Summary Of Roger Master's Theory Of Crime

Over the years, countless theories have been developed on what has lead to crime in the United States. Many sociologists and psychologists have found biological, biochemical, and psychology theories that have explained the actions of society. Many would argue that crime rates have significantly decreased over the last 50 years, and while that is true, crime rates in the United States were still at an all time high as compared to those in Western Europe (Nation Master, 2003). While theories continued to swirl through intellectual minds, one theory in particular developed over a few decades, and since has been a theory that offers much support and belief. This theory supported the idea that lead was to be the cause of a violent crime wave that …show more content…
The overall idea of this hypothesis was based upon the theory that certain environmental pollutants that kids were exposed to at early ages, caused severe damage to the development of their brains. These pollutants would cause learning disabilities, a build up of violent behaviors, and even the loss of control (Project Censored, 2010) While this theory was being further developed, many sociologists and scientists supported this idea. Articles and research was being developed and published began to open the floodgates and further explain what had caused the outburst of crime in humanity. In 1996, a scientist by the name Herbert Needleman conducted a study involving the correlation between poverty levels and the amount of lead that children were exposed to. The purpose of this experiment was to explain the aggression in young boys and their areas of violence that they can't seem to be controlled (Project Censored, 2010). According to the article Toxins and Environmental Pollution Contribute to Human Aggression in Society, "Needleman’s study found that boys with high amounts of lead in their bones had more reports of aggressive and delinquent behavior than boys with low levels, and that their behavior got worse over a period of time, regardless of social …show more content…
Why was this? Many think it was due to the increase of police throughout the year, many said it had to do with the prison systems being so full of criminals, and some even said it had to do with President Clinton's Acts that were brought in to protect people from violent crimes. But many scientists who fully believed that lead was the cause of many of these violent crimes to begin with, also believed that the ban of lead helped dent the crime rate. In 1978, paint containing more than .06% lead was banned for residential use in the United States by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Once again, data supported the neurotoxicity theory of violent crime