Routine activities theory proposes that young unmarried males are at highest risk of victimization due to their nightly activities away from home. These activities expose them to offenders, risky behaviors like drug and alcohol use, and delinquent situations. Their lifestyles and routines therefore substantially increase their risk of victimization. Exposure to environmental contaminants like lead, mercury, and food dyes has also been linked to aggressive and antisocial behavior in studies. Living in neighborhoods with high poverty, crime, and pollution increases the likelihood that youth will engage in criminal acts.

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5. 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

6. 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

7. ENVIROMENTAL RISK FACTORS
o LEAD POISIONING
o COPPER
o MERCURY
o CHLORINE
o ARTIFICIAL COLORING
o FOOD DYES
BY CHANTEL LIGGETT

8. 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).
BY CHANTEL LIGGETT

9. 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.

10. Lilly, J. R., Cullen, F. T. & Ball, R. A.
(2011). Criminological Theory:
Context and consequences (5th Ed.).
Washington D.C: Sage
Cohen, L. E., and M. Felson. 1979.
Social change and crime rate trends:
A routine activity approach.
American Sociological Review
44:588–608
Felson, Marcus. 2002. Crime and
everyday life, 3d ed. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage
Wortley, Richard, and Lorraine
Mazzerole, eds. 2008. Environmental
criminology and crime analysis.
Cullompton, UK: Willan
Environmental Crime and Justice.
Michael J. Lynch, Paul B. Stretesky
Risk Factors for Delinquency: An
Overview Michael Shader
Drugabuse.gov
Chicago Sun times
References:
BY CHANTEL LIGGETT