Zero confidence in youths

Experiences of the zero tolerance experiment in Finland

Bibliographic Data

ID5777364
AuthorsTimo Korander (Research Unit of the Police College of Finland, Espoo, Finland), Jukka Törrönen (0000-0003-2473-6330, Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies, Helsinki, Finland)
Year2004
Volume13
Issue1
Pages47-71
Publication date2004-12-23
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueYoung (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1103-3088 • E-ISSN: 1741-3222
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1103308805048752
OpenAlexW1985141382
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited23

The article describes a zero tolerance project carried out between August 1999 and July 2000 in Tampere, Finland. Specifically, the authors are interested in the reception of the project among field workers as well as the main targets of the intervention. The project received considerable media exposure. Initially, the objectives of the project were to reduce the occurrence of violence, vandalism, substance use and disorderly behaviour in the town centre. Project management stressed from the outset that zero tolerance would not be applied to young people alone. However as soon as the project got under way, senior police officers and the media came to describe this as a campaign aimed at containing disruptive behaviour by young people and at getting parents and the local community involved in shouldering part of the responsibility. The data consist of interviews with police officers who worked in the field, social workers and young people. Our study goes to show that a lowered level of tolerance can have unwanted and uncontrollable consequences. The project strengthened the feeling of solidarity between adults but increased the lack of confidence between adults and young people

Zero tolerance · Children's Rights and Participation · Social Work Education and Practice · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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