One of the most interesting and perhaps most compelling arguments in the world of criminology today centers on the idea that people who perpetrate crimes can also be victims. Things are not always so black and white, and just because a person is accused of committing a crime does not necessarily mean that person cannot also be a victim in some ways. Some criminologists, for instance, have noted the impact of lead paint on delinquency (Boutwell et al., 2016). They note that lead paint has a tendency to cause developmental problems, and they have cited major trends suggesting that environmental injustice can cause individuals to commit more crime.
While some of the research has shown ties between lead poisoning and criminality, some questions these studies because there are causation problems implicit in the work (Muller et al., 2018). Lead poisoning can cause deviance because of the tendency to impact the developing brain, and it would behoove the criminal justice system to break its tendency of only viewing people as victims or criminals. In some cases, and in fact, in many cases, people are both offenders and victims in many ways, including when environmental injustice takes place.
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"Lead Poisoning and Criminality".
There are links between high levels of lead and disadvantaged communities. People in disadvantaged communities are much more likely to live in places where the paint on the walls has not been replaced in years. In many inner cities, people who are poor are living in residences where landlords have been derelict in replacing the lead-filled elements of the home. While people with money have the ability to seek out new options when they suspect that lead may be present, this is not the case for those without means. Often, if they are receiving assistance through the Section Eight program, they are limited only to a small number of options where their vouchers will be accepted. It is critical to understand that the lack of means leads to the lack of options, and when slum lords are not held to high standards, they can often end up failing to provide a safe living environment for their residents. This is why many poorer people end up in places where, because landlords do not want to spend the money to repaint the home, it has lead paint that has been there for many decades on end.
Interactionist victimologists would note that power is one of the major factors whenever one discusses a major trend like lead poisoning (Farrell, 2017). In this instance, they would ask what a person could do about the problem when it is presented to them. How does the lack of power of a disadvantaged group keep them from seeking remedies when these things exist? Beyond that, these thinkers may be able to ask how the structures in society empower the powerful to take advantage of those who are poor (Holsinger & Sexton, 2017). For instance, what options do poor people have when they are required to be dependent on housing assistance and have only a small number of options at their disposal.
In looking at how positivists would respond, one might view them through the lens of susceptibility. These thinkers often ask questions about what special characteristics make people more vulnerable to this kind of treatment. These thinkers might ask whether there is something particular to their status that makes it harder for them to seek out remedies. One of the things to know about this particular field of thinking has to do with the way people have generally viewed criminality in inner cities and elsewhere. There has long been a sense that criminals are bad, and that they should have to accept full blame for crimes without offering any mitigating evidence. This means that people have been susceptible to abuse because they are not even able to offer explanations for criminality without then being accused of trying to shift the blame off of themselves and their children. In essence, they have been painted as criminals, and this means that many people have refused to even listen to arguments that they have been treated unfairly.
Offenders can also be victims in many cases. There are examples from all over the criminal justice system where this is the case. People who have been subjected to abuse and violence as children often grow up to also be violent because they have seen this as the way to deal with their problems. On top of that, people who have been sexually abused often rape others in the future. The same is true when looking at big trends and overarching group dynamics. When people are subjected to environmental harm that is not fair, this can cause them to suffer from gaps in their cognitive development. They have not been given the opportunities that other people have been given, and in fact, they have been denied the basic elements needed to grow up to be lawful. This does not excuse their behavior, but it does help to explain it. Just because they may have gone on to commit a crime in the future does not mean that they were not previously victimized by a person or by a group that took advantage of their relative lack of power.
