‘Decorum will go out the window’ with crime pass

Suffolk District Attorney candidate Rachael Rollins’ plan to stop prosecuting shoplifters and vandals doesn’t just demolish the “broken windows” policy of policing — her hands-off approach will be more about “breaking windows.”

Breaking into and squatting in an unoccupied building will not be prosecuted if Rollins gets elected in November. Resisting arrest, no problem. Dealing drugs, who cares? Ditto shoplifting and a list of other charges Rollins apparently views as more of a nuisance to the perpetrator than the crimes are to the public.

“If everybody knows they’re going to get a pass, decorum will go out the window,” fumed one longserving former cop. “These are basic, quality-of-life issues. It’s the absolute antithesis of broken windows.”

The “broken windows” theory maintains that cracking down on minor offenses prevents more serious crimes. Under Rollins’ proposal, criminals will waste no time taking advantage of the almost nonexistent punishments for destroying property or stealing from local stores, say critics.

“A good portion of the criminal class will feel emboldened,” said Rafael Mangual, a criminal justice expert at the right-leaning Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. “Criminals are going to respond to incentives. They’ll do more of something if they won’t get in trouble for it.”

“An order without a consequence is just a helpful hint, and you need more than helpful hints to prevent these offenses,” said Mark Kleiman, director of the Crime Reduction & Justice Initiative at New York University’s Marron Institute, after reviewing Rollins’ proposal to stop prosecuting crimes like malicious destruction of property, larceny under $250 and shoplifting.

Rollins’ plan comes amid growing criticism that “broken windows” policing bogs down the court system and encourages aggressive law enforcement crackdowns in minority communities.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. stopped prosecuting minor offenses in 2016. Police officers there now issue summonses for possession of marijuana, drinking or urinating in public or jumping subway turnstiles, a move Vance argued would free prosecutors and court officials to focus on more serious crimes.

Rollins has added a whole new batch of crimes that she refuses to prosecute, however, and critics argue the move ignores the real-life consequences for Boston’s businesses and residents.

“If somebody steals my cellphone, it seems to me there ought to be a sanction for that. Otherwise they’ll just do it again,” said Kleiman. Directing offenders to complete community service or pay restitution has its own issues, he added.

“What if they simply can’t pay? What if they refuse to do community service?” said Kleiman.

Another wrinkle is that the jobtraining or schooling Rollins suggested instead of prosecution either doesn’t exist or would need a huge infusion of funding.

“It’s a recipe for a public safety disaster,” said Mangual. “It strikes me as troubling and I think it should trouble the whole city.”