Zero Tolerances

Zero Tolerances
Zero tolerances policies are abruptly impacting many schools especially public schools. Furthermore, many schools are imposing severe punishments such as suspension, arrest, and expulsion to any crime committed inside the school surrounding. For example, the Gun-Free Schools Act policy that forces all schools to be expelled any student found possessing a gun or any concealed weapon within the school premises. These adverse punishments have enhanced the flow of students from school to juvenile systems. The issues of racial discrimination like desegregation of school, high poverty rate, and reduced school funding have influenced various criminal behaviors within the school environment. Hence, a psychological approach is needed to this newly adopted antisocial behavior. Therefore, the zero tolerance structure is not strategic in ending such behavior.
Consequently, the zero tolerance policies have influenced the rise of students being expelled, arrested and suspended from school. Therefore, in the end, many students are forced to quit school or being institutionalized into juvenile correctional systems. More ever, zero tolerance influence the issue of stereotyping. The media over the time have been dwelling in zero tolerance concepts. Hence, every news media projecting the minority group students who are prone to violence involvement will influence the society to have the perspective that both Latino and Africa American are criminals in nature.
Besides, zero tolerance impacts the school to jail pipeline through influencing increased security check up and excessive police presence in the school environment.

For example, students are subjected to security cameras surveillance, metal detectors, random personal and locker searches. These activities are synonymous with the accouterment experienced in formal correctional facilities.
In my own opinion, the problems with the zero tolerance policies are that they do not evaluate the intensity of any crime committed. It is logical that some crimes tend to be heavy and extreme compared to others. For example, the crime of a student found with a gun cannot be compared to a student found with drugs like alcohol. However, these policies ensure that students are punished without any evaluation of the intensity of the crime they committed. This increases the expulsion or denies many students equal protection and due process as required.
In conclusion, for the zero tolerance to be effective the degree of crimes committed should be evaluated and alternative punishments established instantly. All in all, the increased rate of student dropout is negatively affecting the literacy rate of the nation. Therefore, the school can generate alternative punishments for light crimes.