All zero tolerence does is push the problem eleswhere. Perhaps if every jurisdiction had the same policy then you may get a result, but it would involve building a hell of a lot of prisons. prisons by the way, are full of people who either 'are innocent' or were not going to get caught. The level of punishment handed out does not act as a deterrent because people that commit these sorts of crimes are not giving any thought as to the consequences of being caught or of being caught.
Most of us do not act in anti social criminal ways because we know and understand that it is wrong, not because we are afraid of the consequences of being caught.
While we are living longer due to advances in modern medicine, those advances are being called on more and more due to increases in cases of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. while more people do get to the age of 70 now less people who reach 70 go on to reach 90 than early last century. while modern medicine may be keeping people alive longer, in many cases there is not much quality of life.
Many people in the health profession actually are saying that there is a generation being raised that not only will live live shorter lives than their parents, but may actually die before their parents.
Another book that makes interesting reading, is Food and Behaviour - A natural Connection, by Barbara Reed Stitt. As a parole officer she had a 90% success rate in preventing re offending by changing the diet of her parolees. She and her husband also transformed a school to the point they no longer needed armed guards by taking over the canteen and again changing the foodstuffs consumed by the students.
It is actually quite amazing how some simple changes in diet can reduce the anger and aggressive tendencies displayed by many people today.