Terrible Twenties

“Dangerous criminals dont turn violent. They just stay that way.” That’s the conclusion of Richard Tremblay of University College Dublin. Gangs of teens and twenties act like toddlers, only with stronger bodies and working weapons.

Normally toddler violence peaks at 24 months, but some were more violent during toddlerhood and peak much later: “As they moved into late adolescence and young adulthood, their aggression grew ever more dangerous, and it tailed off late. At age 17 they were four times as physically aggressive as the moderate group and committed 14 times as many criminal infractions. Its these chronically violent individuals, Dr. Tremblay says, who are responsible for most violent crime.”