Zero tolerance

Zero tolerance is a strict approach to rule enforcement. It can be used as the basis of formal laws in a country or region, or in a smaller environment, such as a school.

As the name suggests, zero tolerance policies allow for absolutely no levels of tolerance or compromise for violators of the law in question. There will be no varying levels of punishment under zero tolerance, only the most severe.

For example, if a school has a zero tolerance policy in regards to students carrying weapons, a student who brings a knife to school might be suspended instantly. Another such example would be the drug laws of a nation such as Singapore, in which all drug dealers who are found guilty are executed.

In the United States, hundreds of students have been suspended or expelled from school for being in possession of over-the-counter drugs such as aspirin or for seemingly innocent activities such as drawing figures of military tanks and airplanes in their notebooks.

Like most approaches to law enforcement, zero tolerance policies are often controversial. The controversy stems from the fact that these policies go overboard and might not actually prevent the behavior they are supposed to control. For example, in Colorado Springs, a 6 year old was suspended under the school's zero tolerance for drugs policy when the boy gave another student a lemon drop. In another Colorado case in Greeley, three boys faced expulsion under a zero tolerance for guns policy because they were seen playing with squirt guns.