Final answer:
Zero Tolerance Policing, a law enforcement strategy based on Broken Windows Theory, focuses on strict enforcement of all laws to prevent more significant crimes. While it led to a proactive crackdown on minor offenses, critics argue that such policing has not been the sole contributor to crime reduction and has had adverse effects on certain communities. Alternative approaches to crime reduction, focusing on environmental issues, have proven effective without the negative implications.
Step-by-step explanation:
Zero Tolerance Policing and Project Safety
A concept known as Zero Tolerance Policing emerged as a contentious strategy within law enforcement, based on the principles of the Broken Windows Theory. This approach assumed that minor infractions, such as vandalism or turnstile jumping, would lead to more significant crimes if left unchecked, subscribing to the belief that unchecked small crimes signal an acceptance of larger crimes. It led to a proactive crackdown on lesser offenses, in hopes of deterring more serious criminal activities.
The implementation of Zero Tolerance Policing, particularly in New York City, evolved into a practice called Stop and Frisk. This practice significantly increased the number of street stops by police, escalating from under 100,000 to about 700,000 within a decade. While advocates cited a decrease in city crime rates, critics noted that such declines were not unique to New York, suggesting other factors were at play.
Criticism of Zero Tolerance Policing includes its impact on communities of color and the potential for police harassment. Alternative approaches, such as addressing environmental decay (graffiti, garbage, broken streetlights), have shown to reduce crime similarly but without the problematic implications of a zero tolerance approach.
Regarding industrial safety, a parallel can be drawn with a safety engineer in a manufacturing setting who prioritized the adherence to instructions to prevent accidents. This echoes the Zero Tolerance mindset where strict enforcement of rules is seen as a method to prevent negative outcomes.