Evolutionary Perspectives on Crime Prevention

The Darwinian worldview, whereby organisms evolve by a process of natural and sexual selection, has come to permeate biological science, and to varying degrees the social sciences, with anthropology, psychology and economics the disciplines most influenced. Criminology has remained little touched by Darwinian thinking. This essay describes and refutes common criticisms of the application of evolutionary theory in the social sciences, and sets out some possible points of contact between evolutionary theory and crime prevention. The policy recommendations which may be tentatively made by drawing on the meagre volume of relevant research conducted to date are diverse and unlikely to offend liberal sensibilities.