Garage Door Vandalism

According to the "foot in the door" theory of social behavior in urban areas, small details about a city or town's environment can greatly change perceptions about what kind of behavior is acceptable from its citizens. For example, in a place with broken windows, people are much more likely to go and break more windows, or to litter, or to graffiti, and even to commit more serious crimes. In an identical city without that one broken window (so goes the theory), people are far, far less likely to do any of those things, simply because the broken window is not there to set the example and set the expectations. When one's environment seems to allow for deviant behavior, even if it's just trash left in the streets, it is far more likely to see a whole lot more of that very same deviant behavior, simply as a function of appearances.
As a case study, when New York City cracked down hard on vandalism, including graffiti on business garage doors on the street, it saw a remarkable and statistically significant decrease in crime rates and seriousness of misdemeanors.
This simple fact can really help guide city ordinance legislation: if you live in an area that has problems with drugs or other major crimes, cracking down on graffiti on garage doors can actually make a huge difference. Although in the mean time, "cracking down" usually means tighter enforcement and harsher sentencing for what most people would consider a rather minor offense. Such draconian measures may lead to resentment or even reactance (acting out against pressure in one direction), although studies have not shown that this is the case. One must weight the pros and cons of enforcing such measures before doing so, but it would behoove homeowners to keep in mind that just keeping their own home clean and orderly can encourage neat behavior from family members, guests, and neighbors.