The age/crime relationship

The age to crime relationship refers to the correlation between the age of offenders and
committing crime. It is undeniable that there is a relationship between age and crime. Most
people commit crime in their younger years. When we are young our mind is still developing and
because of that we tend to test boundaries. We look for ways to test what it is right and wrong
and what we can get away with. There is a clear boundary when it comes to homicide, taking
someone elses life is not a behavior we encourage as positive but there are other scenarios where
it is not as clear for someone younger. I remember in high school, senior year, I was going
through some tough times and I did not want to go to school. I had max the amount of unexcused
absences I could have. One day I wasnt feeling well and decided not to go to school. I knew I
needed a written note from a doctor in order to not fail every class I had worked on the whole
year. I did not have one so I decided that I would take an old excuse and change the date, not the
greatest idea. I went to school the next day and handed my note in. I was amazed with myself
because I thought I had gotten away with that. During my second class my principal called me to
his office; I wondered what he wanted because I thought I had done nothing that required his
attention. When I entered his office I saw the letter on his desk and immediately started making
excuses. He said this is not a debate, you failed all you classes, go to your next class. On my
way out I saw my classmate from chemistry class, the same class mate who once told me that
lying wasnt worth it when I asked why he told the chemistry teacher that we had broken the test
tubes from an experiment, he told the principal he wasnt feeling well and he needed an excused
absence in order to not fail his classes, the principal replied sure I will give you one but make
sure you come to class for the rest of the year. I was amazed and ashamed at the same time. I had

tested a boundary and failed miserably. From that day I learn that admitting your mistakes and
telling the truth were worth it no matter the situation you found yourself in. My principal did not
fail me; he gave me a second chance. I was never absent again and finish my school year with
good grades. It was like he knew I would learn my lesson but I only learned because of what I
saw on my way out. That situation could have gone different and maybe I would not be where I
am today. The reason for that story is that I would not do that today but I did when I was
younger. I learned from that experience and that is why crime and age have a relationship. We as
human beings grow in body, mind and spirit. When we grow and are able to evaluate right and
wrong better we tend to commit less crime.
The variation of crime rate trends over time can be explained by the changes in proportion of the
population between 15 and 24 years old. Steffensmeier & harrer as cited in (Steffensmeier &
Ulmer, 2014). There is likelihood that you will commit crime in the ages between 15 and 24
years of age. You are able to know right from wrong at early age but your body doesnt have the
capacity to act upon that at this age. Steinberg, 2007 found the following: psycho-social
capacities that improve decision making and reduce decision makingsuch as impulse control,
emotion regulation, delay of gratification and resistance to peer influencecontinue to mature
well into adulthood (pg. 57). We can have the idea of what is right and wrong at age 15 but in
order to better control our emotions and avoid influence from our peers we need to mature into
adulthood. This means that I knew faking that doctors note was wrong but because of my lack
of experience I made a poor decision. I let my emotions control my behavior and did not allow
myself to make a decision based on what I knew was right. Age is not the only reason for crime
variation in age differences. The general idea is that crime decreased as population age but for
crimes that do not decrease with age there are other explanations. Cultural and historical periods

where youth have more access to criminal activities, youth who do not have the same chance to
integrate into society and types of crime where illegitimate opportunities increase instead of
decreasing (Steffensmeier & Ulmer, 2014).
Routine activities theory explains how crime happens because essential controls are absent.
Offenders will find attractive targets to commit their crimes. There is another aspect that has to
be absent, the guardian. A guardian can be any person which presence will deter the offender
from committing the crime. We commonly think of police officers and security personnel as
guardians but it can be any person whose presence stops the crime from taking place. In my city
the highest crime is theft according to city-data.com. There were 618 thefts in 2013 compared to
794 in 2012. This is important to note because it means crime is lower than the previous year.
One of the aspects of routine activities is either present or absent and crime is not taking place as
much as the previous year. This crime is highly publicized because it is the most common crime
taking place in the city. Police presence is one of them especially in poor lighted places around
the city. People are also being educated in ways to prevent being a suitable target for crime.
There are adds in the local T.V channel that explain how to avoid being victims of certain crimes
that are easily preventable by certain behaviors like walking in groups instead of alone
especially late at night.
Crime is greater in youth because of the lack of control in the human body at early age. The
relationship between crime and age is that the older we get we tend to age out of crime. There are
other reasons why people commit crime in late ages and it depends on social situations. Routine
activities theory explains that in order for crime to happen there has to be a suitable target,
motivated offender and lack of capable guardian. The reason theft happens often in my city
might be that there is not always a capable guardian present when the crimes happen.

Citation

Ulmer, J. T., & Steffensmeier, D. (n.d.). The nurture versus biosocial debate in
criminology: On the origins of criminal behavior and criminality (Vol. 23) (K. M.
Beaver, J. C. Barnes, & B. B. Boutwell, Eds.). SAGE.

Risk Taking in Adolescence: New Perspectives From Brain and Behavioral Science
Current Directions in Psychological Science April 2007 16: 55-59