Even when his mother takes him to the adjoining neighborhoods, John rarely sees a bank or supermarket. Many neighborhood traits convey disorder, but unchecked public drinking is a particularly potent affirmation that 'no-one cares'. That is the message John gains by observing Tom's Liquor, where winos and crack addicts congregate at night in the parking lot. Anywhere between 30 and 90 percent of convicted rapists are drunk at the time of offense. Juveniles, especially young men, who drink to the point of drunkenness are more likely than those who don't drink to get into fights, get arrested, commit violent crimes, and recidivate later in life.
Broken bottles have an even worse effect on community order and safety than broken windows.
The fact that government itself licenses the entire mess by letting the liquor stores proliferate and the broken bottles pile up so high in poor, inner city neighborhoods is the single most compelling symbol that nobody cares, the ultimate invitation to disorder and crime. In poor neighborhoods where alcohol is readily available and broken bottles fill the gutters, social capital goes down the drain. Whether or not they drink themselves to excess, hang out at bards or engage directly in related behaviors, it is probable that poor, inner-city youths who grow up in places where drinking is common and liquor outlets are everywhere are more likely than otherwise comparable youth to have diminished life prospects that include joblessness, substance abuse, and serious trouble with the law. In a classic study of community breakdown in American cities, by William Skogan, public drinking was ranked first among the disorders identified by residents across 40 neighborhoods. Alcohol figures prominently throughout the story.