DOCTORAL FORUM

NATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PUBLISHING AND MENTORING DOCTORAL STUDENT RESEARCH

VOLUME 3 NUMBER 1, 2006

Zero -Tolerance Policies and Youth: Protection or

Profiling?

Patrick Webb William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

PhD Student Professor
College of Juvenile Justice and Psychology PhD Program in Educational Leadership
Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University
Member of the Texas A&M University System
Visiting Lecturer (2005)
Oxford Round Table (2005)
University of Oxford, Oxford, England
Distinguished Alumnus (2004)
Central Washington University
College of Education and Professional Studies

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ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to analyze and explore the various uses of zero-
tolerance among youth in the United States. The authors illustrate the origin, goals,
problems, and perceptions associated with this “crime-control measure” among
youth within educational settings.
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Introduction

Under this insufferable climate of increased repression and unabated exploitation,

young people and communities of color become the new casualties in an ongoing war
against justice, freedom, social citizenship, and democracy. Feeding on moral panic and
popular fear, zero tolerance policies not only turn schools into an adjunct of the criminal
justice system, they also further rationalize misplaced legislative priorities, which have
profound social costs (Giroux, 2003). To this end, the following research will explore the
use of zero-tolerance among youth in the United States. This purpose of this paper will
address various aspects associated with the use of this “crime-control” measure. The

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intent of this document is to raise awareness and stimulate discussion regarding the need
and extent of zero-tolerance in relation to youth and their safety within school settings.

The Origins of Zero-Tolerance – A Law Enforcement Measure

Zero tolerance stems from a two-decade-old study by two conservative social

scientists who proposed the "broken windows" thesis: if people are allowed to break
windows with impunity, not only do smaller crimes lead to more serious ones, but the
"disordered" appearance of the neighborhood perpetrates criminal disorder (Wilson and
Kelling, 1982). To this end, the term zero tolerance refers to those policies which deal
out severe punishment for all offenses, no matter how minor, ostensibly in an effort to
treat all offenders equally in the spirit of fairness and intolerance of rule-breaking (Skiba
and Peterson, 1999). The use of zero tolerance policies began with federal and state drug
enforcement agencies in the early 1980s. By 1988, these programs had received national
attention, and Attorney General Edwin Meese allowed customs agents to seize the boats,
automobiles and passports of any persons crossing American borders who were found
with even trace amounts of drugs (Henault, 2001).
Specifically, zero tolerance was then viewed as an anti-crime measure for local
conditions and embodied a highly localized language of order and disorder in public
space (Smith, 2001). Interesting enough, research associated with the initial use of zero
tolerance and policing has led to an increase in police brutality and abuse, with a rash of
police murders, shootings, beatings, sexual assaults, wrongful arrests, and various forms
of corruption, suggesting a police force out of control. In the wake of one such incident,
the killing of Guinean immigrant Amadou Diallo in a hail of 41 bullets fired by four New
York police officers in the notorious "Street Crimes Unit" demonstrates this
phenomenon. Even the police union has complained that zero-tolerance tactics have
become a "blueprint for a police state and tyranny" (Cooper, 1999).
In addition, according to research conducted by Smith (2001) the Street Crimes
Unit of the New York police, a centerpiece of zero tolerance policing, made 45,000 street
searches of disproportionately minority youths and made 10,000 arrests. Subsequently,
zero tolerance policing has encouraged race and class profiling that places a premium on
street arrests of suspects while minimizing concerns about evidence. With the Street
Crimes Unit, apprehension and arrest were used as a disciplinary measure against poor
and minority youths, many of whom were never charged nor had the minimal charges
dropped for want of evidence (Smith, 2001). From aforementioned studies, we can
conclude that the origin of the zero-tolerance policy that is prevalent within our schools
in the U.S. stems from a federal and local law enforcement measure.
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The Goal of Zero-Tolerance – The Safety of Youth in the School Settings

