Crossroads Of Rural Crime

Using the notion of ‘crossroads’ to provide a unique lens through which to examine the realities of rural crime, Crossroads of Rural Crime provides an understanding of the nature of rural life and ways in which transgression manifests itself in the context of a presumed rural-urban divide.

The key reference guide to rural crime and rural justice, this encyclopedia gives 70 concise and informative synopses of the key issues in rural crime, criminology, offending and victimisation, and both institutional and informal responses to rural crime.

In this first book in the Research in Rural Crime series, experts in rural criminology draw from theories of modernity, feminism, climate change, left realism and globalisation in a thought-provoking collection of essays.

Rural Victims of Crime offers a pioneering sustained assessment of ‘the rural victim’. It does so by examining and analysing the conceptual constructs of a victim and challenging the urban bias of victimisation and victimology in criminological study. Indeed, far too much criminological scholarship is based on the false assumption that rural areas are relatively crime free – and thus free, too, of victims. Providing international perspectives, chapters in this edited collection focus centrally on notions of place and space, and constructions of rural victims in a variety of contexts, exploring the impact that geographic location has on the type and prevalence of victimisation. The concept of victimisation is often considered in terms of interpersonal relationships between humans, neglecting the potent impact of victimisation of non-humans and the natural and built environment. Rural Victims of Crime discusses existing notions of victimology in relation to non-human subjects, broadening conceptualisations of the victim and associated impacts resulting from victimisation. Structured in three parts, Rural Victims of Crime conceptualises the rural victim, enhances understanding of the realities of rural victimisation and considers both formal and informal responses to rural victimisation. Chapters are accompanied by practical, contemporary case studies to connect theory with praxis. This book is an essential and valuable resource for academics, students and practitioners alike in the fields of criminology, criminal justice, rural studies, victimology, geography, sociology and spatiality.

Conducting rural criminological research exposes researchers to concerns such as absence or inadequate official data about crime and superficial rural-urban comparisons, rural isolation and distance from the researchers’ office to the study site, and lack of services or access to justice. This distinct cultural context means that studying rural crime requires creatively adapting existing research methods. Conducting research about or in rural settings requires unique researcher preparation, as everything from defining the space at the conception of a project to collecting and analyzing data differs from urban research. This book explores the various issues, challenges, and solutions for rural researchers in criminology. Integrating state of the art methodological approaches with practical illustrations, this book serves as an internationally comprehensive compendium of methods for students, scholars, and practitioners. While contributing to the growing field of rural criminology, it will also be of interest to those engaged with the related areas of rural health care, rural social work, and rural poverty.

Written by two of the leading experts in the field, Rural Criminology puts the study of rural crime and social control on the map. For the first time, this book brings together contemporary research and conceptual considerations to synthesize rural crime studies from a critical perspective.