"Tommy had no need to fight again, his heart wasn't in it, and his place in boxing folk law had long been guaranteed, " said former BBC Wales boxing commentator John Evans.

BBC: Tommy Farr: Boxer who fought his way out of pits

One reason may be that, as the broken-windows theory suggests, law-abiding folk returned to the streets.

ECONOMIST: Policing

As he saw it, the police should work to suppress all small crimes, lest decent folk lose confidence in the forces of law and order and cede the streets to ne'er-do-wells.

ECONOMIST: Policing