ABSTRACT
The general pattern of crime rising to a peak and then falling is seen in different countries and cultures. Gottfredson and Hirshi showed that the age–crime curve in England and Wales was much the same in 1842–44, in 1903, and in 1965. Donald Winnicott saw a link between the antisocial tendency and deprivation. This was a long time ago, and it is interesting how his thoughts seem to have been very largely forgotten. No matter how preposterous Winnicott's idea seems to be, it does help to develop an idea about why the age–crime curve takes the shape that it does. It also gives a chance to think again about what happens with the arrival of puberty. Turning to the age–crime curve, have seen that its most universal quality is refraining from crime from the late teens and early twenties onward.