By the early 1990s zero tolerance policies were being used by school boards
across the country, and a national mandate for these policies was issued by the 1994 Gun-
Free Schools Act. This Act requires a mandatory expulsion of one year for possession of
a weapon on campus and students breaking this rule are referred to either the criminal or
juvenile justice system. The zero tolerance policies in schools now embrace not only the
issues addressed by the Gun-Free Schools Act, but are also used to discipline students
who disrupt classes or bring tobacco to school (Skiba and Peterson, 1999).
States have responded to the growth of violence in their schools by passing zero-
tolerance legislation. Many states passed these regulations, providing for immediate
suspension or expulsion when a person on school grounds possesses a weapon. In
Michigan, the law provides for permanent expulsion when a student is found with a
weapon on school grounds, or when a student is found guilty of arson or rape. What
makes the Michigan law so unusual is that it provides for permanent expulsion, without
any alternative education setting or any opportunity to return to the school. This strict
liability in schools does not achieve the goal of preventing violence; it only removes
some of it from the school grounds. By not providing any alternative means for a student
to achieve an education, the zero-tolerance legislation is doing more to encourage crime
than prevent it (Bogos, 1997).
Recent studies reveal that zero-tolerance policies are being established and
enforced in order to protect certain students who experience a great deal of danger and
hostility due to their sexual preferences. According to Morrow (2004) the school setting
is a hostile environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. To this end,
significant reformation is needed for them to be emotionally and physically safe. Sexual
orientation and gender identity should be included in school nondiscrimination policies,
and those policies must be fully enforced. There must be zero tolerance for anti-gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) language and behaviors in the same way that
other hate language and behaviors are not tolerated (Morrow, 2004).

The Impact of Zero-Tolerance

Increase in the Arrest of Female Youth

Many schools, especially in the large urban centers, have adopted zero tolerance
policies toward violence, use metal detectors and video cameras, and hire full-time school
police. To this end, heightened public concern in recent years about school safety has
escalated the vulnerability of girls being arrested for assault offenses as a result of pro-
arrest policies for physical confrontations or threats occurring in or near school grounds.
(Murphy, 2003, 2004; Rimer, 2004; Scherser and Pinderhughes, 2002). Both male and
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female youth are being arrested in substantial numbers for behavior that, before these
preventive measures, would have likely been handled as a school disciplinary matter
(Hagan et al, 2002; Rimer, 2004). Research also suggests that this policy has led to net-
widening in school arrest policies has disproportionately escalated girls' arrests for
violent crimes, particularly for assaults involving minor physical confrontations or verbal
threats-most frequently with another girl-that in the past would have been ignored or
responded to less formally (Hall, 2004; Rimer, 2004).

Unreasonable Extremes and Examples

Any sense of perspective or guarantee of rights seems lost as school systems

across the country clamor for metal detectors, armed guards, see-through knapsacks, and,
in some cases, armed teachers. Some school systems are investing in new software to
"profile" students who might exhibit criminal behavior (Moore, 2000). As a one-size-fits-
all solution to school problems, zero tolerance policies redefine students as criminals and
as a result, increasing numbers of young people are suspended, arrested, or expelled from
school, often for ludicrous reasons. For example,

• Two Virginia fifth-graders who allegedly put soap in their teacher's

drinking water were charged with a felony (Goodman, 2000).
• A 12-year-old boy in Louisiana who was diagnosed with a hyperactive
disorder was suspended for two days after telling his friends in a food line,
"I'm gonna get you" if they ate all the potatoes! The police then charged
the boy with making "terroristic threats" and he was incarcerated for two
weeks while awaiting trial (Claiborne, 1999).
• A 14-year-old disabled student in Palm Beach, Florida, was referred to the
police by the school principal for allegedly stealing $2.00 from another
student. He was then charged with strong-armed robbery, and held for six
weeks in an adult jail, even though this was his first arrest (Cooper, 1999).
• There is also the equally revealing example of a student brought up on a
drug charge because he gave another youth two lemon cough drops
(Jackson, 2000).
• One eleven year-old student in Columbia, South Carolina, who brought a
knife to school in her lunch box to cut her chicken, was taken away from
school in a police car (Civil Rights Project, 2001).

Youth under 16 cannot get a tattoo or get their ears pierced without the consent of
an adult, but are considered old enough to be tried and jailed as an adult, and put to death.
and the numbers are increasing at an alarming rate (Grossberg, 2001). This intolerable
situation, tolerated by politicians and adults, suggest that a war is being waged against
young people in this country. It points to a much larger crisis that calls into question adult
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society's commitment to the future and to the demands of a democratic society. To this
end, school districts may view zero tolerance policies as their primary method of
reventing school violence. Rather than taking motives into account, zero tolerance
policies treat every incident and every student as though they are equally dangerous
(Merlo and Benekos, 2000).

