Argument: Zero tolerance improves the standard of policing

They are able to stop and search, and harass individuals constantly. Everyone who carries marijuana cannot be arrested so in reality certain vulnerable groups, usually ethnic minorities, are targeted and labelled as criminals. New York saw a vast growth in complaints over police racism and harassment after zero tolerance Sydney’s has been similarly racist [1] and Liverpool’s system was closed down because of corruption and unacceptable aggression by police officers.

If the police are to be fully respected they should behave in a courteous and fair manner. While treating all citizens in a respectable and decent manner – never using unnecessary force. Zero tolerance policing reduces police accountability, openness to the public, and community cooperation.

[1] Kennedy, Michael Hartley, ‘Zero tolerance policing and Arabic-speaking young people’, New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties, 2001 http://www.nswccl.org.au/docs/html/zero%20tolerance.htm

Candidate 1: "Only idealists believe that prisons have rehabilitative role; we have to look at the reality. Juveniles sent to prison are less employable afterwards, and thus more likely to resort to crime. They meet established criminals in prison who both encourage the lifestyle and teach necessary skills for criminal behaviour. Prison often fosters resentment of the police and the courts and anyway the harassment of juveniles associated with zero tolerance already creates an extremely antagonistic relationship with the police.

If punishment is not proportionate it simply breeds resentment. [1]

[1] Maiese, Michelle, ‘Retributive Justice’, Knowledge Base, May 2004, www.beyondintractability.org/essay/retributive_justice/ , accessed 20 September 2011"
Candidate 2: "Minor offenders, gang members, and the poor are extremely unlikely to be aware of the punishments for the crimes which they commit so deterrence doesn’t have much effect there. Many crimes are a product of necessity (through poverty and drugs) and therefore can be reduced only by structural changes to the society, not by threatening punishment. The idea of a ‘short sharp shock’ is unconvincing. Labeling people as criminals at an early age actually causes them to perceive themselves as such and gives them fewer other options by placing them outside mainstream society. This leads to ‘deviance amplification’ where convicts increasingly commit more serious crimes as a result of their contact with law enforcement. [1]

[1] Becker, Howard S., ‘Labeling Theory’, from Becker Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance, The Free Press, 1963, http://fasnafan.tripod.com/labelingtheory.pdf , accessed 20 September 2011"
Candidate 3: "They are able to stop and search, and harass individuals constantly. Everyone who carries marijuana cannot be arrested so in reality certain vulnerable groups, usually ethnic minorities, are targeted and labelled as criminals. New York saw a vast growth in complaints over police racism and harassment after zero tolerance Sydney’s has been similarly racist [1] and Liverpool’s system was closed down because of corruption and unacceptable aggression by police officers.

If the police are to be fully respected they should behave in a courteous and fair manner. While treating all citizens in a respectable and decent manner – never using unnecessary force. Zero tolerance policing reduces police accountability, openness to the public, and community cooperation.

[1] Kennedy, Michael Hartley, ‘Zero tolerance policing and Arabic-speaking young people’, New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties, 2001 http://www.nswccl.org.au/docs/html/zero%20tolerance.htm"

They are able to stop and search, and harass individuals constantly. Everyone who carries marijuana cannot be arrested so in reality certain vulnerable groups, usually ethnic minorities, are targeted and labelled as criminals. New York saw a vast growth in complaints over police racism and harassment after zero tolerance Sydney’s has been similarly racist [1] and Liverpool’s system was closed down because of corruption and unacceptable aggression by police officers.

If the police are to be fully respected they should behave in a courteous and fair manner. While treating all citizens in a respectable and decent manner – never using unnecessary force. Zero tolerance policing reduces police accountability, openness to the public, and community cooperation.

[1] Kennedy, Michael Hartley, ‘Zero tolerance policing and Arabic-speaking young people’, New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties, 2001 http://www.nswccl.org.au/docs/html/zero%20tolerance.htm
