Zero-tolerance

Question 1

what is this policy??

Answer 1

sociological theory of crime and policy development

Question 2

explain what is zero-tolerance policy??

Answer 2

• imposes strict punishments for infractions of a stated rule, with the intention of eleminating undesirable conduct
• was pionerred by the new york police department, policy demands that all crimes are acted on, no matter how trivial they are
• the NYPD used computers to anaylse crime hotspots street by street and crime by crime before introducing the approach
• it has been used in the UK in King’s cross, Hartlepool, Middlesborough and strathclyde

Question 3

how does this policy link to sociological theories??

Answer 3

• use of zero-tolerance policies can link to the theory of right realism, specifically the rational choice theory
• if all criminals are rational thinkers who weigh up to the costs and benefits of crime, zero tolerance policy would cause the costs to outweigh the benefits therefore deterring the criminal
• theory should then prevent offending as rational crinimals would be afraid of harsh consequences

Question 4

what are the arguments for this policy working??

Answer 4

• since 1993, major crime in NYC has fallen 39% and murder has fallen 49% due to zero tolerance policing
• since it was launched by Merseyside police in 2005, violent crimes has fallen by 38% while robberies are down 23%

Question 5

what are the arguments against this policy working??

Answer 5

• crimes does not necessarily disapear but just gets displayed elsewhere - moves to another area
• the approach increases labelling and had been seen to lead to discrimination of certain groups
• evidence showns that it doesn’t seem to work well in areas where the population is sparse and in areas of high racial tension