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Full text of "RURAL CRIME COMMUNITY SAFETY 2015
"
See other formats
ROUTLEDGE STUDIES IN CRIME AND SOCIETY
Rural Crime and
Community Safety
Vania Ceccato
49G31LNOY
This book is a vital part of an ever-growing movement in criminology to bring a
scholarly and multidisciplinary focus to crime in a rural context. Dr. Ceccato’s
book adds a significant new chapter to the rural literature because it explores
crime in a region of the world where rural crime scholarship has never gone
before — Sweden. Yet, the book is international in its reach because she brings to
her analysis her own background, having grown up in rural Brazil, and a com-
parative perspective based on her own extensive knowledge of the rural crime
literature from around the world.
Joseph F. Donnermeyer, Professor Emeritus, School of Environment and Natural
Resources, Ohio State University, USA
What a book! This is one of the most comprehensive texts on the topic of crime
in rural areas that has ever been written. An amazing and important book about a
neglected topic. With impressive engagement and skill, Vania Ceccato challenges
a number of stereotypes and prejudices about crime and security in rural areas.
With the use of a huge data set, the author presents us with a rich amount of evid-
ence for a more qualified understanding of crime in rural areas.
Gunnel Forsberg, Professor in Human Geography,
Stockholm University, Sweden
Rural crime and safety is an under-researched area and Vania Ceccato’s book is a
welcome addition to the emerging literature in the field. Its detailed case studies from
Sweden provide a strong empirical foundation, whilst its analysis and arguments will
be of interest to criminologists, geographers, and sociologists everywhere.
Michael Woods, Professor of Human Geography, Aberystwyth University, UK
Rural Crime and Community Safety is an important and timely addition to the
growing literature on rural criminology. This thorough examination of con-
temporary issues in farm crime, environmental and wildlife crime, gendered viol-
ence, youth problems, and crime prevention in rural Sweden is compared and
contrasted with research from other countries. The book provides further evidence
that rural communities are not always the safe, crime-free places they are often per-
ceived to be and that rural criminology is a vitally important area for enquiry for
students, researchers, policy makers, police, and other criminal justice practitioners.
Elaine Barclay, Associate Professor, School of Behavioural,
Cognitive and Social Sciences, University of New England, Australia
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
http://taylorandfrancis.com
Rural Crime and Community Safety
Crime is often perceived as an urban issue rather than a problem that occurs in
rural areas, but how far is this view tenable? This book explores the relationship
between crime and community in rural areas and addresses the notion of safety
as part of the community dynamics in such areas.
Rural Crime and Community Safety makes a significant contribution to Crime
Science and integrates a range of theories to understand patterns of crime and
perceived safety in rural contexts. Based on a wealth of original research,
Ceccato combines spatial methods with qualitative analysis to examine, in detail,
farm and wildlife crime, youth related crimes, and gendered violence in rural
settings.
Making the most of the expanding field of Criminology and of the growing
professional inquiry into crime and crime prevention in rural areas, rural devel-
opment, and the social sustainability of rural areas, this book builds a bridge by
connecting Criminology and Human Geography. This book will be suitable for
academics, students, and practitioners in the fields of criminology, community
safety, rural studies, rural development, and gender studies.
Vania Ceccato is Associate Professor at Housing and Safety Research Group at
Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden. Her current interests
are urban and rural crime, transit safety, housing and community safety, gen-
dered violence, crime prevention, and spatial analysis.
Routledge studies in crime and society
10
Sex Work
Labour, mobility and sexual services
Edited by JaneMaree Maher, Sharon Pickering and Alison Gerard
State Crime and Resistance
Edited by Elizabeth Stanley and Jude McCulloch
Collective Morality and Crime in the Americas
Christopher Birkbeck
Talking Criminal Justice
Language and the just society
Michael J. Coyle
Women Exiting Prison
Critical essays on gender, post-release support and survival
Bree Carlton and Marie Segrave
Collective Violence, Democracy and Protest Policing
David R. Mansley
Prostitution in the Community
Attitudes, action and resistance
Sarah Kingston
Surveillance, Capital and Resistance
Michael McCahill and Rachel L. Finn
Crime, Community and Morality
Simon Green
Flexible Workers
Labour, regulation and the political economy of the stripping industry
Teela Sanders and Kate Hardy
Histories of State Surveillance in Europe and Beyond
Edited by Kees Boersma, Rosamunde van Brakel, Chiara Fonio and
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Pieter Wagenaar
Rape, Victims and Investigations
Experiences and perceptions of law enforcement officers responding to
reported rapes
Shana L. Maier
Understanding Gender Based Violence
National and international contexts
Edited by Nadia Aghtaie and Geetanjali Gangoli
Queer Sex Work
Edited by Mary Laing, Katy Pilcher and Nicola Smith
Criminology and War
Transgressing the borders
Edited by Sandra Walklate and Ross McGarry
Transitional Justice and Legacies of State Violence
Talking about torture in Northern Ireland
Lisa White
Why Men Buy Sex
Examining sex worker clients
Philip Birch
Rural Crime and Community Safety
Vania Ceccato
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
http://taylorandfrancis.com
Rural Crime and
Community Safety
Vania Ceccato
Zz
§ 3 Routledge
8 Taylor & Francis Group
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 2016
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 Vania Ceccato
The right of Vania Ceccato to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com,
has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non
Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ceccato, Vania.
Rural crime and community safety / Vania Ceccato. — First Edition.
pages cm. — (Routledge studies in crime and society ; 18)
1. Rural crimes. 2. Women—Crimes against-Sweden—Case studies.
3. Crime prevention—Sweden—Case studies. I. Title.
HV6791.C43 2015
364.109173'4—de23 2015004168
ISBN13: 978-0-415-85643-0 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-72568-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
I dedicate this book to Anders
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
http://taylorandfrancis.com
Contents
List of figures
List of boxes
List of tables
About the author
Preface
Acknowledgements
PARTI
Introduction
1 Aim, scope, and book structure
2 Crime and safety in rural areas
3 Definitions, theory, and research making in rural Sweden
PART II
Trends and patterns of crime
4 Rural—urban crime trends in international perspective
5 The geography of property and violent crimes in Sweden
PART III
Perceived safety in rural areas
6 The nature of perceived safety in rural areas
7 Perceived safety in Swedish rural areas
28
63
65
93
119
121
137
xil_ Contents
PART IV
Crime in a rural context
8 Farm crimes and environmental and wildlife offenses
9 Youth in rural areas
10 Violence against women in rural communities
PART V
Policing and crime prevention in rural Sweden
11 Police, rural policing, and community safety
12 Prevention of farm crimes and crimes against nature
13 Crime prevention in rural areas: youth-related challenges
14 Challenges to preventing women abuse in rural communities
PART VI
The difference that rural makes
15 Lessons from rural Sweden and looking ahead
Index
163
165
196
226
257
259
293
323
346
377
379
391
Figures
3.1
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
5.1
5.2
9.2
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5,
8.1
8.2
8.3
Municipalities in Sweden by type (a) and selection of eight
municipalities for evaluating local crime prevention (b)
Increase in offending rates in Sweden per area, 2002—2010
Increase in offending rates in England per area, 2002—2010
United States violent crimes per 100,000 residents, 1990 and 2008
Homicide rates in the United States per area, 1976-2008
Crime rates in two touristic municipalities, Gotland and Are
Crime on Gotland in relation to the vehicle flow, 2012
Crime in relation to the flow of vehicles in or out of Are and
Malung-Salen
Hot and cold spots of thefts, thefts from cars, and residential
burglary, 1996-2007
(a), (b), and (c) Violence rates per 10,000 inhabitants, 1996,
2007, and 2013
(d), (e), and (f) Clusters of violence rates, 1996, 2007, and 2013
Indicators of overall worry/fear of crime in Sweden
(a) Percentage of respondents on perceived safety by type of
municipality and (b) fear of being victimized, car-related
thefts, and residential burglary
Do you worry that you and/or your farm will be victimized?
Work permits for berry pickers, 2010-2013
Fear of being victimized by crime in relation to rates of (a)
violence, (b) residential burglary, (c) average income, and (d)
personal victimization
(a) Do you know anyone in the countryside near where you
live who has been the subject of some form of crime in the
past two years? (b) Farmers’ victimization by type and region
(a) Crime rates per 100,000 inhabitants by municipality type,
2013 (b) and drug production rates per municipality in
Sweden, 2013
(a) Crimestoppers’ estimate of theft of diesel in cubic meters;
(b) Theft of diesel; and (c) 2012 Theft of other fuels
100
101
138
143
145
150
153
170
171
173
xiv Figures
8.4
8.5
8.6
8.7
9.1
9.2
9:3
9.4
9.5
(a) Environmental and wildlife crimes in Sweden, (b)
environmental and wildlife crimes by type
Percentage of EWCs in Sweden by type of municipality,
2000-2011
Types of environmental and wildlife crimes in Vasternorrland
County, Sweden
(a) Cars dumped in forest, (b) oil leak from an industrial area,
(c) heavy metal contamination, and (d) illegal hunting
Percentage of people who reported mild or severe symptoms
of anxiety by gender 16-24
Change in percentage of youth who reported that they
committed theft, 1995-2005
Change in percentage of youth who reported that they
committed violence, 1995-2005
Change in percentage of youth who were victimized by theft,
1995-2005
Change in percentage of youth who were victimized by
violence, 1995-2005
Percentage of all homicides involving intimates by urban,
suburban, and rural area, 1980-2008
(a) Rates of women hospitalized as a result of violence, known
offender 1998—2007, and (b) rates of women violence against
women, 1996-2007 and 2009-2013
Assault against women indoors, known offender, 1996 and 2007
Scatter plot of female violence rates and divorce rates per
municipality, 1995 and 2007
Number of police officers in rural and other municipalities,
2001-2012
Issues addressed by the CP projects financed by BRA
Type of evaluation in CP projects financed by BRA
Number of enterprises in the security sector between 1993 and 2013
(a) Number of enterprises in security sector, 1993 and 2013,
and (b) number of police officers and increase, 2000-2012
What would your local crime prevention councils do to
address farm crime?
(a) What would your local crime prevention council do to
solve the problem of EWC, and (b) ensure that this crime does
not happen again?
