Wesley G. Skogan, in Disorder and Decay: Crime and the Spiral of Decay in American Neighborhoods, examines the causes of crime in inner-city neighborhoods and the suggested solution of community policing. Skogan bases his work on a study by two political scientists and "academic policing experts." James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, who wrote about the sources of neighborhood crime, the physical and social deterioration of urban areas, and the vicious cycle of fear and decay and crime in such neighborhoods. Skogan, a Northwestern University professor of political science and urban affairs, examines a number of studies which were generated by the first article by Wilson and Kelling which was written in 1982. The studies covered forty inner-city areas in six cities overall. After his analysis, Skogan concludes that the process known as community policing would be the best approach to preventing not only crime but the conditions in which crime flourishes.
Skogan then examines community policing not only in theory but in action, including analyses of specific programs implemented with varying degrees of success in Houston and Newark successfully. He finds greater success in Newark, and argues reasonably that community policing will work better the sooner it is implemented (that is, before the area is completely crime-ridden) and the more homogeneous the neighborhood is (that is, while there is cohesion among the area's residents which can be used to fight crime). The book does not seem to break much new ground, but Skogan does provide a solid perspective on the problems of crime, possible solutions, and a foundation for further study.
The work can be fairly seen as the presentation of a theory, both with respect to the causes and evolution of a crime-stricken neighborhood, as well as the proposal that community policing is the best answer to the problem. However, the theories involved are hardly untested. as stated, the author ...