The Democratic Party Needs to Tackle Anti-Social Behavior
Progressives should fight for safe, pleasant, and inclusive cities and neighborhoods.
While violent crime is falling across the United States, it’s clear that borderline criminal disruptive behaviors continue to plague our cities, especially transportation systems and public spaces. In the United Kingdom, the center-left Labour Party is campaigning on combatting a number of disruptive, harmful behaviors collectively referred to as anti-social behavior. The Democratic Party should do the same, starting with the Biden campaign speaking openly about the problem. Americans seem to think crime is up, despite data suggesting otherwise, and rising anti-social behavior may be the reason.
London’s Metropolitan Police offer a helpful definition of a term that is perhaps alien to many Americans.
In other words, anti-social behavior — sometimes criminal and sometimes just approaching illegality — is behavior that makes people feel unsafe or that can simply cause “annoyance or suffering.” Spitting, littering, illegal drug use, yelling and screaming, threatening physical behaviors -- these all rob responsible citizens of the opportunity to enjoy pleasant streets and public spaces. Anti-social behavior is conceptually distinct from crime and violence, though some anti-social behaviors are illegal or violent.
Driving a car with a modified exhaust can disrupt the sleep of thousands. Playing loud music on a bus can make a commute hellish for someone who just spent hours toiling in a hot kitchen. Yelling and screaming on a sidewalk outside a cafe makes it impossible for customers to enjoy a drink in the sunshine. Public urination can lead to unbearable smells in a park. Sometimes, as journalist Angie Schmitt recently documented on an intercity bus trip, anti-social behavior is a precursor to genuine violence. Given it’s difficult to know when a person engaging in anti-social behavior will potentially cross the threshold to violent behavior endangering life and limb, a community with significant anti-social behavior is one in which everyone feels tense, stressed, and less happy.
Combatting anti-social behavior has major benefits for society:
Those engaging in disruptive behaviors can be coached to stop — sometimes with the intervention of police as a last resort — before their poor choices lead to genuine criminality.
Pleasant, calm public spaces and transport networks will contribute to improved quality of life, which means more happiness and well-being for everyone.
After draconian pandemic restrictions led many Americans to retreat from physical spaces, cities and neighborhoods liberated from anti-social behavior will be more inviting with positive consequences for local businesses and economies.
While there is obviously a role for police in combatting anti-social behavior — whether that’s walking laps around a downtown as a calming influence or physically removing individuals engaged in genuine criminal behavior (e.g. smoking on a train or disturbing the peace in a park) — other actors and actions are just as, perhaps more, important:
Infrastructure. For example, Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum focused significant attention on improving lighting across Mexico City. When streets and public spaces feel inviting and safe — because they are well lit at night and have police call boxes — more people engaged in pro-social behaviors (e.g. dog walking, exercise, etc.) will occupy them.
Broken-windows maintenance and cleaning. Note that this is distinct from broken-windows policing, which involves arresting people for petty crimes. By “broken-windows maintenance,” I mean municipal governments quickly removing graffiti and litter left by anti-social individuals. If someone tags a playground, the graffiti should be removed the next day. Someone urinates on a metro station platform? Immediately deploy a cleaner.
Fully activate public spaces. Dead spaces invite anti-social behavior. Add retail or coffee kiosks to plazas and street corners. Plan as many events as possible in parks and pedestrian plazas, especially at dusk.
Meet unmet social needs. From free public restrooms to health care to mental health support to housing, we need to provide everyone with the tools they need to positively participate in society. That said, it’s important not to stigmatize the poor as being uniquely predisposed to anti-social behavior. Some of the worst offenders have plenty of resources.
Education campaigns. Everyone has not been blessed with loving, responsible parents or guardians. Government and civil society have roles to play in promoting positive behaviors across society. Medellin, Colombia’s renowned “Cultura Metro” is about more than just respectful norms on trains and trams. It strives to build “a city-wide “Cultura Metro” and include educational programs, art projects, community engagements and sustainability initiatives.” When I visited Medellin, random locals bragged about the campaign and you could tell it worked — the city’s metro is calmer and more peaceful than any U.S. transit system.
Perhaps due to America’s appalling history of police brutality, progressives and Democrats are sometimes hesitant to say the quiet part out loud about what makes our cities and public spaces less pleasant and welcoming than those in other rich — and not-so-rich — countries. We are facing genuine crises with anti-social behavior across the country and it’s not progressive or humane to sweep them under the rug. A comprehensive policy response to anti-social behavior, like center-left politicians in Europe put forth, would pull a variety of levers to make our communities more pleasant, safe, and economically vibrant.
Interesting how you present these ideas like they are new. I lived in San Francisco and the Bay Area for 17 years. They were constantly trying to make public spaces safer and trying to provide public bathrooms, make improvements to BART etc… California also is the first state to ban smoking in many spaces. So like, what’s this actually about? Because millions of dollars have been spent trying to improve spaces, but of course you frame this as a progressive problem. Maybe look to how the federal government’s cutting of social services has led to places like my former city (worked and interacted with the homeless many times, many were veterans) having to pick up the bill. But let’s not pretend they aren’t trying, they are. Go ahead and complain about their NIMBY policies, but let’s stop the act that progressives just tolerate anti-social behavior. They don’t.