The broken windows theory was first introduced by social scientists Wilson and George L. Kelling in an article titled "Broken Windows" and which appeared in the March 1982 edition of The Atlantic Monthly. According to Wikipedia, the article title comes from the following example:
The broken window theory makes a simple straight forward claim: prevent petty crime and low-level anti-social behavior, and the result will be that major crime will be prevented.Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it's unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside. Or consider a sidewalk. Some litter accumulates. Soon, more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving bags of trash from take-out restaurants there or breaking into cars.
To read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/opinion/sunday/remembering-james-q-wilson.html