Paging Kevin Bacon: New York City Arresting Subway Dancers

New York City Police are
cracking down on those guys bouncing around in the subway to loud
music in the hopes of earning some spare change. Guess they had
find something to do now that they can’t go around
slapping Big Gulps out of people’s hands. From the
Associated Press:

Police Commissioner William Bratton acknowledges he is targeting
subway acrobats as part of his embrace of the “broken windows”
theory of policing — that low-grade lawlessness can cultivate a
greater sense of disorder and embolden more dangerous
offenders.

“Is it a significant crime? Certainly not,” Bratton said
recently. But the question is, he added, “Does it have the
potential both for creating a level of fear as well as a level of
risk that you want to deal with?”

Ah yes, the “broken windows” theory of policing, which also
happens to celebrate the pursuit of the easy, low-hanging fruit by
officers, but I’m sure that’s just a coincidence. The problem with
using the “broken windows” theory here is when you apply it to a
law whose existence serves to attempt to stamp out behavior that
some people don’t like, not because of behavior that actually
victimizes others. The Baptists believed dancing led to sex, not
assault and battery. “Potential” for fear or risk is not actual
crime. What the crackdown ultimately ends up highlighting is that
everything in New York City is illegal, therefore the “broken
windows” argument is problematic anyway (and let’s not forget that
the New York Police Department has had its own “broken windows”
problems with constantly violating constitutional law with its
stop-and-frisk
pursuits). Business Insider
notes that this new round of arrests also coincides with a
spike in arrests for panhandling and street peddling.

This is not to say that people should be thrilled to have their
daily commutes constantly interrupted by some guy doing
somersaults, but it’s not the role of the law to save us from
inconvenience and petty annoyances. If a dancer does inadvertently
hurt someone, then that certainly may call for legal remedies. But
the police action here, like hauling in panhandlers, is an example
of using the law to punish behavior people simply don’t want to be
exposed to.

And now, an example of subway dancing awesomeness: