Which policing approach emphasizes aggressive enforcement of minor offenses to maintain order, often linked to racial disparities and strained community trust?

• A. Broken windows policing
• B. Zero-tolerance policy
• C. Hot spots policing
• D. COPS Program

Answer: (A)

This item tests a policing approach that ties public order to the aggressive enforcement of minor offenses. The idea is that by cracking down hard on small acts—like loitering, graffiti, petty theft, or other low-level violations—the theory goes that visible disorder is reduced and more serious crimes can be prevented. In practice, this often translates into frequent stops and scrutinizing people for minor infractions.

The approach is frequently linked to racial disparities because it tends to result in disproportionate policing in certain communities, especially along racialized lines, which can strain trust between residents and police. When people feel targeted for everyday behavior rather than for genuine threats to safety, community relations suffer and cooperation with law enforcement declines.

That combination of focusing on minor offenses to maintain order and the notable impact on marginalized communities is why this description points to broken windows policing. By contrast, other options describe different strategies—zero-tolerance emphasizes sweeping enforcement more broadly, hot spots policing targets high-crime areas, and the COPS Program refers to a federal initiative to fund community policing—so they don’t align as directly with the described approach.