Crime, Offenders, and Victims

Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss examples of crime trends in areas on rural-urban continuum in several countries, illustrating the difficulties and possible dangers of comparing between types of statistics and across countries. The types of offenders found in rural areas as well as the types of victimization that most affect those living in these areas are also discussed in this chapter, based on examples from the international literature. Victimization in rural areas includes a wide array of offenses from farm crime and environmental and wildlife offenses, to violence against women, harassment, and discrimination against minority groups, to drug and organized crime, just to name a few.