Toward a Rural Critical Criminology

A review of the extant literature reveals a recent growth in critical criminological analyses of rural crime and societal reactions to it. Nevertheless, rural critical criminology is still in a state of infancy and requires much more development. Thus, heavily influenced by Taylor, Walton, and Young's (1973) path-breaking book 'The New Criminology' and by research on woman abuse in rural communities, the main objective of this article, then, is twofold: (1) to describe the key reasons for a more fully developed rural critical criminology and (2) to outline some of its key elements. Also included in this article is a brief history of rural criminology and a discussion of ways that a critical approach to the study of rural crime can be applied to both policy and practice.