Protesters against iron ore mine will continue: our fight has
just begun
Issues addressed by the CP projects financed by BRA
Examples of places for youth leisure activities in rural Sweden
Repeated-measures analysis of variance displaying
self-reported (a) drunkenness and (b) delinquency
179
181
183
184
201
214
297
307
310
325
328
338
13.4
14.1
14.2
14.3
14.4
(a) Are you satisfied with the police presence in Séderk6ping
as a whole? (b) Do you think there is a need for a security
company where you live?
Unsolved cases of gross violations against women,
2002-2011, and government investments, 2006-2011
Geographical distribution of women’s shelters
(a) Who should address domestic violence? (b) How would
CP groups address domestic violence?
“The wilderness man”: an ideal of masculinity or a symbol of
patriarchal society?
Figures
XV
340
350
353
356
367
Boxes
9.1 Youth’s wish list for remaining in rural areas 198
12.1 Checklist to reduce the risk of diesel theft in rural areas 299
Tables
Some rural-urban dichotomies
Types of data
Trends in violent and property crimes in Sweden, the United
States, and United Kingdom
Property crime rates by selected household characteristics,
1993-2005
Victims of fraud, burglary, and total property crime in Sweden
Differences in theft in urban areas, accessible rural, and
remote rural, 2007
Victims of assault, robbery, and violence in Sweden
Repeat victimization, 2012, Sweden, by crime type and area
Violence rates — global measure of spatial autocorrelation
(Moran’s I)
Regression results for crimes rates in 1996 and 2007, Sweden
Regression results for crimes rates in 1996 and 2007, Sweden
Regression results for crimes rates in 1996 and 2007, rural
areas
Victimization and safety in two Swedish towns
Thefts of diesel — estimates for northern Sweden
Usage patterns among Swedish students who used drugs,
2000-2013
Alcohol, narcotics, and tobacco among Swedish students,
2012-2013
Summary of the characteristics of life conditions for youth in
Sweden
Cases of domestic violence and sexual assault in the United
Kingdom
Rates and change in violence against women
Hospitalization rates of victims of violence in 2007, and
change, 1998-2007
Determinants of domestic violence in rural areas: a selected
review
Police officers in Sweden, 1986-2011
xvill Tables
11.2 Historic development of police organization 1965-2015
12.1. Examples of job descriptions in two rural municipalities,
2014
13.1 Youth-related problems and CP activities
13.2 Before and after the Kronoberg model in 2008: Gotland and
Karlstad
14.A.1 Description of data sources
286
304
331
334
372
About the author
Vania Ceccato is Associate Professor at Housing and Safety Research Group at
Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden. Her current interests
are in urban and rural crime, transit safety, gendered and intersectionality in
safety issues, housing and community safety, crime prevention, and spatial data
analysis. Ceccato has published in international journals, mostly in Criminology,
Geography and Planning and is the author of Moving safely: Crime and per-
ceived safety in Stockholm’s subway stations (2013), the editor of the book The
urban fabric of crime and fear (2012) and co-editor of Safety and security in
transit environments: An interdisciplinary approach (2015).
Preface
Why are you writing a book about crime in rural areas? This was a common
question I got while writing this book. The quick answer to this question was,
Why not? On top of the motivations I will put forward in this book, I usually
answered this question by saying that I felt the need to spell out the multiplicity
of rural realities I came across in my life.
I have had the opportunity to experience country-specific contexts in which
both safety and rurality can take different expressions. I grew up in the country-
side in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and have lived half of my life in urban
Europe, coming in contact with different levels of ruralities in Sweden, the
United Kingdom, and, to a much lesser extent, in Austria and the Baltic states
when visiting these countries. With regards to rural, what fascinates me is that
although these places might look different, they share a number of commonali-
ties. Of course, nobody can be fooled by the idea that what is rural in these coun-
tries can be boiled down to a single common denominator. Yet it seems to me
that there are some common recurring issues that are latent; some of them have
to do with nature, others with people, culture, and not less safety. I will try to
highlight some of them in the next few paragraphs.
Rural areas are dynamic places and, obviously, what I encountered as a child
in Brazil is no longer there to be experienced nowadays by my children. I
wonder if any parent today would dare to let seven-year-old kids walk three kilo-
meters to school by themselves along a dirt road. But that was what children did
in the late 1970s. Rural roads were safe. My parents’ concerns were of a more
mystic kind: We were instructed to stay away from voodoo dolls and other signs
of black magic left at the crossroads on our way to school. Thoughts about safety
or traffic accidents (we rarely met a car anyway, horses were still the main
means of transportation) did not cross one’s mind in those days, even if one
lived in an urban area. Although things were about to change, I experienced life
as usual: cows were milked, carts went to the fields, lampposts were repaired
after a torrential rain, and, on the weekends, social gatherings were populated by
families coming from far and wide, allowing space for dancing and fighting
between neighbors and local drunks. At the edges of these country gatherings,
young people discussed better opportunities in the city under the scrutiny of
adults and the elderly. Young people, alone, could hardly be blamed. The truth
Preface xxi
was that general economic conditions were steadily improving in the cities in
relation to the countryside, which heavily impacted on people’s decisions to sell
farms and move to the city. The newly acquired TV sets were showing how
schools and industries were offering a ticket for an appealing urban life. After
all, monetary incentives were no longer in place to support small farmers to con-
tinue what their parents and grandparents once manage to do: to produce staple
food for the local and regional market. Government investments were being redi-
rected to mechanized large-scale plantation, such as sugar cane, giving little
chance to small farmers to survive on small properties. Banks made it easy for
large landholders to shift to monoculture. An increase in mechanization, a
growth of cattle farming and changes in rural labor relations made it difficult for
small farmers to remain in the countryside.
By the late 1970s, we moved to the city, as did 40 percent of the Brazilian
rural population. Although it sounded like a smooth course of events, in reality it
was a process characterized by conflict and violence. The skills of farmers were
not tradable in the city; instead of working in the fields, now they had to learn
from scratch to control machines and to stay indoors in poorly ventilated her-
metic industrial sheds for eight hours a day. For sanitary reasons, farmers who
moved to the urban fringe had to sell their carts, horses, tractors and animals,
dispossessing them of many of their means of production. This made it difficult
for former farmers to go back to farming if they changed their minds. On a col-
lective level, the rural exodus led to land conflicts in different parts of the
country, environmental degradation in both rural and urban areas, and massive
pressure on ill-prepared infrastructure in the cities, small or big. Metropolitan
cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro became synonymous with high rates
of violence by any standards in the 1980s. At that time, crime and safety seemed
like an unlikely problem for a recently graduated geographer like me to take on,
but I begged to differ. Crime and perceived safety were important dimensions of
the quality of life in my hometown as assessed in my master’s thesis in the early
1990s.
I believed much of my rural experience would be left behind when I emig-
rated from Brazil to Sweden to pursue PhD studies in the mid-1990s. I was
wrong. The rural issues were catching up with me. Soon I realized that rural
depopulation was also a national concern in Sweden. In contrast to the situation
in Brazil, though, the exodus was considered an old, and perhaps well-managed,
problem. First, Sweden had suffered a period of emigration (one-fifth of the
country’s population migrated abroad, mostly to the United States) which only
stopped in the 1930s when resources started to keep pace with population
growth. In the following decades, rural-urban flows were caused by factors
similar to those in Brazil: simply put, better life opportunities and modernization
of agriculture. By the 1960s, the majority of the Swedish population was
regarded as urban, reaching 84 percent in the beginning of the 2000s. It was then
I had the opportunity to learn about Swedish rural areas as a researcher by taking
part in the European joint research project “Dynamics of rural areas” (grant
number FAIR6-CT98-4162) which aimed at investigating the reasons why some
xxii Preface
rural communities performed better than others. It was during this time that the
Swedish welfare system took a significant market-oriented turn, opening up for
funding from the European Union structural funds. The fieldwork of this
research project allowed me to meet entrepreneurs, priests, politicians, police
officers, and local residents in 13 Swedish rural municipalities, in northern and
southern Sweden. By analyzing information from interviews and secondary data,
we found that, compared with lagging areas, the successful ones had more
vigorous local (small-scale) entrepreneurship and that their success was often
associated with tangible structural and institutional factors (such as demography,
public funding, universities) but also linked with less tangible ones (such as local
history, culture, and attractiveness of the rural landscape). This book draws on
experience from this project and the wonderful exchange of ideas I had with
Lars Olof Persson at Nordregio and other team members in Greece, Germany,
and Scotland, particularly Professor John Bryden.
Thirteen years on, despite divergent economic performance, 15 percent of
Swedes still live in rural areas. What is different today compared with the time I
first came in contact with rural Sweden is the recent interest of the media in inci-
dents of crime. The picture of the countryside as deviant from the cities, some-
thing out of the ordinary, is often powered by a few murders, some related to
organized crime and others a result of violence at home. Violence in intimate
relationships has long been known as a problem in some rural communities in
Sweden but until recently has been tolerated as part of the “local culture.”
Another example of differences today is the acceptance of members of motor-
cycle gangs (some of them with police records of theft and organized crime) as
part of the local culture. Added to this abnormal image of Swedish rural life are
conflicts between local rural residents and seasonal foreign workers. On one
hand, locals blame seasonal workers for committing petty crimes. On the other
hand, seasonal workers file complaints of poor working and living conditions
while employed by fraudulent entrepreneurs. Although these issues often hit the
national news, they rarely awaken any interest among the urban population, who
are often too distant to understand and become concerned with any of these rural
realities.
Closer to the urban reality are youth-related problems in rural areas, such as
violence and addiction, and cases of environmental and wildlife crimes against
nature. The increase in cases of fraud — a problem that affects both urban and
rural populations — has become a concern as the use of the Internet and informa-
tion and communication technology (ICT) has become widespread. Surely, these
issues inspired me to investigate further urban and rural crime rates and trends in
the research project entitled “Social sustainability in rural Sweden: Crime, fear
of crime and crime prevention in rural communities” (FORMAS, grant number
2007-1954). I knew that official police statistics showed that some rural areas
had become more criminogenic in the past decades, but it was unclear whether
this development had any effect on people’s perceptions of safety (which was
later revealed when the first national crime victim survey was published in
2006). Using Crime Science principles (Laycock, 2005), I investigated whether
Preface xxiii
crime levels in rural municipalities reflect the demographic and socioeconomic
changes that took place during 1996 and 2006. This was followed by an analysis
of differences and/or similarities of local crime prevention councils in rural com-
munities. The intention was to identify “good practices” (what can be learned
from eight municipalities) that could guide crime prevention efforts in other
rural communities. This book gathers material adapted from three articles pro-
duced in collaboration with Lars Dolmén, from the Swedish Police Academy,
and Adriaan Uittenbogaard, at the Royal Institute of Technology (Ceccato and
Dolmén 2011, 2013, and Ceccato and Uittenbogaard 2013).
