NCJ Number
194659
Date Published
March 2002
Length
38 pages
Annotation
This report reviews key government statistics to look at the levels of crime and people’s fear of crime in rural areas in both England and Wales. The report offers an explanation as to why crime may have become more pronounced in the agenda of rural concerns in recent years.
Abstract
In utilizing two sources of national crime data, the police recorded crime data and British Crime Survey (BCS), this report analyzed the levels of crime in the rural areas of England and Wales, as well as the fear of crime. The report examined the extent of crime, the trends in crime, the concern about crime, neighborhood disorder, and police response in rural areas. Prior studies suggest that these rural areas continue to experience lower levels of crime and people living in rural areas were victimized less frequently than those in urban areas. This report confirmed these previous findings. Findings indicated that rural areas did not experience a sharper rise in crime than seen elsewhere in the late 1980's through the mid-1990's. Key report findings included: (1) less than 3 percent of those living in rural areas became victims of burglary with a similar proportion being victims of violent crime in 1999; (2) the levels of burglary, vehicle-related thefts, and violence in rural areas had been consistently lower than in non-rural areas over the past 2 decades; (3) the number of burglaries rose more in rural areas over the past 2 decades compared to suburban and urban areas; (4) burglary rates in rural areas were now around three times the rate recorded in 1983 and other area burglary rates had receded to the level of the mid-1980's; and (5) however, people living in rural areas remained more positive about crime levels, their own risks of victimization, and the abilities of their local police than their non-rural counterparts. Appendices, tables and figures, and references