Anomie Theory Of Crime Essay

In criminology, examining why people commit crime is very important in the ongoing debate of how crime should be handled and prevented. Many theories have emerged over the years studying the causes of delinquency and crime has been historically guided by theory. A good theory is said to provide a foundational lens through which to interpret and understand the manifestation of a behavior. Particularly, the study of criminology targets why an individual commits crime and why they behave in certain situations. By understanding why a person commits a crime, one can develop ways to control crime or rehabilitate the criminal.
The term anomie has been used to describe societal conditions. Although it has been defined and applied in different ways, it has been prominent in the consequences of rapid social change and the intersection of culture and social structure. In the simplest terms, anomie is a lack of social or ethical norms in an individual or group.
The anomie theory, popularized by Émile Durkheim and Robert Merton identifies the social and cultural conditions that are most conducive to produce high or low levels of crime. This theory was developed to explain the substantial variation in rates of crime across nations, and try to find a logic explanation for why America exhibits one of the highest rates of serious crime. In contrast to …show more content…
Every individual socializes and the social factor should be given the proper attention it deserves. The best theory or approach towards the possible explanation of the causes of crime and the personality of the criminals lies in the union of the most well grounded parts of each of the theories. t cannot under any condition be said that one or another theory is more or less important because they have been developed separately all the time; and this was the major problem of