Criminal thinking has been long established as a very important predictor of criminal behaviour, however far less research effort has been undertaken to understand what variables can predict the emergence of criminal thinking. Considering the importance of criminal thinking, we feel it necessary to conduct a systematic review of the literature on criminal thinking in order to bring together what is currently known regarding the factors that relate to, and predict, habitual criminal thinking styles. This paper provides a brief overview of the state of the science on criminal thinking and indicates the need for future research in this context and the areas this future research should focus upon