Part of my rural experience comes from the United Kingdom, as daily experi-
ences while living there: interacting with people and walking and cycling in the
countryside on the weekends with my family. In England, more than anywhere
else I have lived, a plethora of issues about safety come up daily, in street corner
conversations as well as in mainstream media (this was prior to the 2011 riots in
major English cities but contemporary with the 2005 London bombings). Minor
events such as youth anti-social behavior in the neighborhood combined with
contemporary urban myths mixed with what was on TV: from historical docu-
mentaries about Jack the Ripper, to fictional pieces, starring no less a personality
than Sherlock Holmes. I believe it is easy to capture the many types of rural
areas that exist in the UK despite the oversimplified, perhaps stereotypical,
image portrayed in the media. Differences between rural and urban get blurred
by the high density of the urban structure, particularly in southern English towns.
Roads pass through small villages, creating a net of interconnections that surely
has an impact on criminogenic conditions in these places. Street violence, thefts,
and addiction are often recognized rural problems. It is also commonly known
that the number of burglaries has increased more in rural areas in the past two
decades than in suburban or urban areas. Still the fear of crime is less likely to
have an impact on people’s quality of life in a rural area. More important than
actual statistics, the fear of crime is fed by particular cases of crime, especially
in rural contexts. Individual cases create scars and damage the reputations of vil-
lages that no outsiders knew were there before the event. Time passes, but these
individual cases remain in people’s minds for a long time and often unfairly
characterize the image of rural Britain. The Norfolk murder is a good example.
Two young men entered a property in a rural village, and the owner shot at them,
killing one. The case was openly discussed by the media and was highly contro-
versial. Although this case was unique, it did raise a number of issues related to
current social developments about people’s attitudes toward intruders (the home-
owner’s decision to shoot at the young men and the possession and use of guns
to protect property) and the criminal justice system in Britain (why the sentence
was changed after the first judgment, as the house owner was imprisoned for
murder but his sentence was later reduced to manslaughter).
With this preface, I position myself in relation to the ample field of Rural
Studies, Criminology, and Crime Science and to give you the chance to under-
stand the starting point and the approach adopted in this book. Thus, it offers
chapters with the best analysis I managed to put together, assembling findings
xxiv Preface
from modeling, spatial data analysis using Geographical Information Systems
(GIS), and official statistics. However, I believe that some relevant questions on
crime and rural safety demanded a qualitative approach, calling for an analysis
of phenomena based on deep interviews as well as email surveys. Another
important feature of this book is the final chapters devoted to crime prevention
practices, which I think can be of interest to those who deal with crime and
safety issues in rural environments in Sweden but also elsewhere.
I would certainly not be able to write this book and turn my back on issues
that occupy my mind daily. Gendered violence is one of these topics. I have con-
sciously strived to adopt a gender-informed approach to violence in rural
environments in this book, taking into account other types of vulnerabilities that
intersect gender, such as ethnic belonging. I regard women as active agents who,
under certain circumstances, are faced by imposed layers of vulnerability,
namely, by their place of residence and by discrimination because of age, ethnic
belonging, or income. Two chapters in this book are devoted to violence against
women in private realms.
Finally, it is important to mention that my personal experiences from Brazil,
Sweden, and the UK in no way made me an expert on these countries. But my
life experiences may provide you, as a reader, clues to why this book is shaped
the way it is. Except for Brazil, my experience in writing this book reflects the
view of an “outsider,” someone from Latin America who decided to migrate to
Sweden and the UK and write about crime and safety in rural contexts.
Stockholm, January 2015
Vania Ceccato
The author at age five in rural Brazil
Preface xxv
References
Ceccato, V., & Dolmén, L. (2011). Crime in rural Sweden. Applied Geography, 31,
119-135.
Ceccato, V., & Dolmén, L. (2013). Crime prevention in rural Sweden. European Journal
of Criminology, 10, 89-112.
Ceccato, V., & Uittenbogaard, A. (2013). Environmental and wildlife crime in Sweden.
International Journal of Rural Criminology, 2, 23-47.
Laycock, G. (2005). Defining crime science: New approaches to detecting and preventing
crime. In N. Tilley & Melissa J. Smith (Eds.), Crime science (pp. 3-24). Cullompton,
Devon: Willan Publishing.
Acknowledgements
There are many people whom I wish to thank as they have helped me in the
development of the research and preparation of the manuscript. Thanks go to
Lars Olof Persson (in memoriam) who introduced me to rural Sweden as an
object of study through a research project we developed together in the early
2000s. I am also grateful for the fruitful discussions I had with my colleague
Lars Dolmén, from the Swedish Police Academy, during the research project
“Social sustainability in rural Sweden: Crime, fear of crime and crime preven-
tion in rural communities.” Some of the joint work we produced in the project is
referenced in this book. I would like to thank FORMAS, the Swedish Research
Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning, which
financed part of the Swedish case study (Grant 251-2007-1954).
In the genesis and writing of this book, I was inspired by those who for
decades have devoted their research to rural areas and rural crime and com-
munity safety, just to name a few: Joseph Donnermeyer, Elaine Barclay, Ralph
Weisheit, Kerry Carrington, Rob Mawby, Richard Yarwood, and Walter DeKe-
seredy. Along the years, I came across a number of studies from the United
States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia that inspired me.' This book is a
humble contribution to this existing body of knowledge. I hope that, by framing
old and new questions of rural crime and community safety using Sweden as a
case study, new insights can be brought to the table that can expand knowledge
in this area.
Many authors in this book’s bibliography shared their knowledge in an inter-
national workshop entitled “Rural crime and community safety,” organized by
the Housing and Safety Research Group at KTH, which took place in Stockholm
in October 2014. Most of the papers presented in that workshop were included in
a special issue of the Journal of Rural Studies in 2015. Many thanks go to Pro-
fessor Mike Woods. First, as the editor of the journal, Mike recognized the issue
of rural crime and community safety as relevant to the journal’s audience.
Second, he actively supported the special issue by acting as moderator at the
Stockholm workshop, a step that was fundamental to the process of eventually
publishing the articles. Third, Mike was a patient steward during my time learn-
ing the editorial system as guest editor for the special issue. The author is also
grateful to all participants and audience members, who made that seminar an
Acknowledgements xxvii
open arena of discussion. On a financial note, I would like to thank the Swedish
Research Council (VR) and the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working
Life and Welfare (FORTE) for sponsoring the workshop. The workshop pro-
vided me with an overview of the field while I was writing this book.
My deep gratitude must also go to those who made this research possible by
providing the data or participated in the surveys and interviews for the research
project. The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (BRA) provided
the police-recorded data, crime survey data, and project database of the funded
projects driven by local crime prevention councils. Martina Johansson from the
Rikspolisstyrelsen (Swedish National Police Board) kindly provided employ-
ment data of the police.
Thanks also to all those who gave permission for me to reproduce previously
published material in this book. This includes Sage, BRA (the Swedish National
Council for Crime Prevention), BJS (Bureau of Justice Statistics), the Inter-
national Journal of Rural Criminology, the newspapers Angermanland Dagb-
ladet and Vasterbottens Kuriren, APU (Anti Poaching Unit Sweden), Peter
Lindstrém, Nikolaus Koutakis, Carin Lennesié, TT News Agency, Elsevier,
Crimestoppers, NCJRS and CAN (Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol
and Other Drugs).
The documentation on crime prevention activities from the case studies was
provided by representatives of local crime prevention councils when the inter-
views were performed. My thanks also go to those who kindly took the time to
answer the email survey and/or participated in the face-to-face interviews con-
ducted by Carin Lennesié, whose dedication resulted in high-quality material for
this research. I also interviewed a number of experts and researchers working
with crime and safety in rural areas in Sweden, rural policing, and rural develop-
ment. I am particularly grateful for the time and trouble people took to provide
me with information about and interpretations of their perspectives. Thanks go
to colleagues who have shared their insights the past few years — over lunch, by
email, or over the phone: Bjorn Furuhagen, Peter Lindstrém, May-Britt Ohman,
Anders Johannesson, John Bryden, colleagues at BRA, and, more recently, the
representatives of the Women’s Shelter organization, the Federation of Swedish
Farmers, Swedish Transport Administration, and Magnus Rydhult (Crimestop-
pers Sweden).
I would like to thank my colleagues and students at the School of Architec-
ture and the Built Environment (ABE), Royal Institute of Technology (KTH),
especially the Housing and Safety Research Group: Adriaan Uittenbogaard,
Asifa Iqbal, Bridget da Costa, Mats Wilhelmsson, and Roya Bamzar.
I am grateful to Rebecca Foreman who proofread the manuscript and made
valuable comments on the structure of sentences, paragraphs, and chapters.
Remaining shortcomings are, of course, entirely this author’s responsibility.
I would also like to thank my publisher, Routledge, for their support. I par-
ticularly wish to acknowledge Heidi Lee, Amy Ekins-Coward and Sally Quinn
for their stewardship of this project. Thanks for your encouraging words and
patience during the process of writing and making it into the final product.
xxviii Acknowledgements
Finally, thanks for all the love and support I received from my family, on
both sides of the Atlantic, especially my husband, Anders Karlsson, and my
children, Amanda and Filip, my parents, Luiza and Lidio, and my three brothers
and two sisters, who lived most of their lives in the countryside, where I
was born.
Note
1 The references listed below are the most important, but not limited to them.
References
Barclay, E., & Donnermeyer, J. F. (2002). Property crime and crime prevention on farms
in Australia. Crime Prevention of Community Safety, 4(4), 47-61.
Barclay, E., & Donnermeyer, J. F. (2007). Farm victimisation: The quintessential rural
crime. In E. Barclay, J. F. Donnermeyer, J. Scott, & R. Hogg (Eds.), Crime in rural
Australia (pp. 57-68). Sydney: Federation Press.
