Zero tolerance policing Flashcards
What type of theories inform this policy?
Sociological theories
Which specific theory informs this policy and why?
Right realism, people make the rational choice to offend so will be deterred by a harsh punishment
What is in a response to and which place?
A crack-cocaine epidemic in New York that caused antisocial and violent crime
What does the policy demand?
All crimes are acted on, no matter how trivial
Example - littering
Antisocial behaviour isn’t ignored, may mean in-the-spot fines or mandatory sentences
Where was it applied in the UK?
Liverpool - relatively high crime rate
Overall crime fell by 25.7% in 3 years
What was the strategy based on?
The ‘broken windows’ theory
What did the UK implement?
Anti social behaviour orders in 1999
Stops any antisocial behaviour and can be issued for at least 2 years
It lists what the person must stop doing
What are the weaknesses of this policy?
It can cause aggressive policing (accusation of heavy handedness), in NYC people were arrested and lost their jobs/houses
It focuses on street crimes, ignores more serious upper class crime, Marxists think this is harmful
It lead to a racist consequence, 85% under zero tolerance in NYC were black/hispanic
What are the strengths of this policy?
The figures show that crime was reduced, London’s overall crime rate fell by 25.7%
It’s relatively cheap to implement and seems to have an immediate impact
The public feel as though something is being done and victims feel justice
