Crime and policing in rural and small-town America: an overview of the issues

A close examination of an overlooked subject! American culture is viewed by many to be a homogenous urban culture. It is often assumed that rural crime is rare or nonexistent-that when it does occur, it is only a "small" version of the urban crime problem. The authors' findings directly challenge this assumption. Rural crime and rural justice are not simply scaled?down versions of urban crime and justice but rather take place in a context that colors the process by which crime arises and by which justice is carried out. This volume, which resulted from a study undertaken with support from the National Institute of Justice, examines what is known about crime and policing in rural areas and small towns, and how rural crime and justice are shaped by the environment. The authors gathered and synthesized information from a variety of sources including existing published literature, interviews with rural justice officials, focus groups, and a survey of rural and small-town police regarding their concerns to derive a meaningful comparison between rural and urban crime and policing.