The Future for Rural Criminology:

Harkness, Alistair; Bowden, Matt; Donnermeyer, Joseph F.

doi:10.2307/j.ctv2sjj0c4.16

Cited by 2 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…This knowledge and expertise are necessary not only for the purposes of prevention, responding to and clearing rural crime but also for public confidence. Successive farm crime surveys conducted in Australia have noted specifically that a primary reason farmers do not report crime is a perception that the police are unable to do anything about it, and this perception relates to an awareness among farmers of the reality of rural policing (e.g., response times; difficulty in gathering evidence) and concerns that the police lack the necessary cultural knowledge and practical expertise (see Barclay, 2015;Barclay 2016;Harkness, 2016;Mulrooney, 2021;Harkness, 2021).…”

Section: Enhancing Education and Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The NSW Farm Crime Survey indicated that nearly 70% of respondents were aware of the Rural Crime Prevention Team (Mulrooney, 2021). By contrast, the Victorian Farm Crime Survey (Harkness, 2021) found that 67% of Victorians indicated they were not aware of the Victorian Police equivalent of RCIs, Farm Crime Liaison Officers.…”

Section: Rcpt Belt Bucklementioning

confidence: 99%

“…While research has indicated that farmers feel strong personal responsibility for crime prevention there are several issues which may inhibit this in action. In addition to social and cultural characteristics (see Barclay et al, 2004), survey research has pointed out the challenges to farmers in adopting more crime-prevention measures, including the financial cost, difficulty of implementation and a lack of knowledge around what works (Mulrooney & Harkness, 2022a;Mulrooney, 2021;Harkness, 2021). These challenges often discourage them from undertaking crime prevention efforts, which may undermine their capacity to prevent crimes.…”

Section: Rcpt Belt Bucklementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, farmers indicate a strong reliance on informal social controls with many reporting and discussing crime with family, friends, neighbours, and co-workers (Mulrooney, 2021). Again, this selfreliance may relate to cultural considerations and social dynamics but also to negative historical experiences and a lack in confidence in both police capacity and court outcomes, as well as an acute awareness among farmers of the reality of rural policing (e.g., response times; difficult in gathering evidence) (see Barclay, 2015;Mulrooney, 2021;Harkness, 2021), which further accentuates the importance of public awareness and engagement in the rural crime space.…”

Section: Rcpt Belt Bucklementioning

confidence: 99%

“…As such, police must engage with farmers to build trust and provide support and encouragement to uptake crime prevention efforts which can often be applied with minimal cost and effort yet yield meaningful results. Importantly, farmers indicate that they desire the police to engage with them in person more often (Mulrooney, 2021;Harkness, 2021). To this end, in addition to attending rural-specific events such as agricultural shows, the RCPT -in conjunction with the NSW Farmers' Association -have conducted two 'Tackling Rural Crime' events.…”

Section: Rcpt Belt Bucklementioning

confidence: 99%

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Policing Rural Crime: The Case of the NSW Police Force Rural Crime Prevention Team

Whiteside¹,

Brennan²,

Mulrooney³

2023

IJRC

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The NSW Police Force Rural Crime Prevention Team (RCPT) was created to prevent, disrupt, and respond to crimes that impact specifically on the agricultural, pastoral and aquaculture industries. Since its inception in early 2018, the team has developed and delivered a number of novel and innovative policing initiatives which seek to make rural communities safer and increase their resilience. In this paper, we offer practical insights on a number of these developments. Specifically, we will examine innovations deployed in relation to rural policing across five key areas, including 1) investigating rural crime within New South Wales and identifying interstate links and trends; 2) identifying inhibitors within legislation and policy impacting the ability of Law Enforcement Agencies to prevent, disrupt and respond to rural crime; 3) enhancing the education and knowledge of Law Enforcement Officers regarding rural crime; 4) raising the public awareness of rural crime and increasing community engagement with relevant stakeholders within rural communities and industries; and, finally, 5) collaborating and engaging with academic research/higher education toward the shared goal of safe rural spaces. We conclude the paper by discussing these practical developments in the context of farm crime research and, more specifically, how these collective efforts may serve to address established limitations and gaps in the policing and prevention of crime in rural spaces.

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Section: Enhancing Education and Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Rcpt Belt Bucklementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Rcpt Belt Bucklementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Rcpt Belt Bucklementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Rcpt Belt Bucklementioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Policing Rural Crime: The Case of the NSW Police Force Rural Crime Prevention Team

Whiteside¹,

Brennan²,

Mulrooney³

2023

IJRC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Farm Crime and Security: Evaluating Smart Tag Technology for Preventing, Tracking and Recovering Stolen Livestock

Mulrooney,

Harkness

2023

IJRC

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This research study evaluates the efficacy of Ceres Tag, a livestock information platform that utilises a unique smart tag, in improving farm security by preventing, interrupting, and reducing livestock theft – a prevalent issue among farmers and landholders in countries like Australia. The Ceres Tag is equipped with an accelerometer and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technology to collect data on animal health, welfare, movement, and traceability. It was hypothesised that the Ceres Tag could combat livestock theft by enabling interventions at three key stages: rapid prevention, tracking of stolen livestock, and recovery of stolen livestock. To assess this, a mock theft of livestock was staged, accompanied by a coordinated law enforcement response. Key findings include: (1) the Ceres Tag issued a ‘high activity alert’ to farmers, indicating significant livestock agitation, within 12 minutes of the mock theft initiation; (2) utilising the data, the New South Wales (NSW) Police were able to track and interrupt the livestock theft within 25 minutes; (3) the data enabled the NSW Police to repeatedly track and interrupt the theft on three separate occasions over a 110 kilometre distance and 90-minute period; and (4) following the thieves' arrival at their destination, the NSW Police, aided by the data, recovered the stolen livestock within 20 minutes. The Ceres Tag system increases the risk of criminal behaviour in often riskless rural settings, effectively ‘hardening’ livestock as targets through technological innovation. Furthermore, the platform provides farmers with tangible evidence of a crime, substantially expediting the crime reporting process. This timely reporting, coupled with the data provided by Ceres Tag, positions police for rapid and effective intervention, thereby enhancing their capacity to investigate and resolve incidents of livestock theft. Overall, the results suggest that the Ceres Tag offers a promising technological tool for farmers and law enforcement officers alike, aimed at fortifying farm security and minimizing livestock theft.

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The Future for Rural Criminology:

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Policing Rural Crime: The Case of the NSW Police Force Rural Crime Prevention Team

Policing Rural Crime: The Case of the NSW Police Force Rural Crime Prevention Team

Farm Crime and Security: Evaluating Smart Tag Technology for Preventing, Tracking and Recovering Stolen Livestock

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