Environmental Risk Factors For Criminal Behavior

Routine Activities Theory

BY CHANTEL LIGGETT

RISK FACTORS

BY CHANTEL LIGGETT

RISK FACTORS

BY CHANTEL LIGGETT

THE PROBLEMS

BY CHANTEL LIGGETT

Routine Activities Theory

Routine activities theory is commonly used to explain why and how youth are at a heightened risk of being involved in offending behavior and of being victimized. Since an individual’s demographics influence their daily activities, they are predictive of their risk of victimization. Young unmarried males experience the highest frequency of victimization; their nightly activities, then, provide significant support for the theory, as it is these that take them away from the security of the home. By being out at night, these youth come into increased contact with offenders, partake in high-risk behaviors such as drug and alcohol use, participate in delinquent activities themselves, and frequent high-risk situations and areas (Kennedy and Ford, 1990; Lauritsen, Sampson and Laub, 1991). Therefore, as a consequence of their routine activities and lifestyle, they are at a substantially higher risk for victimization. Felson (1997)

BY CHANTEL LIGGETT

Existing research points to a powerful connection between residing in an adverse environment and participating in criminal acts (McCord, Widom, and Crowell, 2001). Sociological theories of deviance hypothesize that "disorganized neighborhoods have weak social control networks; that weak social control, resulting from isolation among residents and high residential turnover, allows criminal activity to go unmonitored" (Herrenkohl et al., 2001:221). Although researchers debate the interaction between environmental and personal factors, most agree that "living in a neighborhood where there are high levels of poverty and crime increases the risk of involvement in serious crime for all children growing up there" (McCord, Widom, and Crowell, 2001:89)

BY CHANTEL LIGGETT

Sociobiological Factors

ENVIROMENTAL RISK FACTORS

o LEAD POISIONING

o COPPER

o MERCURY

o CHLORINE

o ARTIFICIAL COLORING

o FOOD DYESSOCIOBIOLOGICAL FACTORSBY CHANTEL LIGGETT

Sociobiological scholars have also drawn a connection between exposure to dangerous contaminants – including copper, mercury, chlorine, artificial coloring, food dyes, etc. – and both aggressive and anti-social behavior (see Rappaport, 2004; Ellis, 2005). A great deal of recent research has focused on the possible relationship between lead poisoning and violence. One study, for example, found that communities with the highest concentrations of lead in the air also reported the highest levels of homicide and other forms of violence (Stretesky and Lynch, 2001). A number of studies have also found that lead poisoning is one of the most significant predictors of male delinquency and persistent adult criminality (see Denno, 1996; McCall and Land, 2004). Needleman (1996), for example, tracked several hundred boys from ages seven through eleven and found that those with high concentrations of lead in their bones were much more likely to demonstrate attention deficit problems, poor language skills, delinquency, and aggression. High lead ingestion is also linked to lower IQ scores – a factor that can contribute to youth violence (Neisser et al., 1996).

Sociobiological

BY CHANTEL LIGGETT

BY CHANTEL LIGGETT

In the last three decades, theories of crime have been greatly informed by an influx of thinking that supersedes criminology’s traditionally myopic focus on offenders. Most Notably, the exposure/lifestyle theory (Hindelang et al. 1978), One’s environment can play a plethora of roles in determining the probability of deviant behavior. The risk factors are criminal elements and pollution which can have profound effects on one’s behavior.

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Justice. Michael J. Lynch, Paul B. Stretesky

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References:

BY CHANTEL LIGGETT