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This morning, the first thing "zero tolerance" makes me think of is an abusive parent. It's not about "fair", it's about exactly whatever they want. Or else..

• vacri 13y ago
  Because of all the imported US media bleating on about harsher penalties for criminals, that mentality is starting to take foot here in Australia, too. Prison sentences are never 'long enough', and the public perception is shifting from the previous one that was a punishment/rehabilitation mix to one that's punishment only. The thing is, that when you talk to people about a criminal - "they did -foo-, and were locked up for -bar-", it's common to hear "that's not long enough! there needs to be a message sent!". But the Law Institute of Victoria (my state) did an interesting study: they polled people about what sentences people should receive for certain crimes, but actually gave them details of specific cases. Instead of being the shallow news "it was a burglary, the sentences was -bar-", they were given more detail. It turns out that the respondents suggested sentences were actually shorter than the sentences given in court. It's pretty easy to say "lock 'em up for longer"; it's both quick and simple. But when you actually have to think about it, you realise all the implications - from rehabilitation and reintegration, to cost of incarceration, both fiscal and social. Zero tolerance has the least amount of thought available to it, so...