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3 Drexel L. Rev. 373 (2010-2011)
War Crimes and Misdemeanors: Understanding "Zero-Tolerance" Policing as a Form of Collective Punishment and Human Rights Violation

handle is hein.journals/drexel3 and id is 377 raw text is: WAR CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS: UNDERSTANDING ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICING AS A FORM OF COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION M. Chris Fabricant* ABSTRACT A fundamental principle of criminal law is that individuals may only be punished for offenses which they have personally committed; any punish- ment must be personal and individual. To that end, international law pro- scribes as collective punishment any sanction imposed on a population without regard to individual culpability for the offense that provokes the penalty. Compstat-based zero-tolerance or order-maintenance policing, the prevailing thesis in contemporary law enforcement, punishes entire com- munities for the crimes of a few. More specifically, zero-tolerance policing seeks to deter violent crime not by apprehending those relatively few perpe- trators of crime, but by indiscriminate search-and-seizure operations and wholesale misdemeanor arrests for minor quality-of-life offenses in the neighborhoods where violent crimes occur, typically poor communities of color. As a form of collective punishment, such policing is contrary to in- ternational human rights law. In one eight-block section of Brooklyn, the New York City Police De- partment (NYPD) stopped, questioned, and searched 52,000 people in four years, 94% of whom had committed no offense. Residents of communities targeted for this type of intensive policing by Compstat are not only stopped and searched without individualized suspicion, but they are also * Visiting Professor of Law, Pace Law School. Before entering academia, I was a public de- fender at The Bronx Defenders, where I represented thousands of individuals charged with offenses associated with zero-tolerance policing. Prior to my work at the trial level, I served as appellate counsel at Appellate Advocates, an appellate defender office in New York City. My experience at both indigent defense organizations informed much of the inspiration for and insight into this topic, and I am indebted to the exceptional clients and colleagues I encoun- tered during a decade of work within the criminal justice system. This Article was shaped with the help of many insightful individuals. I am particularly indebted to Colin Starger, Jen- ny Roberts, Shane Darcy, K. Babe Howell, and Peter Markowitz for their comments on earlier drafts of this Article. I also extend thanks to Adele Bernhard and Juan Cartagena for their in- valuable support, to Thomas McDonnell for his helpful research suggestions, and to Holly Hobart and Jonathan Hood for their excellent research assistance. An earlier draft of this Ar- ticle was presented to the Pace School of Law Faculty Colloquium. 373

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