Zero tolerance is a theory of policing that emphasises the need to deal with all criminal offences and incivility, however trivial, first, to convey a principled position that crime ought not to be committed, and second, a conviction that minor offences, unless properly dealt with, will very likely lead to serious offences. Although the theory fefers to all crime, police authorities have been especially concerned with street crime, including robbery, drug dealing and criminal damage.In other contexts the theory has attracted significant attention in relation to the problem of Domestic Violence.Some early advocates of this view used the phrase Broken Windows to convey the idea that broken windows should be repaired and graffiti removed to prevent the creation of a perception that an area is going "downhill", with an associated disrispect for its appearance that may lead to further vandalism and the dumping of rubbish.