What is "zero tolerance"

n. The strict policy of enforcing all the laws of a state, or the rules of an institution, and allowing no toleration or compromise for first-time offenders or petty violations

n. extreme intolerance of anti-social behavior (usually by an uncompromising application of the law); "he urged zero tolerance for priests who abuse children sexually"

A zero tolerance policy is one which imposes strict punishment for infractions of a stated rule, with the intention of eliminating undesirable conduct. Zero-tolerance policies forbid persons in positions of authority from exercising discretion or changing punishments to fit the circumstances subjectively; they are required to impose a pre-determined punishment regardless of individual culpability, extenuating circumstances, or history. This pre-determined punishment, whether mild or severe, is always meted out.

Zero-tolerance policies are studied in criminology and are common in formal and informal policing systems around the world. The policies also appear in informal situations where there may be sexual harassment or Internet misuse in educational and workplace environments. In 2014, the mass incarceration in the United States based upon minor offenses has resulted in an outcry on the use of zero tolerance in schools and communities.

Little evidence supports the claimed effectiveness of zero-tolerance policies. One underlying problem is that there are a great many reasons why people hesitate to intervene, or to report behavior they find to be unacceptable or unlawful. Zero-tolerance policies address, at best, only a few of these reasons.

Zero Tolerance is a 1994 video game developed by Technopop and published by Accolade exclusively for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis video game console. It was one of the few Mega Drive/Genesis first person shooters, besides Bloodshot and the Duke Nukem 3D port.

A zero-tolerance policy in schools is a strict enforcement of regulations and bans against undesirable behaviors or possession of items. Public criticism against such policies have arisen due to their enforcement and the resulting (sometimes devastating) consequences when the behavior or possession was done in ignorance, by accident, or under extenuating circumstances. For example, a ban against guns resulting in a Rhode Island boy with a gun charm on a key chain being suspended. In schools, common zero-tolerance policies concern possession or use of illicit drugs or weapons. Students, and sometimes staff, parents, and other visitors, who possess a banned item for any reason are always (if the policy is followed) to be punished.

In the United States and Canada, zero-tolerance policies have been adopted in various schools and other education venues. Zero-tolerance policies in the United States became widespread in 1994, after federal legislation required states to expel any student who brought a firearm to school for one year, or lose all federal funding.

These policies are promoted as preventing drug abuse and violence in schools. Critics say zero tolerance in schools have resulted in punishments which have been criticised as egregiously unfair against students and teachers, especially in schools with poorly written policies. Consequently, critics describe these policies as zero-logic policies because they treat juveniles the way that adults would be treated — or more harshly, given that children are seldom granted full permission to speak up in their own defence to adults with authority over them. Many people have been critical of zero tolerance policies, claiming that they are overly draconian, provide little if any benefit to anyone, contribute to overcrowding of the criminal justice system, and/or disproportionately target blacks and Latinos.

Zero Tolerance is a compilation album released by Karmageddon Media under the name Chuck Schuldiner. The album consists of demo tracks for the second Control Denied album and various Death demos and live recordings. This is Candlelight Records two CD version, but Karmageddon Media released these four Control Denied tracks and other Death material on one CD.

Zero Tolerance is a Swedish action film from 1999 directed by Anders Nilsson. It is the first film in the series about police officer Johan Falk ( Jakob Eklund) and is followed by Executive Protection and The Third Wave.

Zero Tolerance is an 1995 American action film from PM Entertainment Group directed by Joseph Merhi and starring Robert Patrick and Mick Fleetwood.

Zero Tolerance is a 2015 Thai-American action film directed by Wych Kaosayananda and starring Dustin Nguyen, Gary Daniels and Scott Adkins. The film premiered on February 10, 2015 at the Thailand International Film Destination Festival.

Zero Tolerance Magazine is an extreme music magazine published by Obdurate Ltd. in the United Kingdom. Published bi-monthly, it can be found on newsstands in the UK, Europe and North America - and is available (with some delay) on newsstands in Australia and specialist retailers in New Zealand and Taiwan. The magazine features a covermount CD.

It was launched in 2004 by Lisa Macey (formerly publisher of Terrorizer Magazine) and Leon Macey (of experimental UK extreme metal band Mithras). The magazine is edited by Nathan T.Birk. Previous editors are Calum Harvie and Lee du-Caine.

Zero Tolerance Magazine gives coverage to both established extreme music artists and underground artists without the balance of coverage tipping in favour of the most obvious artists. ZT is especially notable for seeking out obscure artists in experimental noise music and power electronics - a 4-page section entitled Power Lines is curated by the magazine's resident noise "expert" Scott McKeating and features every issue. With Nathan T. Birk curating the Underground Black Metal (UGBM) section and the recent introduction of the Cormac O'Síocháin curated Anger Burning section - dedicated to crust, d-beat, rawpunk, hardcore-punk and dis-core - the magazine covers metal as well as similar genres.

Industry features with visual artists, directors, music producers and the like have been regular in Zero Tolerance Magazine since its launch in 2004 and the magazine has been home to interviews with the likes of HR Giger, Dan Seagrave, John Carpenter and Andy Sneap.

Contributors, referred to as "The Panel", hail from the UK, North America, continental Europe, and Australia. Notable regular contributors include Chris Kee, Alan Averill aka Nemtheanga of Primordial, Cormac O'Síocháin, Scott McKeating, John Norby, Liz Ciavarella, Callum Brownson-Smith and MetalGeorge.

Zero tolerance is a type of punishment policy. The term can also refer to:

• Zero tolerance (schools), the rule enforcement policy in North American schools
• Zero tolerance (trade), a regulatory standard
• Zero Tolerance (video game), a 1994 video game
• Zero Tolerance Recordings, a record label
• Zero Tolerance (album), a compilation album released under the name Chuck Schuldiner
• Zero Tolerance (1995 film), an American film starring Robert Patrick
• Zero Tolerance (1999 film), a Swedish film starring Jakob Eklund
• Zero Tolerance (2015 film), directed by Wych Kaosayananda
• Zero Tolerance Entertainment, a porn film producer
• Zero Tolerance (magazine), a bi-monthly British magazine focusing on extreme metal
• Operation: Zero Tolerance, a Marvel Comics storyline event
• Operation Zero Tolerance

In food safety policy, a zero tolerance standard generally means that if a potentially dangerous substance (whether microbiological, chemical, or other) is present in or on a product, that product will be considered adulterated and unfit for human consumption. In the United States meat and poultry inspection program, “zero tolerance” usually refers to USDA’s rule that permits no visible signs of fecal contamination (feces) on meat and poultry carcasses. USDA requires that any time such fecal contamination is detected, it must be removed from the carcass. At issue is how this rule has been applied and enforced by USDA in meat and poultry plants. For a number of years, poultry producers have been permitted to either rinse (wash) off or cut (trim) away such contamination, but beef producers have only been permitted to (trim) it with a knife—which they argue costs them money in lost product weight and imposes a requirement that poultry producers do not have to meet. The policy jargon for this debate is “ wash versus trim.” USDA early in 1997 clarified its zero tolerance rule for poultry; a year earlier it gave beef plants permission to use a new high-temperature vacuuming method to remove fecal contamination in lieu of cutting it off.