Locating rural crime: The role of theory

Throughout most of the 20th century, criminologists displayed a limited interest in rural crime. This situation has changed, however, sparked by recent publications from rural criminology scholars in several countries (Dingwall & Moody, 1999; Donnermeyer, Jobes, & Barclay, 2006; Hogg & Carrington, 2006; Weisheit, Falcone & Wells, 2005). Accompanying this growing interest is consideration of the relative advantages of adopting various criminological theories to the study of rural crime. Not surprisingly, the most popular theoretical frameworks are place-based theories, and for two reasons. First, almost any consideration of what "rural" means must account for its geographic dimensions (Hobbs, 1994b). Secondly, rural criminologists frequently seek to highlight and contrast the unique features of rural crime from its expression in the urban milieu (Weisheit Donnermeyer, 2000). In this chapter, we locate the study of rural crime within the theoretical strands of place-based theories, consider other criminological theories and their possible application to the rural context, and discuss methodological issues associated with defining rural crime. We conclude with a "final note" about the function of theory for the advance of rural crime research in Australia.