TR> I think that I understand your fear of the term, "Zero Tolerance",
 TR> as you are  comparing it to programs that are not law enforcement
 TR> programs. We are not  talking about new laws and new penalties,
 TR> rather old laws and old penalties.
 RW> I don't think you do.  You look at it as the perfect solution
 RW> to crime.  Just as people and school officials looked at ZT as the
 RW> perfect solution to school problems. I see it as another slippery
 RW> slope akin to "hate speech", "hate crimes", gun control and all the
 RW> things brought up to "protect the children".
First, I don't think that zero tolerance is the perfect solution to crime. I
think that it is a great tool that works most of the time. There are many
other terms that describe other police tactics which work very well with the
help of the citizens. "Problem Oriented Policing" and "Community Oriented
Policing" are two such examples that describe programs that work very well in
many communities to reclaim the neighborhoods for the good citizens. There
are many people who lock themselves in their homes and create their own
prison of sorts because of their fear of the predator who waits for them
outside. Elderly people are especially effected by this fear. You are
completely correct on one point you made above, I don't understand your
thoughts on this matter. I really don't have a clue, I'll have to think about
it.
I will simply ask you a couple of questions about examples that have already
been talked about in a previous message. If you had paint sniffers and drunks
all over the park your children use, would you want the police to do
something about it? If you had drug dealers in your front yard and your
children were afraid to go outside, would you want the police to do something
about it? Are the police so evil that you would prefer to tolerate the
drunks, paint sniffers, and dope dealers around your home?
Tom Rightmer - A Victims' Rights Advocate
... The universe is a figment of it's own imagination.
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