Joseph Donnermeyer and Walter DeKeseredy: Rural Criminology

Abstract

In their book Rural Criminology, Joseph Donnermeyer and Walter DeKeseredy seek to fill a major gap in criminological research by devoting a plethora of empirical, theoretical and political attention to crimes, and societal reactions to them, in rural places. While this book is by no means the first to be published on the under examined topic of rural crime, it is among very few to be driven by critical criminological ways of knowing and understanding. Donnermeyer and DeKeseredy also draw on a much wider range of progressive empirical, theoretical, and political literature than the other rural criminology publications that deviate from mainstream or orthodox thinking. This is turn provides a much more comprehensive review of rural criminology than its predecessors and with it the ability to accelerate progress in this field, which up until now has been slow. In their own words Donnermeyer and DeKeseredy’s objective is ‘‘to show the utility of critical criminology for the study of rural crime, and how a critical approach can give scholarly consideration of rural crime a much greater significance, with many important implications that in turn can inform the general field of criminology and advance its theoretical development’’ (p. 2). The authors begin their book by challenging and exposing a number of commonly held assumptions about rural crime in chapter 1, Rural Crime: Myths and Realities. In doing so, Donnermeyer and DeKeseredy also go on to detail the many realities of rural crime. I am sure many readers will be surprised to hear that the rates of certain crimes, such as domestic and sexual violence, are much higher in some rural areas than they are in urban or suburban areas. In presenting this and other false dichotomies and common misconceptions, the authors highlight how little is known about rural crime and societal reactions to them within the broader criminological community, despite the plethora of criminological research available. They are also able to show how this lack of understanding has contributed to the perseverance of myths regarding rural crime and rural culture. Nevertheless, the authors highlight the strong role that critical criminology has played, and can continue