Victimisation, safety and policing in rural areas: Evidence from the literature

This chapter provides a brief analysis of existing rural criminological literature, intertwining various research threads to reveal the nuanced dynamics shaping the rural experience in terms of victimisation, perceived safety and policing. The perception of low crime rates in rural areas often leads to the assumption that rural crime and safety issues are inconsequential, neglecting the actual impact of crime on people, at least on those who are victimised or feel unsafe. Advancing our understanding of this subject is not only vital for criminology's future but also an essential step towards building a truly sustainable society, so it is hoped that this chapter will be helpful by offering a research summary aligned to policy and the UN 2030 Sustainability Agenda. In this quest for knowledge, questions that resonate beyond farms and remote areas are confronted, discussing safety problems that occur across areas of the rural-urban continuum.