Barclay, E., Donnermeyer, J. F., Doyle, B. D., & Talary, D. (2001). Property crime vic-
timisation and crime prevention on farms. Report to the NSW A.-G. C. P. Division
(Ed.), Institute for Rural Futures, University of New England.
Barclay, E., Donnermeyer, J. F., & Jobes, P. C. (2004). The dark side of Gemeinschaft:
Criminality within rural communities. Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 6(3),
7-22.
Barclay, E., Hogg, R., & Scott, J. (2007). Young people and crime in rural communities.
In E. Barclay, J. Donnermeyer, J. Scott, & R. Hogg (Eds.), Crime in rural Australia
(pp. 100-114). Sidney: Federation Press.
Barclay, E., Scott, J., & Donnermeyer, J. (2011). Policing the outback: Impacts on inte-
gration in an Australian context. In R. Mawby & R. Yarwood (Eds.), Rural policing
and policing the rural: A constable countryside? (pp. 33-44). Farnham: Ashgate.
Barclay, E., Scott, J., Hogg, R., & Donnermeyer, J. (Eds.). (2007). Crime in rural Aus-
tralia. Sydney: Federation Press.
Bull, M. (2007). Alcohol and drug problems in rural and regional Australia. In J. F. D. E.
Barclay, J. Scott, & R. Hogg (Eds.), Crime in rural Australia. Sydney: Federation
Press.
Carrington, K. (2007). Crime in rural and regional areas. In J. F. D. E. Barclay, J. Scott,
& R. Hogg (Eds.), Crime in rural Australia (pp. 27-43). Sydney: Federation Press.
Cunneen, C. (2007). Crime, justice and indigenous people. In E. Barclay, J. Donner-
meyer, J. Scott, & R. Hogg (Eds.), Crime in rural Australia (pp. 142-154). Sydney:
Federation Press.
DeKeseredy, W. S., Donnermeyer, J. F., & Schwartz, M. D. (2009). Toward a gendered
second generation CPTED for preventing woman abuse in rural communities. Security
Journal, 22, 178-189.
DeKeseredy, W. S., Donnermeyer, J. F., Schwartz, M. D., Tunnell, K., & Hall, M. (2007).
Thinking critically about rural gender relations: Toward a rural masculinity crisis/male
peer support model of separation/divorce sexual assault. Critical Criminology, 15(4),
295-311.
Donnermeyer, J. (1995). Crime and violence in rural communities. Columbus, OH:
National Rural Crime Prevention Center.
Acknowledgements xxix
Donnermeyer, J., DeKeseredy, W. S., & Dragiewicz, M. (2011). Policing rural Canada
and the United States. In R. Mawby & R. Yarwood (Eds.), Rural policing and policing
the rural: A constable countryside? (pp. 23-32). Farnham: Ashgate.
Donnermeyer, J., & Kreps, G. M. (1986). The benefits of crime prevention: A comparative
analysis. Columbus, OH: National Rural Crime Prevention Center.
Donnermeyer, J. F. (2007). Rural crime: Roots and restoration. /nternational Journal of
Rural Crime, 1, 2-20.
Donnermeyer, J. F., & Barclay, E. (2005). The policing farm crime. Practices and
Research, 6(1), 3-17.
Donnermeyer, J. F., Barclay, E. M., & Mears, D. P. (2011). Policing agricultural crime.
In R. I. Mawby & R. Yarwood (Eds.), Rural policing and policing the rural: A con-
stable countryside (pp. 193-204). Farnham: Ashgate.
Donnermeyer, J. F., Jobes, P., & Barclay, E. (2006). Rural crime, poverty and rural com-
munity. In W. S. DeKeseredy & B. Perry (Eds.), Advancing critical criminology:
Theory and application (pp. 199-213). Oxford: Lexington Books.
Donnermeyer, J. F., Plested, B. A., Edwards, R. W., Oetting, G., & Littlethunder, L.
(1997). Community readiness and prevention programs. Journal of the Community
Development Society, 28(1), 65-83.
Falcone, D. N., Wells, L. E., & Weisheit, R. A. (2002). The small-town police depart-
ment. Policing, 25(2), 371-384.
Gilling, D. (2011). Governing crime in rural UK: Risk and representation. In R. I. Mawby
& R. Yarwood (Eds.), Rural policing and policing the rural: A constable countryside?
(pp. 69-80). Farnham: Ashgate.
Halfacree, K. (2011). Still “out of place in the country’? Travellers and the post-
productivist rural. In R. I. Mawby & R. Yarwood (Eds.), Rural policing and policing
the rural: A constable countryside? (pp. 124-135). Farnham: Ashgate.
Mawby, R. (2011). Plural policing in rural Britain. In R. Mawby & R. Yarwood (Eds.),
Rural policing and policing the rural: A constable countryside? (pp. 57-67). Farnham:
Ashgate.
Mawby, R., & Yarwood, R. (Eds.). (2011). Rural policing and policing the rural: A con-
stable countryside? Farnham: Ashgate.
Scott, J., Carrington, K., & McIntosh, A. (2012). Established-outsider relations and fear
of crime in mining towns. Sociologia Ruralis, 52(2), 147-169.
Websdale, N. (1995). Rural woman abuse: the voice of Kentucky women. Violence
against women, 1, 309-338.
Websdale, N., & Johnson, B. (1998). An ethnostatistical comparison of the forms and
levels of woman battering in Urban and rural areas of Kentucky. Criminal Justice
Review, 23, 161-196.
Weisheit, R. A., & Donnermeyer, J. F. (2000). Change and continuity in rural America.
In G. LaFree (Ed.), The nature of crime: Continuity and change (Vol. 1). Washington,
DC: National Institute of Justice.
Weisheit, R. A., & Donnermeyer, J. F. (2000). Changes and continuity in crime in rural
America. In G. LaFree (Ed.), Criminal justice 2000: The nature of crime of crime, con-
tinuity and change (pp. 309-357). Washington, DC: US Department of Justice.
Weisheit, R. A., Falcone, D. N., & Wells, L. E. (2006). Crime and policing in rural and
small-town rural America. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
Weisheit, R. A., & Wells, L. E. (2004). Youth gangs in rural America. National Institute
of Justice Journal, 251, 2-6.
xxx Acknowledgments
Weisheit, R. A., Wells, L. E., & Falcone, D. N. (1994). Community policing in small
town and rural America. Crime and Delinquency, 40(4), 549-567.
Woods, M. (2005). Defining the rural. In Rural geography (pp. 3-16). London: Sage.
Woods, M. (201 1a). Policing rural protest. In R. Mawby & R. Yarwood (Eds.), Rural policing
and policing the rural: A constable countryside? (pp. 109-122). Farnham: Ashgate.
Woods, M. (2011b). Rural. London/New York: Routledge.
Yarwood, R. (2001). Crime and policing in the British countryside: Some agendas for
contemporary geographical research. Sociologia Ruralis, 41(2), 201-219.
Yarwood, R. (2010a). An exclusive countryside? Crime concern, social exclusion and
community policing in two English villages. Policing and Society, 20(1), 61-78.
Yarwood, R. (2010b). Risk, rescue and emergency services: The changing spatialities of
mountain rescue teams in England and Wales. Geoforum, 41(2), 257-270.
Yarwood, R., & Edwards, B. (1995). Voluntary action in rural areas: The case of neigh-
bourhood watch. Journal of Rural Studies, 11(4), 447-459.
Yarwood, R., & Gardner, G. (2000). Fear of crime, cultural threat and the countryside.
Area, 32(4), 403-411.
Part I
Introduction
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
http://taylorandfrancis.com
1 Aim, scope, and book structure
This book is about crime and community safety in rural areas. Crime is often
regarded as an urban rather than a rural issue. Is this because rural areas are safer
than urban areas? We suggest in this book that even if they are, this is just a
partial view of what safety in rural communities is or what it is perceived to be.
The relationship between crime and community characteristics is complex,
determined by a set of interdependent factors that, together, create nuanced dif-
ferences of what is thought to be safety in rural areas. The chapter defines the
aim, scope, and structure of the book.
Aim and scope
The aim of this book is to make a contribution to the knowledge base on crime
and perceived safety as well as crime prevention in rural areas. This is important
because these issues are neglected fields in both criminology and in rural studies.
One reason they are neglected is that safety in rural areas is often regarded as
synonymous with low crime rates. If crime rates are low, safety is not a problem
and thus not an issue. Another reason is that patterns of crime are far too often
considered to be homogeneous across rural areas, because “rural” is everything
that is not urban. The implication of this rural-urban dichotomy is that it dis-
regards the impact of different rural contexts on crime and safety and neglects
the dynamics of rural areas and residents’ agency.
The novelty of the book is to put safety in rural areas in focus by: (1) arguing
why we should care about crime and community safety in rural areas; (2)
addressing safety as part of the dynamics of rural areas across countries; (3)
placing crime and safety in Swedish rural areas in an international context; (4)
reporting on crime prevention experiences in rural contexts; and, without going
beyond the main aim of the book, (5) interpreting the intersectionality of safety
and gender as a social construct experienced by those who suffer violence in the
private realm in rural areas.
The book is an example of Crime Science because it integrates theories from
different disciplines to understand patterns of crime and perceived safety in a
rural context. Crime Science is “the application of the methods of science to
crime and disorder” (Laycock, 2005, p. 4). Crime Science focuses on crime from
4 Introduction
a wide range of sciences and disciplines using a number of tools. It brings know-
ledge together into a functional and coordinated response to crime. Crime
Science depends on different contexts, addressing not only what works but
where, how, and when (Pawson & Tilley, 1997).
The Swedish case is analyzed in a systematic and detailed way by depicting not
only levels but also patterns of crime. It also contributes to Crime Science by
testing hypotheses to reveal mechanisms and relationships that can help understand
crime patterns and actions to reduce crime. Moreover, as any product of Crime
Science, the book makes use of scientific methods, combining quantitative and
spatial methods (spatial analysis techniques, regression analysis) with qualitative
approaches (interviews, vignette analysis). An important part of the book focuses
on action taken against crime in crime prevention initiatives in rural areas. Using
data and evidence from interviews, the discussion in Part V broadens the scientific
base for understanding, analyzing, and preventing crime in rural contexts.
