16 theories for why crime plummeted in the US

[applegrove]

16 theories for why crime plummeted in the US

by Dara Lind and German Lopez at Vox

http://www.vox.com/2015/2/13/8032231/crime-drop

"SNIP.................



16) Lead in gasoline caused criminality, and now it's been reduced


The case for: This is another newly popular theory, thanks in part to coverage from Kevin Drum at Mother Jones and others. Just like the timing of Roe v. Wade, the timing of the removal of leaded gasoline from America's filling stations, which decreased lead exposure among children born around and after 1975, correlates strongly to the cohort of children who hit peak criminal age around the mid-1990s. There's also a body of psychological research tying lead exposure to more aggressive behavior.

The case against: The lead theory has the same problem as the abortion theory: in the 1990s, even people who had been exposed to lead as children started committing fewer crimes. That indicates that while lead exposure may well have been a factor, it isn't the "real answer" that it's often characterized as.

The bottom line: Probably some effect in the 1990s. Again, the Brennan Center didn't have enough data to quantify lead's impact, but past research makes a good case that it had some effect. It just probably doesn't explain the majority of the crime decline in the 1990s. And in the 2000s, when everyone under 30 had grown up exposed to less lead, the lead theory helps even less.



.................SNIP"

[Skittles]

1. gun humpers can go straight to #5

your theory of more guns = less crime is absolute fucking crap

[DiverDave]

2. Roe v Wade is the reason

Unwanted children that have no love, a parent that is single and too young to be able to
have the time ( universal pre school, and child care assistance would help immensely)
Those guys that did a show and book called freakanomics laid it out pretty
convincingly.

They pointed out that the crime rate went down as a result of legal abortions.

Makes all kinds of sense to me.

On edit: I should read article first, dang. Number 15...

[Exilednight]

3. Number 7 makes the most sense to me. I haven't carried more than $20 in the last 5 years or

so. I could see how this would have a huge impact on violent crime as street muggers moves to sitting behind computers buying or hacking credit card numbers.

[applegrove]

4. Criminals addicted to video games makes more sense to me. Jail must seem all the worse when

Last edited Wed May 20, 2015, 08:08 PM - Edit history (1)

you are addicted to your cell phone, the internet or games and getting caught will take that all away from the young adult.