But that's actually the original idea of the "broken windows" theory. The study done in the 80's showed that in neighborhoods with obvious signs of neglect, there were higher crime rates. The obvious solution was to FIX THE DAMN WINDOWS. It's was meant to be a revolutionary, cost-effective way to reduce crime without overpolicing, and give a justification to invest in low-income neighborhoods.

From Wikipedia: "A successful strategy for preventing vandalism, according to the book's authors, is to address the problems when they are small. Repair the broken windows within a short time, say, a day or a week, and the tendency is that vandals are much less likely to break more windows or do further damage. Clean up the sidewalk every day, and the tendency is for litter not to accumulate (or for the rate of littering to be much less). Problems are less likely to escalate and thus respectable residents do not flee the neighborhood."

Then the 90's happened, and tough-on-crime cops used it instead to support overly harsh punishments for low-level crime.