The book provides an overview of crime and safety issues in rural areas using a
Scandinavian country as a case. This is important because most of the literature on
crime and perceived safety in rural areas is based on cases from North American
and British studies. It is worth noting that the Swedish case study is presented
against this background as a framework of analysis rather than a reference for
drawing conclusions or making generalizations across countries.
Finally, and importantly, this book builds a bridge connecting Criminology and
Human Geography — lacking in the international literature — by making the most of
the expanding field of criminology and of the growing professional inquiry into
crime and crime prevention in rural areas, rural development, and the social
sustainability of rural areas. I hope this book will act as a starting point for those
who are carrying out or are interested in research on crime and perceived safety,
tural geography, and comparative research in criminology. By approaching a
number of issues never before addressed in the Swedish rural context, such as gen-
dered safety and crimes against the environment and wildlife, this book fills a
growing niche and will satisfy demand from an expanding discipline for years to
come. This book does not claim to provide a complete and detailed picture of pat-
terns of victimization and safety in Swedish rural areas. Instead, the book’s goal is
to show a variety of facets that characterize a set of core issues that are perceived
to be relevant in the Swedish rural context with regards to crime, perceived safety,
and crime prevention practices, so far inexistent in the international literature.
This book is intended to reach a wide group of professionals, scholars, crim-
inal justice practitioners, and policy makers interested in safety issues as well as
people working with rural areas (criminologists, geographers, rural experts,
people working directly with safety interventions at the community and regional
levels). This is an ideal book for undergraduate students in criminology.
Book structure
The book is divided into seven parts and 15 chapters. In Part I, Chapter 1
introduces the aim, scope, and structure of the book. Chapter 2 presents 10
Aim, scope, and book structure 5
reasons that crime and community safety are relevant to criminology and rural
research. Chapter 3 builds the theoretical background for the book and intro-
duces the issues discussed in Parts IV to V. The chapter presents a number of
theories of crime prevention drawing on the paradigm of Crime Science. Here
the focus is on crimes (situations) and not on offenders. Some of these the-
ories identify societal processes at the macro level (e.g., social crime preven-
tion) that lead to crime, while others focus on micro aspects. What is
fundamental is the discussion of the most important theories that, taken
together, help explain why crime happens. Are they enough to reveal the
nature of crime in a rural context? The chapter also highlights the focus of
criminology on certain theories that neglect the nature of rural areas. In urban
areas, lack of social control leads to crime, according to social disorganization
theory. The opposite is often taken for granted: less crime in rural areas means
more social control and social cohesion. Chapter 3 calls these assumptions
into question. The chapter also discusses how rural change has affected vic-
timization and perceived safety.
In Part II, Chapter 4 illustrates trends and patterns of crime in rural areas. Are
rural areas becoming more criminogenic? Or are big cities still synonymous with
big danger? Crime victimization disproportionately affects more urban than rural
residents, regardless of country or differences in rural-urban definitions. Although
some would claim that crime is eminently an urban phenomenon, recent changes in
rural-urban relationships have affected regional criminogenic landscapes, making
individuals living in some rural areas more exposed to crime than in the past. The
chapter shows that this trend often goes undetected, because changes do not affect
tural areas evenly across the board. As a result, victimization may be selective and
unequal across social groups and environments. Finding evidence on how these
changes affect criminogenic conditions is difficult because, as we will discuss,
actual change may be hidden under generally “decreasing” or “stable” trends or
data sources showing contradictory crime developments.
Chapter 4 compares crime rates in Sweden with those found in the United
States and the United Kingdom. In all these countries, urban crime rates are
greater than rural ones, regardless of definitions of crime type and how rural
areas are conceptualized. An alternative to official police statistics is to comple-
ment them, as much as possible, with data from national crime victim surveys,
as is done in this chapter. Despite the limitations of these sources of data, it is
the most reliable data available for representing the geographical distribution of
crime in Sweden and elsewhere. An analysis of the available data appears in the
two chapters that follow. First, trends in crime rates and prevalence are com-
pared in a select number of countries as a background for the Swedish case. The
chapter discusses evidence about the so-called “convergence hypothesis” of
urban and rural crime rates. Then, the analysis focuses on specific types of
violent and property crimes in rural areas, drawing conclusions for rural areas
across countries when possible.
Chapter 5 focuses on the geography of property and violent crime in Sweden.
The analysis focuses first on trends and geographical differences between urban
6 Introduction
areas, accessible rural areas, and remote rural areas, made feasible by the use of
Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Then, crime rates are cross-sectionally
modeled as a function of municipalities’ characteristics. An important change in
the regional geography of crime is the shift of clusters of high rates of theft and
residential burglary, from Stockholm to Skane (Skane, the southernmost area of
Sweden). Modeling results show links between spatial variations in property
crime rates and the regions’ demographic, socioeconomic, and locational charac-
teristics, both in 1996 and 2007. Evidence from regression models also indicates
that accessible rural municipalities, particularly those located in southern
Sweden, were more criminogenic in 2007 than they were a decade previous.
Changes in routine activities associated with existing and new social disorgani-
zation risk factors are highlighted as potential causes of increased vulnerability
in accessible rural areas during the past decade.
Perceived safety in rural areas is the theme of Part III of the book. People fear
crime less in rural areas than they do in urban areas. This fact represents a partial
picture of perceived safety, because people can fear greatly even if they perceive
little chance of a crime occurring. It is likely that the experience of crime in rural
areas differs qualitatively as well as quantitatively from urban areas. This part
looks beyond actual statistics on perceived safety in rural and urban areas to
shed light on the nature of fear among those living in rural areas. It also suggests
why we should care about perceived safety in rural areas. In Chapter 6, instead
of reducing the issue of fear of crime to risk of victimization, we turn to a dis-
cussion in which fear can be discussed in a broader context of rural areas, with
particular attention to the Swedish case. The chapter highlights the need for
knowledge in different areas of research on fear of crime in rural contexts.
Chapter 7 concentrates on examples of what fear of crime statistics show in dif-
ferent countries about rural and urban environments and concludes with exam-
ples from Swedish rural areas.
In Part IV, Chapter 8 presents crime in a rural context with a focus on farm
and environmental and wildlife crimes, youth-related problems, and violence
against women. Chapter 8 indicates how previous literature on rural crime sug-
gests that crime in rural areas is more varied now than it once was. Rural crime
includes thefts of fertilizer and tractors as well as environmental offenses, such
as illegal dumping of oil. The chapter also reviews the current literature on farm
and environmental crimes in Sweden. The Swedish case study is based on an
analysis of both police-recorded data and Swedish print and Internet media
coverage (newspapers) on farm and environmental crimes in rural Sweden.
Chapter 8 concludes with a discussion of the barriers to detecting and prosecut-
ing offenders who commit farm and environmental crimes.
Chapter 9 focuses on youngsters living in rural areas as well as youth-related
disorder. Youth-related crime is often regarded by those working with crime pre-
vention in rural areas as the main safety problem (Ceccato & Dolmén, 2013).
This chapter characterizes what are considered “youth problems” in rural areas
in different country contexts (United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and
Sweden).
Aim, scope, and book structure 7
The chapter about violence against women touches on the barriers women
living in rural areas face in reporting violence. In Chapter 10, the Swedish case
study is discussed by highlighting urban-tural trends, geographical patterns, and
a discussion of determinants of violence against women. To provide a basis for
the analysis of the Swedish case, Chapter 10 also lists individual and structural
factors pointed out in the international literature as determinants of violence
against women in rural areas.
Part V is about policing and crime prevention in a rural context. Chapter 11
starts with an international overview of what “policing” has been, with particular
focus on the historical development of the rural police as an institution. The
chapter also provides detailed historical development of policing in Swedish
rural areas and discusses examples of police officers’ contemporary daily work
with crime, crime prevention, and community safety. The chapter ends with a
discussion of future challenges for policing in the Swedish countryside as the
commodification of policing has become a reality and the police organization is
becoming centralized.
Chapters 12—14 present the challenges of those working in local crime preven-
tion in rural areas. Although this chapter draws upon empirical work done in
Swedish rural municipalities, the analysis also reports on experiences from the
United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Here actions are directed to three
types of crime. Chapter 12 concerns farm crime and crimes against nature and
wildlife, Chapter 13 deals with prevention of youth-related crime, and Chapter 14
is devoted to the challenges in preventing women abuse in rural communities.
Part VI summarizes the most important issues related to crime, perceived
safety, and crime prevention in Swedish rural areas, and, more importantly,
Chapter 15 defines an agenda for future research.
References
Ceccato, V., & Dolmén, L. (2013). Crime prevention in rural Sweden. European Journal
of Criminology, 10, 89-112.
Laycock, G. (2005). Defining crime science: New approaches to detecting and preventing
crime. In N. Tilley & Melissa J. Smith (Eds.), Crime science (pp. 3-24). Cullompton,
Devon: Willan Publishing.
Pawson, R., & Tilley, N. (1997). Realistic evaluation. London: Sage.
2 Crime and safety in rural areas
This chapter starts by listing 10 reasons why crime and safety in rural areas is a
subject worth examining in its own right. These 10 reasons guide the themes dis-
cussed in this book and are developed in detail in Chapters 3-14.
Why care about crime and safety in rural areas?
Low crime rates in rural areas are often taken as a sign that crime in rural areas
is not a major concern. This recognition is not particularly original but does
reflect negligence by different disciplines and society in general concerning
issues outside the urban realm — not less in rural crime and safety. One of the
reasons for this lack of attention to rural crime is perhaps the widespread belief
in a dichotomy between urban and rural, the former being criminogenic, the
latter problem-free, idyllic, and healthier and friendlier than the urban. This
chapter challenges such ideas about crime and safety in rural areas. Drawing
upon international literature and the Swedish context, the chapter presents the
following 10 reasons why crime and safety are relevant issues in a rural context.
Crime is not just an “urban problem.”
Low crime rates in rural areas do not equate to “no problems.”
Rural areas are heterogeneous entities.
Rural areas are in constant transformation.
The nature of rural areas influences crime.
Perceived safety is unequal.
Commodification of security in rural areas is taking place.
Crime prevention is urban-centered.
An intersectional gendered perspective of safety in rural context is needed.
