Tiemeyer 1

Alec M. Tiemeyer
Professor Phillips
Criminal Justice 1010
17 November, 2014
The Correlation Between Age and Criminal Activity
There are many different factors that can determine how likely an individual is to
commit a crime such as gender, ethnicity, geographical location and many others; the question
is whether or not a persons age is a relevant factor in determining how likely it is that someone
will commit a crime. Is there an age of criminal and deviant activity? Knowing whether or not
age influences crime is a factor that, true or not, can assist law enforcers in punishing and
preventing crime.
The peak years of criminal activity in a persons life, according to Garner Clancy in his
article The Relationship between Age and Crime, are between the ages of fifteen and
nineteen. Clancy goes on to explain how the level of crime begins to decrease once individuals
reach their mid-twenties. Data shows that between the ages of twelve and fifteen the
likelihood of an individual committing a crime steadily begins to rise until it is increased over
ten times in between the ages of sixteen and nineteen. The statistic once again triples in
between the ages of twenty and twenty four then finally begins to fall at the ages of twenty five
through twenty nine. After the first drop in criminal activity the rate continues to drop more
and more with every four years of age until, at eight five years and older, the rate of crime is
practically nonexistent. These statistics clearly show that in fact there is a correlation between a
persons age and their likelihood of committing a crime, but why is this so? What factors

Tiemeyer 2

contribute to a young persons criminal tendencies and behavior? Testosterone and hormones
are two highly contributable factors that may explain the high level of youths that commit
crimes. In a males life puberty generally begins to take affect between the ages of fourteen and
fifteen and lasts roughly until the age of twenty four. During puberty, hormones increase the
production of testosterone which causes for increased levels of aggression which may very well
be a factor in the criminal activity of young people. Looking again at the figures we can see that
the amount of criminal activity drastically decreases once individuals reach the age of twenty
five which as we know is the general age when puberty ends and testosterone production in
the body begins to decrease. This information allows us to believe that a persons age, due to
hormones, is a critical factor in determining who is most likely to commit crime.
Though we can clearly see that internal forces such as hormones affect the way youths
behave one must ask, what exterior forces affect the behavior of youths? External forces
accompanied by internal, biological forces or not can influence how youths grow, learn and act
and cause them to be either high functioning members of society or criminal burdens to it.
Social disorganization theory is defined as The theory that deviant behavior is more likely in
communities where social institutions such as the family, schools, and the criminal justice
system fail to exert control over the population (Gains, Miler 43). We can see this theory to be
very relevant by observing the difference in criminal activity in large urban areas such as
Chicago and Los Angeles compared to smaller suburban areas. Urban areas are prone to
poverty which forces people with children to work and leave their children on their own for
much of their time. This lack of parental presence in the lives of many urban youths is a factor
that pushes youths toward crime as they try to fend for themselves and find their way in life.

Tiemeyer 3

The school systems in these urban areas are no help in deterring youths from crime either.
Schools in urban areas have a high concentration of students and a small amount of money to
operate; this issue forces schools to cut extra circular activities such as music, art and sports
which give youths in those areas even more unoccupied time to spend fending for themselves.
This free time increases the chance of these youths being influenced by their peers and those
older than them who have taken to lives of criminality and deviance drastically increasing the
chances of them turning to crime as well. By not providing youthsespecially urban youths
with strong social institutions they are very likely to turn to crime and deviant behavior which is
a serious issue in the criminal justice world.
Crime is something that people of all ages turn to for many different reasons but those
in the age bracket of fifteen and twenty four are far more likely to commit crime. While many
internal elements affect why youths engage in criminal behavior there are also many exterior
factors that can affect it even more so. This information allows those who enforce the law to
better know who is most likely to commit crime and where crime will take place and prevent
them from committing said crime before it happens.

Tiemeyer 4

Works Cited

Clancy, Garner. The Relationship between Age and Crime. Garnerclancy.com.

November 2, 2014. 2010.

Gains, Larry. Miller, Roger. CJ 1010 Criminal Justice. Published in USA: Cengage
Learning, 2013. Text book.

Wortly, Scot. A Province at the Crossroads. Children.gov. November 2, 2014. April 27, 2010.