Main Theme
Studies show populations of urban and rural communities differ in
interpersonal relations (frequency and trust), common interests, feelings
of belonging, and in knowing other inhabitants in the community (informal
control). Moreover, unemployment, housing problems, crime, and cultural
conflicts are more pronounced in urban areas.
The modern rural-urban dichotomy is undoubtedly raising questions about
cyberspace challenges and threats; the spectrum of ecological crime
issues; food production and farming; access to public health services;
cost of living; cross-border crime problems focusing on migrations, etc.
Although official data suggest a higher level of crime in urban
environments, this does not reflect a realistic picture of the actual
situation and needs of the rural environment. Studies show that in rural
settings the fear of crime is increasing and specific forms of criminality
are more frequent (e.g., drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence).
Moreover, cities have experienced a decline in violent crime in past
decades, while this does not apply to rural environments, where, for
example, the number of serious violent crimes is stable and does not show
a similar decline.
Many security challenges in both rural and urban environments are of a
social nature, as they are generated by unemployment, poverty, lack of
prospects, social exclusion and similar problems. Among the most common
forms of crime in rural environments are interpersonal conflicts, drug and
alcohol abuse, and domestic violence, but the main problem is that some
rural communities are more tolerant of these problems and not even taking
some forms of crime seriously.
Organizers will appreciate it if the authors could relate their papers to
the leading theme - rural safety and security – and rural criminology
Possible topics
- Rural crime and disorder
- Perception of crime and disorder
- Green criminology perspectives
- Rural policing, rural community policing, rural border control
- Perception of police and policing in rural environments
- Crime prevention and safety partnerships in rural settings
- Social cohesion and safety
- Plural policing in rural settings
- Specific communities and cultures in rural settings, etc.
