This essay will describe the theory of Anomie, where the theory originated from, its basic tenets. This essay will also explain how the theory of Anomie can be applied to criminal activity. The theory of Anomie was first created by French sociologist Emile Durkheim (1858-1917). Durkheim 's original insights have been said to anchor later sociological theories (Bradley, 2017, p.24). Durkheim believed that in modern societies, traditional norms became undermined without being replaced. This undermining created no clear guidelines to influence societal behaviour, and he referred to this as a state of Anomie. He developed this theory through his study of suicide (Giddens, 2009, p.941). Durkheim was interested in the way that societies function as a whole and how this contributed to the continued success of a society (Lausten, Larsen, Nielsen, Ravn and Sørenson, 2017 p. 36). Durkheim worked to record both moral and social requirements for societal consistency in modern and traditional societies in order to advance a theory about society as a combined reality. In his writings, Durkheim has highlighted individualisation and social differentiation as two value that has guided his papers and research. With the value of social differentiation in mind, Durkheim observed how the rapid social differentiation of a contemporary society quickly destabilised the society 's awareness as a whole (Lausten et al. 2017 pp. 37,41). This state of crisis leads to individualisation of extreme