10 Crime and safety are important dimensions of sustainable rural development.
ONDNBWN KR
\o
These 10 reasons are discussed in detail in the following pages.
1 Crime is not just an “urban problem”
The claim that “crime is an urban problem” may not sound unreasonable, but it
assumes that crime is primarily an urban feature — which surely it is not. To
Crime and safety in rural areas 9
explore this issue, the idea of rural idyll, another rural myth, can be helpful.
Rural idyll (Bell, 2006) conceptualizes the perceptions that rural areas are safe,
quiet places without conflict. People’s perceptions of rural areas as being free of
crime are important in defining rurality. Common ideas concerning a rural idyll,
encouraged by “country living” magazines, for example, are beliefs that keep the
idyllic image alive. The idea of rural myth can be found anywhere on the globe:
from England to Argentina, from Sweden to Australia. In Australia, for instance,
rural idyll is reinforced by ideas of “the rural” consisting of simple, harmonious,
cohesive, and homogeneous communities surrounded by a hinterland of farmers
and ranchers, with little or no conflict (Lockie & Bourke, 2001; Squire, 1993;
Wangiiemert, 2001). Thus, these rural areas are thought to be, by nature, immune
to crime and superior to urban areas.
The idyllic image of rural has been both reinforced and contested in fiction (art
and moving pictures) as well by media coverage of our everyday lives. In Sweden,
Astrid Lindgren’s books depict the idyllic side of the Scandinavian countryside,
while various contemporary works of fiction from around the country have chal-
lenged this idyllic image. Recent examples include a series of novels by Asa
Larsson, who defies the idyll in direct relation to the hectic capital city of Sweden.
Her main character leaves the career-driven life of a Stockholm lawyer for a sup-
posedly idyllic village in northern Sweden. Soon she is hit by the reality of the
place. The landscape is vast between human settlements and deadly cold, priests
are murdered, sects are revealed, victims are found on top of and under the ice.
Internationally, perhaps one of the most well-known works of fiction that clearly
illustrates the pitfalls of assuming “crime is an urban problem” is Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle’s The Adventure of the Copper Beeches,' a Sherlock Holmes story. The
excerpt below is a conversation between Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr.
Watson, traveling by train through the English countryside.”
All over the countryside, away to the rolling hills around Aldershot, the
little red and grey roofs of the farm-steadings peeped out from amid the
light green of the new foliage.
“Are they not fresh and beautiful?” Watson cried with all the enthusiasm
of a man fresh from the fogs of Baker Street.
But Holmes shook his head gravely. “Do you know, Watson,” said
Holmes, “that it is one of the curses of a mind with a turn like mine that I
must look at everything with reference to my own special subject. You look
at these scattered houses, and you are impressed by their beauty. I look at
them, and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation
and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there.”
“Good heavens!” Watson cried. “Who would associate crime with these
dear old homesteads?”
“They always fill me with a certain horror. It is my belief, Watson, founded
upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present
a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.”
“You horrify me!” replied Watson.
10 Introduction
Fiction writers and journalists are not the only parties guilty of propagating
images of the rural idyll. In a recent article using Sweden as a case study,
Jansson (2013, p. 91) illustrates how the media plays a key role in the hege-
monic process to define the centers (the urban) and the margins (the rural) of
society. The survey shows that the countryside is understood as misrepresented
by the media, whereas the city is understood as much too positively represented:
“whereas life in the countryside is predominantly associated with high quality of
life, local engagement, solidarity, and work ethics, life in Swedish cities is asso-
ciated with openness to new ideas and global engagement.” The author also
shows how the hegemony of the urban—rural divide is constructed through social
practices, notably mobility and place making, and examples of everyday culture
and media.
In academia, the distorted image of the rural is far from new. Research of
the rural has been dominated by romantic images of the countryside (for a
review, see e.g., Woods, 2011). In criminology research, for instance, the
duality between rural and urban has long been attributed to studies based on
Toénnies’ (1887) distinction between gemeinschaft and gesellschaft. This pair of
concepts is normally translated as “community” and “society.” Gemeinschaft is
associated with more “community-oriented” values and virtuous, cohesive
communities, while gesell/schaft is linked to more “individualistic” forms of
thought and practice (Inglis, 2014). As suggested by Donnermeyer and DeKe-
seredy (2008), gemeinschaft interpretations of rural space draw on the “rural
idyll.” They misinterpret crime in the rural context as either exceptional or a
lagged effect of urbanization, never endemic to rural culture or rural com-
munities. Moreover, Cloke and Little (1997) indicate that research on the rural
has been fascinated with the neat morphological unit of the nucleated village
and by an obsession with gemeinschaft social relations. According to Owen and
Carrington (2015), these images compress the richness of rurality into a
homogenizing template, neglecting the existence of “other rurals” that embody
different dimensions of the rural as suggested by Philo (1997, p. 22). As illus-
trated in this book, particularly in Chapters 8-10, there is a need to put into
perspective the rural-urban dichotomy and to go beyond the naive assumption
of rural places as being free of crime. It is also worth investigating the potential
“second myth” in the Swedish context, which portrays the countryside as dan-
gerous and malevolent (Bell, 1997). While the rural idyll creates rural space as
an object of desire because it is not urban, rural space may also be presented as
an object of dread because it is not urban (Bell, 1997; Scott & Biron, 2010).
This myth works to exaggerate rural “strangeness” and, in doing so, works to
broaden the assumed gap which separates rural and urban life (Donnermeyer,
Scott, & Carrington, 2013).
2 Low crime rates in rural areas do not equate to “no problems”
Another reason for caring about crime in rural areas is the assumption that
“because there is less crime in the countryside, crime is not a problem for people
Crime and safety in rural areas 11
living there” (Yarwood, 2001, p. 206). The problem is the way issues of rural
crime and safety have been approached by their own discipline. Criminology is
urban-biased, and it is no surprise that rural crime consistently ranks among the
least studied social problems in criminology (DeKeseredy, 2015; Donnermeyer,
2012).
Although the risk of some crimes appears to be much greater in urban areas,
other crimes, such as theft from motor vehicles, may be more of a problem for
rural than urban residents (Marshall & Johnson, 2005). In Sweden, Ceccato and
Dolmén (2011) also show a differentiated pattern of violent and property crime
between urban and rural areas as well as within rural areas. In the 1990s, violent
crimes, including homicides and assault, were also prevalent in some rural areas
in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania (Ceccato & Haining, 2008;
Kerry, Goovaerts, Haining, & Ceccato, 2010). Rural areas in Australia show a
higher rate of violent crime than property crime. Carcach (2000) found that in
rural Australia, street violence was particularly prevalent in some remote rural
regions.
Again, lower rates do not measure the impact crime and perceived safety have
in a rural community. Even if they did, crime rates alone might be poor indic-
ators of the problem encountered in rural areas. This is because the rate may be
low because of low reporting rates, triggered by a number of factors. Long dis-
tances may affect reporting rates in rural areas. In Sweden, for instance, there are
indications that police presence has declined since the mid-2000s. Lindstr6m
(2014) suggests that, from 2006 the number of police officers per capita declined
nearly 10 percent in rural areas, while it increased by 3 percent in the rest of the
country. For certain types of crime, the lack of anonymity in rural areas deter-
mines whether or not a crime is reported by a battered woman, for example
(DeKeseredy, Dragiewicz, & Rennisson, 2012). In Australia, Barclay, Donner-
meyer, and Jobes (2004) show that the reporting rate is lower because farmers
have a high tolerance for several criminal behaviors. More important perhaps is
to consider types of crime that most affect rural communities and how they indi-
vidually impact particular groups. For some groups, an increase in crimes against
property leads to a sense of insecurity regardless of the level of crime. For
instance, the recent increase in thefts from farmers in Sweden is bound to have
an impact on group behavior, their propensity to seek more protection, their
perception of safety, and their trust in local authorities, especially the police
(Lantbrukarnas Riksférbund, 2012).
Yet, it is not only quantity that matters but also the types of crime that occur
in rural areas. A significant increase in thefts or vandalism in a rural municipality
may have less of an effect on people’s perceived safety than a single case of
crime in the village. Individual serious crimes, such as murder, have a long-term
effect on people’s perceptions of safety and on the image of the community (see,
for instance, Peste, 2011). Moreover, long-term neighbor disputes (Mackay &
Moody, 1996) and chronic problems of social disorder (Coomber et al., 2011),
while they may not turn into an act of crime, may damage the social capital of
communities as much as crimes do.
12. Introduction
3 Rural areas are heterogeneous entities
Rural areas in Europe are quite diverse not only geographically but also in terms
of the different challenges they face (European Communities, 2008). This is just
an example that it is a mistake to assume that patterns of crime are homogeneous
across rural areas (Wells & Weisheit, 2004). The rural as a homogeneous entity
is a notion commonly fed by mediated images of what is expected of urban and
rural. In this context, Jansson (2013) argues that the problem is not to recognize
what can be urban or rural in the traditional sense but to identify forgotten places
that fall outside the dichotomous image of urban and rural: suburbs, small towns,
and other in-between spaces. In a globalized media society, these landscapes
seem to be the real “other places” and yet may be rural in some aspects and
urban in others.
Another way to check the heterogeneity of rural areas is to assess the way
crime comes about in these areas. The dynamics of rural areas vary according
to their economic basis and socioeconomic composition (e.g., Persson &
Ceccato, 2001), and through these characteristics crime may be seen as the tip
of the iceberg of a number of other problems. In Sweden, predictors of crime
in rural areas are not the same as those in urban areas. For instance, the pro-
portion of foreign-born population and the population growth rate tend to
explain theft rates in urban areas but not in rural areas (Ceccato & Dolmén,
2011). In the United States, Osgood and Chambers (2003) found a feature of
non-metropolitan counties that distinguished them from metropolitan coun-
ties, namely, that poverty and population mobility were negatively correlated
in rural areas, whereas the relationship was positive in the urban setting. In
rural areas, rates of juvenile violence varied markedly with population size:
counties with the smallest juvenile populations showed exceptionally low
arrest rates. Social factors, such as family structure, are more important as
predictors of crime than economic ones are in non-urban areas (for a review,
see Wells and Weisheit, 2004). In Germany, Entorf and Spengler (2000) also
found different crime patterns in west and east Germany, where some crimi-
nal activities are triggered by distinct criminogenic conditions over time and
space.
