Broken Windows Management Theory suggests that addressing seemingly minor issues such as acts of vandalism that result in the proverbial “broken windows” can prevent larger problems from developing by sending the message that disorder won’t be tolerated.
In his recent criminal justice doctoral dissertation entitled “Broken Windows Management Theory Applied to Correctional Officers,” Center for Homeland Defense and Security Executive Leaders Program alum (Cohort 2101) Kurt Caminske studied using the tenets of the theory to manage correctional facilities and officers. The retired Suffolk County, NY, Sheriff’s Office Captain, who served for nearly a quarter century as a correctional officer, said his research suggested holding correctional officers from the top ranks to the bottom accountable for basic professional behavior such as showing up for work on time, writing timely and accurate reports, eschewing banned electronic devices at work, and the like, would make for a safer correctional facility that would both be safer and healthier for officers and inmates and more conducive to rehabilitation.
Noting that jails and prisons are “very dangerous places and extreme violence can occur in an instant,” Caminske said his research found that “accountability and professionalism” in the enforcement of relatively minor rules for correctional personnel under Broken Windows Management Theory would “reduce the likelihood of more egregious deviant behavior, thus equating to safer facilities.”
While the theory is typically used in policing rundown and crime-infested communities, Caminske said he believes it can also be effective for managing law enforcement.
“My theory is really turning that microscope of Broken Windows Management Theory that we put on others onto us,” he said. “This is not to disparage correctional officers but to shine a spotlight on a profession that is so important.”
According to Caminske, who was vice president of his correctional organization’s officers before being promoted to Operations Bureau Commander, his doctoral dissertation stemmed from “observing how the policies and procedures within my organization were not consistently followed and discipline was lacking.”
“Anecdotally, I observed that officers who were not disciplined for minor infractions—coming in late, leaving early, failing to fill out inspection reports, etc.—were more likely to be involved in more egregious deviant behaviors in the future, reminiscent of the Broken Windows Theory of policing.”
Caminske said his research included interviewing 15 New York State correctional officers with at least five years of experience, and he discovered five main themes:
- To be effective, organizational culture would have to change for Broken Windows Management Theory (to be implemented). This would need to be a change from the top down and more than just a change in rhetoric.
- Current accountability standards are not upheld.
- Introducing BWMT into the current culture of unaccountability would be difficult.
- Current training and evaluations are ineffective.
- BWMT would be faced with resistance and hostility by some officers.
While his research suggested that most correctional officers believe in increased accountability because “like most law enforcement professionals, they hold themselves to a high professional standard” they also believe their organizations are “too far along the way of unaccountability to make any real change.”
He said that the catalyst for change must come from both leadership and the ranks, including elected Sheriffs, who typically oversee the facilities, and the voters who choose them to the correctional officers unions.
Caminske said his research also highlighted the “vital role that correctional officers play in the law enforcement community and the criminal justice system overall” and that officers are an “overlooked and underappreciated segment of the law enforcement community” with “scant research into the profession” as a result.
“Correctional officers are a vital piece of the criminal justice system; they spend more time with criminals than any other segment of the law enforcement community,” Caminske said. “It must be remembered that nearly all those who spend time in jails and prisons will return to our communities.”
While not specifically addressed in his dissertation, Caminske added that “a culture of unaccountability can likely increase the stress on correctional officers,” who he noted “already have a very high rate of suicide, and creating an atmosphere of inconsistent rules may add another stressor, resulting in a myriad of negative health problems.”
Finally, he said he believes his research findings can be applied to “all segments of law enforcement.”
Caminske said his doctoral research was aided by his CHDS educational experience, which he was prompted to pursue after learning about the educational institution from family members serving in the U.S. Coast Guard and while working on homeland security and emergency management issues as a correctional officer. He said the insights he gained from discussions with his fellow students from a variety of federal, state, and local agencies and organizations helped him think about the direction of his academic research.
He ultimately earned a Doctorate in Criminal Justice with a focus on Homeland Security from Saint Leo University. He also has a master’s degree in Homeland Security Management from Long Island University Post.
