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Evolutionary Theory and Crime
Racquel Walsh
Master of Social Work Walden University
SOCW 6135: Criminal Behavior
Dr. Monica Levine-Sauberman
December 26, 2021
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Having an understanding of what the evolutionary theory is as well as how it is
associated with the behaviors of criminals can give insight into an individual’s genealogy.
Studying the behavior(s) of criminals is very vital. The study of criminal behavior has become
very important in regards to the increase in violence such as increased murder rates, community
shootings, and school shootings. Being able to have an understanding as to why these events are
happening is very important, especially in regards to preventing these crimes from happening in
the future.
The crimes selected to relate to the evolutionary theory are rape and murder. Bureau of
Justice Statistics defines rape as “forced sexual intercourse including both psychological
coercion as well as physical force”. Murder can be considered as be a very violent crime that
included the taking of the life of an individual. The Bureau of Justice Statistic defines murder as
