Finally some sense over "zero tolerance"

From the Florida Sun Sentinel:

TALLAHASSEE - Children no longer would be arrested for such minor violations of zero tolerance polices as bringing plastic butter knives to school, drawing pictures of guns or throwing an eraser under measures moving through the Florida Legislature.

 

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would prohibit calling police for a nonviolent misdemeanor. A similar bill later cleared the House Pre-kindergarten Policy Committee.

 

Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, said his bill (SB 1540) would save money and prevent children from having criminal records by requiring that schools handle such disciplinary matters administratively.

 

"Throw an eraser and they want to call it throwing a deadly missile, which is a felony," Wise told the Senate panel. "When you get into the juvenile justice system everybody thinks your sins are forgiven when you turn 18, and I will assure you that doesn't happen. It's a blemish on your record."

 

In 2005 an 11-year-old Hernando County girl was arrested for allegedly bringing a plastic butter knife to school. She was handcuffed, taken to jail and charged with a third-degree felony. A 15-year-old boy at the same school that year received three weeks of house arrest for throwing a pencil that hit a custodian on the shoulder.

 

Police in 2007 arrested a 10-year-old Ocala girl who brought a small kitchen knife to school to cut meat packed in her lunch. Prosecutors, though, later dropped the felony weapons charge after the Department of Juvenile Justice ask them not to pursue the case.

 

In 2003, an 8-year-old Melbourne boy was arrested at his elementary school for carrying a pocketknife, and a 13-year-old Brandon student was suspended because his calculator had a knife-like gadget.