NCJ Number
82382
Date Published
1981
Length
50 pages
Annotation
The extent, nature, and causes of rural crime are examined in reports from the Maryland Rural Crime Prevention Seminar (1981), and suggestions for police-citizen crime prevention efforts are offered.
Abstract
Data are presented to show the recent increase in rural crime and the significant proportion of rural crime not reported. Changing rural society which has seen the breakdown of the closeknit agrarian socioeconomic network is cited as a primary cause of increasing rural crime, coupled with the failure of rural residents unaccustomed to the threat of crime to take appropriate crime prevention measures. Proactive policing which seeks to involve rural citizens in crime prevention efforts is presented as the strategy most likely to be effective in dealing with rural crime, since reactive policing is made particularly difficult by the large geographic area to be covered. Seminar speakers describe Maryland crime prevention resources, the activities of the Maryland Crime Prevention Association, ongoing rural crime prevention activities in Maryland (Operation Identification and a county program), victimization prevention programs for the rural elderly, the National Citizens Crime Prevention Campaign, and farm security and identification. Rural vandalism prevention programs are also considered. Seminar workshop discussions are reviewed under the following topics: (1) working with law enforcement agencies in the development and implementation of rural crime prevention programs, (2) involving youth in rural crime prevention programs, (3) the role of nonfarm-related groups and individuals in rural crime prevention activities, and (4) the need for rural crime prevention legislation. A synopsis of responses from the seminar program evaluation form is provided.