Kreseda Smith

The Intersection of Rural Criminology and Food Security: The Impact of Organised Criminal Groups in the Rural Space

Abstract: Organised Criminal Groups (OCGs) are increasingly impacting on the life of those living and working in rural areas. Farming feeds the population, but the escalating victimisation of farmers globally at the hands of OCGs is leading to impacts across a range of Sustainable Development Goals having a significant effect on farmers and the wider population.

Organised criminals are targeting critical physical equipment such as tractors, tools, and other machinery. However, as criminal entrepreneurs they are identifying business opportunities including the counterfeiting of agrochemicals, disruption of food chain security, and the provision of forced labour for agricultural work.

Dr. Kreseda Smith researches agricultural crime, farmer mental health, behavioural science, and modern slavery/human trafficking within agriculture and the agri-food chain, supervising PhDs in modern slavery/farmer decision-making. Recent publications include the psychological impact of agricultural crime, and how agricultural crime compares to other recognised farmer stressors. She co-Chairs the Rural Criminology Working Group for the European Society of Criminology, is an ISSRC Executive member, a Research Associate of the Centre for Rural Criminology at University of New England, a member of the Midlands Anti-slavery Research Collaboration, Lecturer in Land and Information Skills, and Senior Researcher in Harper Adams University’s Rural Resilience Research Group (3RG).

E-mail: kresedasmith@harper-adams.ac.uk