The Dark Side of Gemeinschaft: Criminality within Rural Communities

Without Place, Is It Real?

“…Victims were reluctant to 'dob in' their neighbor because of the difficulties it would cause the victim when living in a small, tight-knit community where everyone, quite literally, knows everyone else. Local police officers sometimes judged the significance of a crime reported by victims based on their relative marginality within the class structure of the local community (Barclay, Donnermeyer and Jobes 2004). There is nothing really new in these findings, except for the contrast in the way that the supposed gemeinschaft quality (Tönnies 1955) of these smaller places revealed a reality that was contrary to well-established stereotypes about the rural context.…”

Measuring violent victimization: Rural, suburban, and urban police notification and emergency room treatment

“…For example, Weisheit et al (2006) argue violent crimes are reported to police at lower rates in rural relative to non-rural areas because (1) there is greater distrust of government in these areas and (2) rural violence more typically occurs between acquaintances (who are less likely to report to the police). Others argue that rural victims are less likely to report to the police and/or rural police are less likely to record crimes or make arrests for fear of upsetting social cohesion in a small community where most people know each other (Barclay et al, 2004;Donnermeyer and Barclay, 2005). This theoretical and empirical literature provides us with a substantive hypothesis to test: The rate of police notification of serious violent victimizations in rural areas will be lower than in non-rural areas.…”

“…It may also be that location type, or rural residence specifically, influences police notification. In fact, several scholars suggest e for reasons such as a greater distrust of government, closer average victimoffender relationship, and fear of disrupting social cohesion in closely knit communities e that relative to non-rural residents rural residents are less likely to report their victimization to the police (Barclay et al, 2004;Donnermeyer and Barclay, 2005;Hart and Rennison, 2003;Weisheit et al, 2006). Our analyses allowed us to test this substantive hypothesis, and we found no support for it.…”

Systematically Addressing Inconsistencies in the Rural Social Disorganization and Crime Literature

“…That is, some types of crime may be facilitated by community organization in rural areas. Instances of this phenomenon in rural areas include livestock theft (Barclay et al 2004;Donnermeyer & Barclay 2005), violence against women (DeKeseredy & Schwartz 2009;DeKeseredy et al 2006), and methamphetamine use (Roussell et al 2009). …”

“…The nature of social relations may also be different in rural relative to urban communities. For example, Donnermeyer (2006) notes that some forms of rural community organization may actually facilitate crime, providing evidence that some types of rural crime may not be reported by victims or police may not follow up complaints due to fear of disrupting community cohesion (Barclay, Donnermeyer, & Jobes 2004;Donnermeyer & Barclay 2005). Further, Donnermeyer (2006) and DeKeseredy, Schwartz, Fagin, and Hall (2006) suggest that community organization in rural areas can actually support violence against women, as men in these communities share stories and techniques of violence so that it becomes part of the mainstream culture in these areas.…”