The “broken windows theory” is an aphorism in criminology that was coined by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling. In the March 1982 edition of the Atlantic Monthly the authors summarized their theory:."Social psychologists and police officers tend to agree that if a window in a building is broken and is left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken. This is as true in nice neighborhoods as in rundown ones. Window-breaking does not necessarily occur on a large scale because some areas are inhabited by determined window-breakers whereas others are populated by window-lovers; rather, one un-repaired broken window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking more windows costs nothing.".The theory was subsequently tested and made famous in the 1990’s by New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Police Commissioner William Bratton. The success of the theory has been called into question by writer Malcolm Gladwell and some accuse it of leading to controversial “stop and frisk” police procedures..I won’t comment on the detractors, but the theory strikes me intuitively as correct. Perhaps more than intuitively. I might know someone who was never tempted to put a rock through intact company buildings in the small one-industry town in which he grew up. But if there were other windows already broken, they were soon accompanied by a few more destroyed by his hand..In reading about possible interference in Canadian elections by the Communist Party of China, I was reminded of this theory. And that, in turn, put in me in mind of much earlier reporting on a similar issue,.A December 2015 Leadnow report, Defeating Harper, discusses how effective its campaign was in the 2015 general election. “The Conservatives were defeated in 25 out of 29 ridings, and . . . in the seats the Conservatives lost, our recommended candidate was the winner 96 per cent of the time.”.The question becomes “Why now?” Why did we not have an outpouring of reporting on the alleged felonious activities of the Tides Foundation/Leadnow in 2015? Has election interference suddenly become a cocktail party topic for reporters in 2023? Have Canadians suddenly tired of Mr. Trudeau and are no longer willing to ignore his alleged improprieties? Why now?. Joan Crockatt Nathan Neudorf Robert Fernandez Danielle SmithFormer MP Joan Crockatt, left, lost her Calgary Centre seat despite an increased vote count, as a result of foreign-funded election interference in the 2015 federal election. Shown here after the swearing-in of Premier Danielle Smith, with (l to r) MLA Nathan Neudorf, Robert Fernandez and Premier Danielle Smith. .In fact, there was a Senate committee tasked with looking into the issue of election interference and they published their report in June 2017 complete with five recommendations for parliamentary action. Were the recommendations followed and acted upon?.It is hard to know but if they were, someone apparently forgot to tell the Chinese. Minister Maryam Monsef introduced Bill C-33 in 2016 to do many things but dealing with election interference was not among them..So how does this relate to the broken windows theory? Under this theory, when the window is broken you fix it and if you know who broke it then they fix it. If the windows are intact and rock chuckers must pony up for window repairs, there is less temptation to repeat the sin..When election laws are broken, as was widely reported, then those who broke them and those who participated in the crime should sponsor a new election in those areas affected. If you waste your money by illegally influencing an election, then maybe you should waste more of it by repairing the damage. If you knowingly accept illegal donations, then perhaps you owe something to the society you defrauded. And if you don’t have the money perhaps you can donate some time to things like smashing rocks with a pick..So much for my “tough on crime” rant..But it doesn’t answer the question of why we are hearing so much about election interference in 2023 against the backdrop of white noise from 2015..Is it possible that the nature of the news gathering business has changed so dramatically in the intervening eight years that we are regaining an independent press?.Can we hope that the blandishments of the $600 million “news subsidy” offered by the federal government has led to the creative destruction of the legacy news business? Certainly, the Western Standard is not in line with its hand out and thus has the freedom to report what its editors consider to be news as opposed to what the provider of the $600 million considers to be news. And there are other publications as well. All are dedicated to remaining fiercely independent..Yes, it was the Globe and Mail that broke this story and good for them. Perhaps they are feeling the urge to be independent too..Bill C-11 notwithstanding, maybe it is working. I sure hope so..Join me at mblytle.substack.com
The “broken windows theory” is an aphorism in criminology that was coined by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling. In the March 1982 edition of the Atlantic Monthly the authors summarized their theory:."Social psychologists and police officers tend to agree that if a window in a building is broken and is left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken. This is as true in nice neighborhoods as in rundown ones. Window-breaking does not necessarily occur on a large scale because some areas are inhabited by determined window-breakers whereas others are populated by window-lovers; rather, one un-repaired broken window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking more windows costs nothing.".The theory was subsequently tested and made famous in the 1990’s by New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Police Commissioner William Bratton. The success of the theory has been called into question by writer Malcolm Gladwell and some accuse it of leading to controversial “stop and frisk” police procedures..I won’t comment on the detractors, but the theory strikes me intuitively as correct. Perhaps more than intuitively. I might know someone who was never tempted to put a rock through intact company buildings in the small one-industry town in which he grew up. But if there were other windows already broken, they were soon accompanied by a few more destroyed by his hand..In reading about possible interference in Canadian elections by the Communist Party of China, I was reminded of this theory. And that, in turn, put in me in mind of much earlier reporting on a similar issue,.A December 2015 Leadnow report, Defeating Harper, discusses how effective its campaign was in the 2015 general election. “The Conservatives were defeated in 25 out of 29 ridings, and . . . in the seats the Conservatives lost, our recommended candidate was the winner 96 per cent of the time.”.The question becomes “Why now?” Why did we not have an outpouring of reporting on the alleged felonious activities of the Tides Foundation/Leadnow in 2015? Has election interference suddenly become a cocktail party topic for reporters in 2023? Have Canadians suddenly tired of Mr. Trudeau and are no longer willing to ignore his alleged improprieties? Why now?. Joan Crockatt Nathan Neudorf Robert Fernandez Danielle SmithFormer MP Joan Crockatt, left, lost her Calgary Centre seat despite an increased vote count, as a result of foreign-funded election interference in the 2015 federal election. Shown here after the swearing-in of Premier Danielle Smith, with (l to r) MLA Nathan Neudorf, Robert Fernandez and Premier Danielle Smith. .In fact, there was a Senate committee tasked with looking into the issue of election interference and they published their report in June 2017 complete with five recommendations for parliamentary action. Were the recommendations followed and acted upon?.It is hard to know but if they were, someone apparently forgot to tell the Chinese. Minister Maryam Monsef introduced Bill C-33 in 2016 to do many things but dealing with election interference was not among them..So how does this relate to the broken windows theory? Under this theory, when the window is broken you fix it and if you know who broke it then they fix it. If the windows are intact and rock chuckers must pony up for window repairs, there is less temptation to repeat the sin..When election laws are broken, as was widely reported, then those who broke them and those who participated in the crime should sponsor a new election in those areas affected. If you waste your money by illegally influencing an election, then maybe you should waste more of it by repairing the damage. If you knowingly accept illegal donations, then perhaps you owe something to the society you defrauded. And if you don’t have the money perhaps you can donate some time to things like smashing rocks with a pick..So much for my “tough on crime” rant..But it doesn’t answer the question of why we are hearing so much about election interference in 2023 against the backdrop of white noise from 2015..Is it possible that the nature of the news gathering business has changed so dramatically in the intervening eight years that we are regaining an independent press?.Can we hope that the blandishments of the $600 million “news subsidy” offered by the federal government has led to the creative destruction of the legacy news business? Certainly, the Western Standard is not in line with its hand out and thus has the freedom to report what its editors consider to be news as opposed to what the provider of the $600 million considers to be news. And there are other publications as well. All are dedicated to remaining fiercely independent..Yes, it was the Globe and Mail that broke this story and good for them. Perhaps they are feeling the urge to be independent too..Bill C-11 notwithstanding, maybe it is working. I sure hope so..Join me at mblytle.substack.com
