Government officials are continually looking for ways to increase the safety of its citizens. Research has shown that one of the ways to accomplish this task is through the maintenance of public areas. Since the early 1980s this idea has been known as the Broken Windows Theory. The application of this theory in the urban context can increase the quality of life of the citizens of the area, help prevent future crimes and promote a positive relationship between the police force and citizens. James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling were not the first researchers to point out the harmful effects that disorder, such as dilapidated buildings and graffiti, had on communities. However, they were the first to accuse the disorder of actually encouraging crime. (Gau & Pratt, 2010) Researchers were committed to improving minor problems in communities. The researchers dubbed these irritants “incivility” or “disorder” and proposed that vandalism, graffiti, prostitution, aggressive panhandling, and other socially undesirable conditions were the real causes behind people's fear of crime. By doing so, Wilson and Kelling believed that the appearance of communities would improve greatly, decreasing citizens' fear of crime. Citizens would begin to take pride in their community and feel comfortable enough to simply walk the streets. (2011, 106) Wilson and Kelling (2010) believed that the failure to address disorder in a timely manner fostered a belief among community residents that all formal and informal control mechanisms had failed. This breakdown of community order is proven to negatively impact the relationship between the police force and the citizens it is sworn to protect. A community with minimal clutter results in community pride and... middle of paper... makes a difference. The broken windows theory helps achieve many important goals that all government agencies in America deem essential; increase the quality of life of citizens, helping to prevent future crimes from occurring, as well as promoting a positive relationship between the police and the citizens they protect. Of course this idea is not flawless, but it provides solutions to the problems mentioned. The implementation of this theory will reduce crime, but above all it will increase citizens' sense of security. By keeping community disorder and minor crimes under control, communities appear more orderly and foster community pride. Of course people think that the most important job of the police force is to fight the most serious crimes, but in reality they can achieve just as much by doing community policing and more rigorously enforcing minor incivilities..