If I were to double park on Newbury Street and spray graffiti over the shops along the street, the parking penalty would be more severe--and certain--than that for the vandalism.

That, in a nutshell, is what's wrong with criminal justice in Boston.

Political scientist James Q. Wilson calls it the "broken window" syndrome: one broken window, left unfixed, contributes to a sense of disorder in a community. Soon there is a second window shattered. Left unchecked, the sense of disorder grows. Graffiti appears, panhandlers and drunks hang out on street corners. Over time, the problems mushroom. A once-pleasant community becomes transformed. Residents leave and the neighborhood begins a long decline.

Wilson's observation runs counter to most people's perception of crime. In general, we think of crime as a pyramid. At the pyramid's apex are the most severe crimes: murder, rape and shootings among them. Today all of our resources are devoted to the crimes at the apex; the law enforcement establishment--elected officials, the police, prosecutors and the courts--focus their resources on these major, front-page events. And the more frequent crimes that make up the base of the pyramid? They are treated as petty crimes. Not really worth the time.

I would argue that the reverse is true, small crimes destroy neighborhoods and eventually lead to larger crimes. As a consequence, I would argue that the criminal justice community should change its focus. We should not tolerate petty crimes. We should aggressively prosecute graffiti vandals and shoplifters. We should have zero tolerance for public drinking and panhandling. Take care of the small stuff, and, I bet, the big stuff will begin to take care of itself.

I am not alone in this view. In New York, for example, Mayor Rudy Guiliani and Police Commissioner William Bratton (formerly Boston's police commissioner) have transformed the city by instituting a policy of zero tolerance. In Boston, three Back Bay groups--the Newbury Street League, the Back Bay Association and the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay--have initiated an effort to push for tougher enforcement and prosecution of these crimes. The groups have prepared a position paper outlining concerns over graffiti, vandalism, shoplifting and other seemingly minor crimes that are wreaking havoc on the Back Bay. They have been circulating the paper to members of the criminal justice community and trying to generate interest in attacking these crimes.

Many police officers agree with this notion. But the response the Back Bay groups has received from other quarters is discouraging. Such crimes are still perceived as unimportant. They are belittled as secondary in consequence to other criminal matters. The criminal justice system reinforces that message. For example, the average criminal penalty for those convicted of shoplifting is $50. Typical penalties for those guilty of graffiti vandalism are a six month continuance followed by a dismissal.

This must change. To feel truly secure, to restore our neighborhoods, and to bring civility to our streets, we need to flip the pyramid over.