That's a fair point, but our opposition to Zero Tolerance stems from the fact that punishment does not account for extenuating circumstances. Policemen are not

That's a fair point, but our opposition to Zero Tolerance stems from the fact that punishment does not account for extenuating circumstances. Policemen are not judges, nor should they ever be. The problem with Zero Tolerance is that the judges are overly strict. We want policemen to enforce the letter. We want judges to consider the spirit of the law, and interpret it appropriately. Policemen lack the knowledge of the law and lack the time to make these decisions in a rational manner. They are forced to rely on poor heuristics. There is less immediacy to a judge's decision. So, yes, I think it fair that someone who forgets he has a knife in his car is removed from class pending an evaluation of the situation (with this taking place in a reasonable amount of time). Then I believe it only fair if the evaluation determines that if it was truly accidental, then he return.