Nevertheless, some of these patterns may reflect something more fluid than
place-centered explanations of crime such as population composition or
poverty. Crime may be influenced by criminogenic networks that connect indi-
viduals without paying attention to territories or geographical borders. Some
are local networks, such as drugs commercialized by youth gangs; others can
be large regional criminal networks. In Italy, for instance, regional patterns of
crime have to be assessed taking into account the existence of regional crime
organizations, with a north and south divide (Cracolici & Uberti, 2009). Along
similar lines, differentiated patterns of violence particularly in the United
States have been suggested to reflect cultural differences in values, norms, and
beliefs held by members of groups or subgroups (Messner & Rosenfeld,
1999). It is believed that some subcultures provide greater normative support
Crime and safety in rural areas 13
for violence than others (Corzine, Corzine, & Whitt, 1999). The existence of
differences in violence between ethnic groups is the subject of controversy
among researchers (Farrington, Loeber, & Southamer-Loeber, 2003) but has
been suggested as one explanation for large regional differences in homicide
rates in some countries (Ceccato, 2014a).
Rural areas are not homogeneous entities, because rural crime also varies
over time. Rural touristic municipalities tend to experience seasonal variations in
crime rates, often depending on visitor inflows. Such municipalities also tend to
have a number of service sectors (restaurants, hotels) that are not found in muni-
cipalities with a more traditional “old” economic structure (mining, forestry).
Ski resorts in the winter and summer destinations and municipalities are exam-
ples of this dynamic illustrated by Ceccato and Dolmén (2013) and are further
discussed in Chapter 4.
4 Rural areas are in constant transformation
As much as 41 percent of the European population lives in urban regions, 35
percent in intermediate regions, and 23 percent in rural regions (Eurostat, 2012).?
The shift from agricultural production toward a multifunctional landscape and
the increasing value assigned to environmental values has affected European
tural areas. Even in the predominantly rural regions nowadays agriculture con-
tributes less than 15 percent to the total production and income generated (van
Leeuwen, 2010). Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, recently
published figures on the distribution of the European population across 27 coun-
tries based on a new urban-tural typology that analyzes population density and
total population. Interestingly, the highest population growth in urban regions
was observed in Scandinavia; the highest rates were in Sweden (an increase of
17.3 percent per capita), Finland (10 percent), and Denmark (5 percent). The
Baltic countries showed an increase in the opposite direction, from urban to non-
urban areas. The rural population in the United States, United Kingdom, and
Australia was last measured at 19, 18, and 11 percent, respectively, according to
the World Bank (2012).
Rural areas are undergoing a number of changes, often dictated by forces far
beyond their local reality (Shortall & Warner, 2012; Woods, 2011). In the United
States, Krannich, Luloff, and Field (2011) illustrate how aesthetic values of rural
landscapes have been coupled with the forces of commodity industry. In some cases
the restructuring process has forced rural communities to move away from tradi-
tional economies toward more diversified local employment bases. Crime is part of
the transformation occurring at different paces and on various scales around the
rural world. The urban-rural relationship is changing (Johansson, Westlund, & Eli-
asson, 2009). In Sweden, the redistribution of the population from small villages to
larger cities that has taken place in the past three decades affects people’s routines
and their risks of becoming a target for crime. In Sweden, it seems that such a
development does not follow urbanization or counterurbanization or gentrification
processes in the strict sense, as has been found in the United Kingdom and
14 Introduction
elsewhere (Amcoff & Westholm, 2007; Johansson et al., 2009). Ceccato and
Dolmén (2011) suggest that the population redistribution can be associated with
crime in several ways. In the long run, population shifts affect density of “acquaint-
anceship,” that is, the degree to which members of the community know each other
(Weisheit & Donnermeyer, 2000). If people move out, such ties are broken, which
may generate socioeconomic instability and, in the long run, support conditions
favoring crime (Kim & Pridemore, 2005). Community life may be particularly
affected when emigration is selective (young people, female), often leaving behind
poorly educated middle-aged or elderly males.
Rural areas are becoming more similar to urban areas both socially and eco-
nomically (Ceccato & Dolmén, 2011). As in other parts of the world, Sweden
shows signs of an emergence of a “post-productivist countryside” that differs
from the agri-industrial landscapes of “conventional” agriculture (Ilbery &
Bowler, 1998; Marsden, 1998). The exchange that occurs through media, migra-
tion, and daily commuting, connecting people near and far (Westholm, 2008),
are examples of this new economic landscape. Moreover, urban-rural relation-
ships are being redefined by the use of ICT, such as the Internet and cell phones,
making crime less dependent on physical space. In 2010, as many as 91 percent
of Swedes had access to the Internet at home, compared with 79 percent in 2004.
ICT has meant new opportunities but also new dangers. This development
imposes new challenges for crime prevention, because law enforcement author-
ities have to deal with offenders and victims who may reside far from their terri-
torial jurisdiction. On the other hand, social media (Twitter, Facebook) have
become a tool for community policing, allowing the residents themselves to
engage in daily police work.
These transformations are not specific to the Global North (Siwale, 2014; Tapia-
dor, 2008; Woods, 2011). Scorzafave, Justus, and Shikida (2015) show for example
that, although less than 14 percent of the Brazilian population lives in rural areas
today this population is experiencing an increase in violence. They show that, in
some cases, violence growth rates are steeper in rural areas. Attempted robbery is
the crime for which the highest growth rate was observed, but high growth rates
were also registered for other crimes. The development process in Brazil is integ-
rating rural and urban areas. Criminality is spreading to rural areas. This poses new
challenges to public safety policy, because most public services are centralized in
large cities. Small towns and rural areas need more investment to change this situ-
ation. Scorzafave et al. (2015) suggest that small towns and rural areas need more
public services that help prevent crimes (e.g., schools, cultural centers) and more
law enforcement services (e.g., police stations, video surveillance equipment,
police officers).
5 The nature of rural areas influences crime
Rural crimes are crimes that take place in rural contexts. Some are ordinary
crimes such as burglary and fights, while others are more specifically related to
the opportunities for crime that only occur in rural areas. Rural crime includes
Crime and safety in rural areas 15
farm crime, such as the theft of tractors or cattle, but also crimes against nature
and wildlife. The reasons why people commit crime in rural areas are certainly
not different from the reasons in urban areas. Yet, some opportunities for crime
will be more typical in rural areas than in urban, and vice versa.
Certain crime opportunities or targets may only be present in rural areas, such
as forests and farms. It is no surprise that hot spots of diesel theft from tractors
are concentrated in farm-based municipalities. In other cases, a lack of presence
of people or poor surveillance makes certain crimes easier to commit in rural
areas. Low population density affects crime opportunities and detection. As
Felson (2013) suggests, population density and population movement during the
course of the day transmit information about crime events quite independently of
mass media or personal networks.
If people are not present, some crimes may go undetected for some time, for
instance, the dumping of garbage in forests (Ceccato & Uittenbogaard, 2013).
Other conditions that may promote crime in rural areas is the high tolerance for
certain types of behavior and crime itself among individuals of the local com-
munity (Barclay et al., 2004; Barclay, Scott, Hogg, & Donnermeyer, 2007). Dis-
tance from police stations as well as cultural factors are behind such differences
in the willingness to report an offense. The population’s willingness to report
crime in Sweden is relatively high (BRA, 2008), but there are differences in
reporting practices by type of crime (violence often being less reported than
property crimes) and by region, with urban areas having the highest propensity
to report offenses (BRA, 2008). Farmers avoid reporting if the offense is not
serious (Lantbrukarnas Riksférbund, 2012). Because of a perceived lack of ano-
nymity in rural areas, victims may refrain from contact with local authorities,
including the police.
In rural areas, women are less likely to report violence, for numerous reasons
(e.g., DeKeseredy, Donnermeyer, Schwartz, Tunnell, & Hall, 2007). For
instance, long distances create isolation to a greater degree than in urban areas.
This book discusses in detail the barriers that women living in rural areas face
when reporting violence when the perpetrator is known to the victim. Interna-
tionally, the literature suggests that such social isolation can be particularly prob-
lematic for ethnic minority groups when seeking advice and reporting racial
discrimination and abuse (Chakraborti & Garland, 2011; Garland & Chakraborti,
2006, 2012; Greenfields, 2014; Robinson & Gardner, 2012). These issues call
for better knowledge of the nature of crime in rural areas.
6 Perceived safety is unequal
It may be no surprise that people living in rural areas declare overall that they
feel safer than people living in urban areas do. Higher rates of victimization in
larger cities are often pointed out as an explanation of lower perceptions of
safety (BRA, 2011; Skogan, 1990). Yet, looking more closely at this phenom-
enon, perceived safety shows a patchier pattern, with a nature that is harder to
grasp than expected, something that can be heterogeneous across space and time
16 Introduction
and between groups. One way forward is to assume that, as suggested by Hope
and Sparks (2000), people’s responses to risk are formed not only in relation to
their sense of place, where place refers to the immediate settings and conditions
of their daily life, but also in relation to their sense of its place in a larger soci-
etal set of stories, conflicts, troubles, and insecurities. Yet, why do people
declare lower fear of victimization in rural areas?
A reason for high declared safety in rural areas might be the low population
density that characterizes them. Felson (2013, p. 356) recognizes that associating
population density and crime rates is not problem-free, as many low-density
cities might show high crime rates, though places with higher population density
are often perceived as more dangerous and problematical. Felson points out that
“perception has a structure” based on density of people. He adds:
two cities have identical population sizes and crime rates. The first city is a
“convergent city” ... the second one is characterized by urban sprawl ... in
the convergent city crimes will impinge on a larger number of persons
because the sights and sounds about those crimes will reach people.
Following this reasoning, individuals living in rural areas would be less affected
by crime and its consequences, including the “buzz” suggested by Felson (2013),
than those living in highly dense places, such as urban areas. Zaluar (2012), dis-
cussing levels of fear in urban favelas in Brazil, suggests that, even within urban
areas, the “noise” that triggers fear is uneven. She notes that even when the
sound of gunfire is heard more than seen, the noise, and the fear it produces, is
unevenly distributed between neighborhoods. The richest areas are the ones
where gunfire is heard less. Some of the poorest areas, where trafficking gangs
dominate most of the favela, are those with the most gunfire noise and where
people declare feeling most in fear.
