Why Crime? summarizes the latest empirical evidence with regard to the risk factors that produce antisocial and criminal behavior. The author then meaningfully integrates risk factors identified by more than a dozen academic disciplines that increase the odds of antisocial behavior and criminality. The result is a new interdisciplinary theory that helps break down traditional barriers and overcomes the "disciplinary myopia" that plagues criminological theory. That is, this theory allows us to see beyond the discipline of Criminology. Unlike the typical criminological theory text, Why Crime? actually advances the state of criminological theory as well as the field of criminology.

The fourth edition includes summaries of scores of the latest studies on crime from numerous academic disciplines.