CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – I hate zero tolerance policies.
Zero tolerance is one-size-fits-all. Zero tolerance assumes that all circumstances are the same. Zero tolerance leaves no room for human judgment.
Zero tolerance is why a 10 year old boy was suspended from school for pointing his fingers as if they were a gun. It really happened. The Columbus, Ohio school district has a zero tolerance policy for guns… or anything that looks like one. So there was no room for common sense.
Wise people in law enforcement know that judgment is the most important tool that they have. No cop can possibly issue a citation for every violation they see. And we wouldn’t want law enforcement to work that way. Warnings are given. “Don’t do that again” can be just as effective as a formal charge. Our justice system wouldn’t work if every incident led to a trial.
The D.C. Everest School District has a zero tolerance policy about vaping. Now I don’t want any student to vape. It’s unhealthy. It’s against the law for minors.
But, hypothetically, should a first time offender, perhaps a high school senior, have a suspension or a criminal charge on their record that costs them a college scholarship, or college admission? Should a star athlete lose their entire season because of a first offense? While I am strongly opposed to vaping, I think those punishments are too severe.
D.C. Everest’s former school resource officer Frank Wierzbanowski seems to agree. He was suspended, and eventually retired, because he did not write up every student that he caught vaping. He gave warnings. He told them that if it happened again, he’d have no choice. Officer Frank also said he was frustrated that, with his 16 years of experience, that he wasn’t consulted about the policy. He also said, in his personal experience and from actual law enforcement research, that zero tolerance doesn’t work. It does more harm than good.
So what Officer Frank also did was intentionally leave paperwork incomplete when teachers or other adults caught a student vaping. He’d say the matter was handled, but school staff became aware that nothing happened to the offenders. And that led to an internal investigation by the Everest Metro Police Department, and, a short time later, Officer Frank’s retirement.
No, a police officer can not intentionally fudge their paperwork. Nor should they have their hands tied by policy that makes no sense. Officer Frank is a victim of zero-tolerance nonsense, and the schools have lost a popular and valuable human resource.
The next time you hear ‘zero tolerance,’ immediately begin to apply your common sense.
Chris Conley
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