Race and Zero-Tolerance

Zero tolerance laws, while a threat to all youth and any viable notion of equal
opportunity through education, reinforce in the public imagination the image of students
of color as a source of public fear and a threat to public school safety. Zero tolerance
policies and laws appear to be well-tailored for mobilizing racialized codes and race-
based moral panics that portray black and brown urban youth as a frightening and violent
threat to the safety of "decent" Americans. Most high-profile zero tolerance cases involve
African-American students, and such policies reinforce the racial inequities that plague
school systems across the country. For example, the New York Times has reported on a
number of studies illustrating "that black students in public schools across the country are
far more likely than whites to be suspended or expelled, and far less likely to be in gifted
or advanced placement classes" (Lewin, 2000, p. 14).
From a national standpoint, the Department of Education recently released figures
showing that though African American children represent only 17% of public school
enrollment nationally, they make up 32% of out-of-school suspensions. In contrast, white
students, who make up 63% of the national enrollment, make up only 50% of the
suspensions and 50% of the expulsions (Department of Education, 2000). Not
surprisingly, research shows that one result of zero-tolerance legislation is an increased
disparity in the application of these rules against black students (Claiborne, 1999). For
example, the Harvard University Civil Rights Project on Zero Tolerance interviewed
attorneys who represent children facing disciplinary actions based on zero tolerance
policies and found those attorneys were convinced that racial profiling played a large part
in determining which students were subject to the harsh penalties associated with zero-
tolerance policy. They reported African American and Latino students were more likely
to be disciplined for offenses like "defiance of authority" and "disrespect of authority."
The subjective nature of these offenses, the attorneys posit, make it easier for racial bias
to play an integral role in student discipline (Civil Rights Project, 2001).

Perceptions and Zero-Tolerance

In terms of perceptions associated with zero-tolerance policies and youth,

research conducted among undergraduate students by Benekos et al, (2002) reveal that
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students support zero tolerance policies to prevent school violence. In addition, their
perceptions that school violence is worsening and their support for zero tolerance are
related. Class rank and major do not appear to be related to views on zero tolerance but
females are more likely than males to support zero tolerance policies (Benekos et al.,
2002). To the contrary, and from a legal standpoint, the American Bar Association voted
in 2001 to recommend ending zero tolerance policies for school discipline (CNN.COM,
2001). The report submitted with the recommendation stated that "zero tolerance has
become a one-size-fits-all solution to all the problems that schools confront... and has
redefined all students as criminals, with unfortunate consequences" (CNN.COM, 2001, p.
1).

Resisting Zero-Tolerance

There is evidence that young people are resisting coercive, zero-tolerance policies
in their schools and communities (Gold et al., 2002; Murashige, 2001). Arnett (2002, p.
312) notes that youth are frustrated by and alienated from conventional political
processes, and political engagement is often directed "toward specific areas of
importance to them, where they believe they are more likely to see genuine progress,"
rather than toward conventional civic participation. In April 1999, representatives from
20 youth organizations formed the Youth Force Coalition to proactively fight for
educational reform and challenge "zero tolerance" policies in their schools.
Working with adult allies, the Youth Force Coalition planned direct actions,
designed and distributed material to educate the public, and held meetings and hosted
conferences on their strategy to reduce jails and increase funding to improve their
schools. In February 2000, over 700 students walked out of 15 schools in the San
Francisco Bay Area to protest California's Juvenile Justice Crime Bill, which encouraged
tougher sentencing by prosecuting youth in adult courts. The students demanded that
policymakers focus less attention on incarcerating youth and pay closer attention to better
books, improved facilities, and more equitable educational opportunities for working-
class youth of color (Ginwright et al., 2005).

Concluding Remarks

In conclusion, it is evident that policy changes regarding zero-tolerance are

needed. Federal, state and local municipalities must address and evaluate the need for
such zero-tolerance policies in relation to incidents that merit attention exclusively from a
safety standpoint. To this end, extreme measures (i.e. arrest, searches, etc.) must be
carefully examined and accepted at the expense of considering their potential detrimental
impact towards certain youth. In an attempt to remedy this dilemma and ensure fairness
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regarding the use of zero-tolerance among youth regardless of race, it might be suggested
that the federal government should withhold federal resources to schools which
discriminately use zero-tolerance policies towards minorities. From this standpoint,
maybe we would actually see the worth of zero-tolerance, or just maybe we would simply
be able to tolerate it.

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Formatted by Dr. Mary Alice Kritsonis, National Research and Manuscript Preparation
Editor, NATIONAL FORUM JOURNALS, Houston, Texas. www.nationalforum.com