Institutional Anomie Theory Of Crime Essay

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A recent article by The Crime Report, Why Solving Old Murders Can Help Prevent New Ones, discusses how the number of cold case homicides have been increasing. This fact can be linked to budgetary problems that police departments face, allowing for an analysis using institutional anomie theory.
Institutional anomie theory was proposed by Messner and Rosenfield in 1994. It drew inspiration from Durkheim and Merton’s previous works. Its focus is on how institutions in our society can impact crime. Specifically, it views the economic impacts of our institutions on crime. The idea of the “American Dream” plays the most significant role, as some people may or may not be capable of fulfilling it through socially acceptable means. The stronger an emphasis on the economy, the more likely a society is to have higher crime rates as the non-economic institutions become disrupted (Bjerregaard, 1970). In the case being discussed, the institution being disrupted by economic strain is the criminal justice …show more content…
The perpetrators of these crimes may still have the capacity to harm more individuals. A dedicated cold case unit in departments can reduce public dangers, however such units raise budgetary concerns. Institutional anomie theory aids in the discussion of economic impacts on crime. In this case, the economic concerns are disrupting the criminal justice institution through police departments. As a result of this disruption, public safety becomes compromised as some perpetrators may be allowed to continue without facing scrutiny. Without the economic strain, cold cases would be more likely to be resolved, and public safety would be increased.
Institutional anomie theory can be expanded to consider the impacts on the institutions in question alongside the impacts on the people, as the theory does already recognize the influence an institution has on the behaviors of
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