The hormone testosterone has been described as the master switch behind human criminality and deviancy. One can’t help but think of that hypothesis over and over upon examining this chart (h/t Thug Report).
One out of every 102 adults was incarcerated as of mid-2006. The extremes are 1 in 9 black men 20-34 as the most criminal, and 1 in 11,111 white women 55+ as the least criminal.
Curiously, the statistically most dangerous age range for white men is 30-34. This might present a flaw in the master switch theory, because we’re told that the works start declining in men once they pass 30 (don’t remind me). Either white men peak at a little later age than others, or there’s another explanation — while a white man in that age range is a little past peak, it’s not as if he’s falling down a steep cliff. His testosterone level still is rather high, just not as high as it was for him in his previous decade.
Perhaps it is the case that white men in the 30-34 range are at a sweet spot in life between testosterone and experience, such that, relative to white men of other age ranges, he is young and aggressive enough to do criminal things, but old and experienced enough to plan things and control his passions for the greater cause of whatever scam he has dreamed up.
I know that the military’s elite troops are overwhelmingly white men in that age range, because that sweet spot makes an ideal member of the special forces. He is virile enough to take care of business, but not so virile, and experienced enough, to know when it’s not proper to ride to the Alamo. Similarly, in track and field, men who compete in the Olympic decathlon tend to be around 30, for much the same reason — strong and athletic enough to do well in the ten events, but experienced enough to know how to stagger one’s effort in each of the events to garner enough points for a high combined score.
Therefore, that which makes that white man of 30-34 in ideal Green Beret or decathloner might well make him (relative to white men of other ages) a dangerous criminal prospect.
