smashed. Adults stop scolding rowdy children; the children, emboldened, become more rowdy. <br /> <br /> Families move out, unattached adults move in. Teenagers gather in front of the corner store. The <br /> <br /> merchant asks them to move; they refuse. Fights occur. Litter accumulates. People start drinking <br /> <br /> in front of the grocery; in time, an inebriate slumps to the sidewalk and is allowed to sleep it off. <br /> Pedestrians are approached by panhandlers." <br /> <br /> "At this point it is not inevitable that serious crime will flourish or violent attacks on strangers <br /> <br /> will occur," <br /> <br /> -Broken Windows <br /> George Kelling, and James Q. Wilson <br /> March 1982, Atlantic Monthly <br /> <br /> If a group of people cannot be responsible, respect the property of others, or control themselves <br /> <br /> so that they do not place members of the public and themselves in danger, then it is necessary for our <br /> <br /> County to take the necessary steps that will prevent harm and danger to our citizens and visitors. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Moses Kaoiwi Jr. <br /> October 7, 1998 <br />