Abstract
Multiple scientific disciplines have weighed in with different viewpoints regarding the origins of criminal behavior among human beings. What is lacking, however, is a framework capable of uniting the theoretical viewpoints into a single overarching perspective. The current article offers such a framework. Drawing on a variety of influences, we argue that many types of crime can be understood in the evolutionary context of human life history. Along these lines, we present a framework capable of explaining different patterns of criminal offending both at the individual level as well as the macro-level. Although the current article offers only a starting point, the way forward in the study of crime should involve a multi-disciplinary, multilevel explanatory framework. The evolutionary taxonomy we propose represents a step in that direction.
•The current article presents a unified crime theory.•Our theory unites Rushton's application of life history theory & Moffitt's taxonomy.•Our theory provides insight into the evolution of modern criminal behavior.•We address both individual- and macro-level crime.