Yet, some factors that impact perceived safety are more tangible, such as vic-
timization. Inequality in victimization between groups reveals a picture different
from this homogeneous pattern of rural safety. Fear reflects unbalanced levels of
victimization, in which the poor are overrepresented among crime victims (BRA,
2014; Nilsson & Estrada, 2006; Tseloni, Mailley, Farrell, & Tilley, 2010). Thus,
individuals’ fears reflect their immediate settings and conditions of their daily life,
but also their sense of their place in a larger societal context (Hope & Sparks,
2000). In Sweden, for instance, the poor who are victims of crime reveal more
anxieties than wealthier groups in Sweden (Nilsson & Estrada, 2006). Although the
poor are overrepresented in some large Swedish cities, such as Stockholm, Malmé,
and Gothenburg, little is known about fear of crime and other potential anxieties
that go under the label “poor perceived safety” among vulnerable groups living in
rural areas. In Sweden, Backman, Nilsson, and Fritzell (2008) show that the mor-
tality rate is higher among socially excluded young adults in rural areas than their
counterparts in big cities. International literature confirms that this process goes
along with long-term social and economic exclusion and discrimination that occur
by gender, ethnicity, and residents versus newcomers (Babacan, 2012; Chakraborti
Crime and safety in rural areas’ 17
& Garland, 2011; Jensen, 2012; Scott, Carrington, & McIntosh, 2012). Fear, in this
case, as suggested by Pain and Smith (2008), is central to the terrain of everyday
lived experience, rather than a straightforward relationship between the individual
and a variety of societal structures; it is embedded in a network of moral and polit-
ical geographies.
Perceived safety is also impacted by the environments in which we spend
time. In Sweden, for instance, in the past few decades a shrinking labor market
in smaller municipalities has imposed changes on people’s routines. Some
choose to move to larger municipalities where the jobs are. Changes in people’s
routine activities may affect their risk of victimization and perceived safety. The
situation becomes especially problematic in remote rural areas that are relatively
far from the major labor markets. Safety is also relevant, as one in five
employees in Europe spends at least one hour traveling to and from work each
way. This means many hours are spent on trains and buses or in transit (Ceccato,
2014b).
Fear can also be revealed by silence. Examples in this book discuss the differ-
ences in reported rates of domestic violence across Sweden as a sign of differ-
ences in gender contracts. Low rates of reported violence against women can be
associated with a silence code imposed by patriarchal community values and a
fear of ostracism if violence becomes public (DeKeseredy et al., 2012).
There might be other sources of fear that generate silence. One example is the
despair of police authorities, as victims and witnesses rarely cooperate with them
when they know crimes have been committed by organized gangs. Motorcycle
groups, typical of some rural areas in Sweden, are examples of these criminal
groups. In summary, Part III of this book attempts to look beyond actual statis-
tics on perceived safety between rural and urban areas in order to shed light on
the nature of fear among groups of people living in rural areas.
7 Commodification of security in rural areas is taking place
Commodification of rural areas is perhaps more often associated with rural
tourism and the inflow of temporary population. How can the rural be commodi-
fied? As Woods (2011, p. 95) suggests, “an object becomes a commodity when
its exchange value, the price that consumers are prepared to pay for the object,
exceeds its use value”; “it also takes place when entities that have not tradition-
ally been considered in economic terms are ascribed with an economic value.”
Commodities can take different shapes, such as paying for observing a landscape
or patting animals. Rural commodification has been occurring since the 1980s
across the globe relying on global capital flows and a complex network of local
and global actors (Mackay & Perkins, 2013; Woods, 2011; Woods, Flemmen, &
Wollan, 2014).
Rural tourism has a safety dimension on top of the economic, social, and
environmental ones. Rural tourism can be defined as “touristic activities that
are focused on the consumption of rural landscapes, artifacts, cultures, and
experiences, involving different degrees of engagement and performance”;
18 Introduction
“rural tourism involves the consumption of rural signifiers as participants seek
connection with an imagined idea of the rural” (Woods, 2011, p. 954). New
criminogenic conditions are created with these activities that would not other-
wise occur in these places. For instance, people create new routine activities
in these places; they gather in newly created leisure centers where festivities
take place and they leave their cars in adjacent parking lots. Extra police
forces are often called from neighboring cities to support big events that
attract many people.
Another dimension of the rural commodification is the development of res-
idential neighborhoods in rural areas targeting a specific demand from buyers.
This may take the form of counterurbanization, as people leave cities in a
search for the attractions of the countryside (Brown & Glasgow, 2008) but
also gentrification of the rural. In extreme cases, new housing developments
are built to satisfy the demands of certain groups. Countries in the Global
South show examples where gated communities are not only found in urban
areas but have also increasingly become a part of the countryside (Spocter,
2013). The extraction of amenity value from the rural landscape happens as
people are willing to pay extra to enjoy the quiet of rural gated communities.
The so-called “free-of-crime zones” are ensured by high walls, private guards,
and modern security systems.
Finally, a third dimension of the commodification of rural areas is privatiza-
tion of security provision. As discussed in Chapter 11, private security com-
panies provide services for private enterprises and the state as well as
municipalities and individuals. Private security is not a new phenomenon, nor
has its expansion gone unnoticed, but nowadays private security organizations
have taken over a number of responsibilities that used to be associated with the
public sector, in other words, law enforcement. As the presence and impact of
commercial security actors increase, the roles and functions conventionally
ascribed to the state are being transformed, as new geographies of power and
influence take form (Berndtsson & Stern, 2011).
In Sweden, the centralization of the police now taking place (Lindstrém,
2014) is following a parallel process of privatization of security provision. It is
uncertain whether this process will affect the nature of security as a public good,
because security companies are taking over a number of duties previously
ascribed to the police, especially in rural areas. Public goods are provided col-
lectively, partly because their benefits, by definition, are not limited to those who
are willing and/or able to pay for them (non-excludability principle). Likewise,
to be a real public good, security should satisfy the principle of non-rivalry,
which means that the consumption of that public good by any individual will not
reduce its availability to others in society (Ceccato, 2014b). However, the way
security is provided, produced, and consumed in rural areas (by the development
of rural tourism, gated housing settlements, and privatization of policing) puts in
doubt the idea of security as a truly public good. As it is now, security in rural
areas is instead increasingly becoming a commodity and, as such, not attained
by all.
Crime and safety in rural areas 19
8 Crime prevention is urban-centered
There is no disagreement that crime prevention should fit the nature of the crime
and the context of the crime, even as it happens in rural areas. However, for
various reasons crime prevention in rural areas tends to deal with problems that
are more relevant for large cities than for the rural areas themselves. In Sweden,
youth riots, such as those that took place in Stockholm and Malm6 in 2013, are
never witnessed in rural municipalities, although they constitute youth violence.
Yet, youth violence has been considered by local crime prevention councils as
the most important crime problem in rural municipalities (Ceccato & Dolmén,
2013). Similarly, neighbourhood watch schemes and safety audits have been
important examples of community safety practices in rural areas. Most of these
crime prevention models are imported from urban areas to rural ones as exam-
ples of good practice, with little concern about potential differences in contexts
(Ceccato & Dolmén, 2013). In the Swedish context, the implementation of com-
munity safety schemes based on local partnerships (composed of police repre-
sentatives, the municipality, local business, local associations, individual
members of the community) went hand in hand with the overall decentralization
of the police in the mid-1990s. Twenty years later, a centralization process is
culminating in a new police organization in early 2015, which is bound to have
an effect on the way policing takes place across the country. This issue is further
discussed in Part V of this book.
The lack of attention at the national level to crime in rural areas and its pre-
vention is not unique to Sweden. In European countries, the rural dimension
has been omitted in the evaluation of safety and crime prevention policies in
Europe; see, for instance, Robert (2010). This fact may be related to issues
that make society as a whole perceive rural areas and rural crime as less
important than crime in urban and metropolitan areas, where most people live.
The perception, again, is fed by lower crime rates and the idea that rural areas
are safe places. Other factors may be structural frameworks in national crime
prevention documents that guide intervention toward where the problems are
— in other words, urban areas. These are possible reasons for the urban focus
that, for the time being, characterizes most local crime prevention councils in
Sweden.
9 An intersectional gendered perspective of safety in a rural context
is needed
There is a need to investigate intersectionality in victimization in rural con-
texts. Chapter 10 of this book illustrates how women from minorities seem to
be at higher risk for violence than other groups in Australia, the United States,
and Bangladesh, just to name a few. There is no doubt about the current need
for research that is sensitive to how, when, and why gender intersects with
age, class, and ethnic belonging, which together result in poor perceived
safety. The intersections of these different dimensions have been studied for
20 Introduction
some time. According to Thompson (2002), intersectionality of gender, age,
ethnicity, and the like was first named by Kimberlé Crenshaw in the late
1980s, though the concept can be traced back to the nineteenth century; it
became popular in sociology in the late 1960s and early 1970s in conjunction
with the multiracial feminist movement in the United States.
According to Davis (2008), intersectionality as a theoretical framework
attempts to explain how race, class, ability, gender, health status — and even
other dimensions of identity such as social practices, institutional arrange-
ments, and cultural ideologies — intersect to generate an outcome that goes
beyond a one-dimensional perspective of identity. Expressions of intersec-
tionality in violence against women are shown in Chapter 10 of this book.
Several authors in different parts of the world report special difficulties of
battered immigrant women in rural areas. Yet another author reminds readers
that the situation of immigrant women may be more complicated than that of
poor native women because often “the domestic violence victim is dependent
upon her batterer for her continued residence in the country via a conditional
visa.” Rural immigrant women may also be hampered by a limited knowledge
of the language as well as strong cultural influences in which women are
taught to defer to their husbands. For further theoretical guidance, see Treloar
(2014). Thus, it is argued in this book that intersectionality as an analytic tool
can also be useful to other groups that are overrepresented among victims
(and perpetrators): males, the young, poor, and ill. For instance, Chapter 11
illustrates the layers of vulnerability of young individuals who see crime as a
form of conflict resolution in places where a sense of belonging is perceived
as poor.
10 Crime and safety are important dimensions of sustainable rural
development
Researchers and experts have long recognized crime and fear as important chal-
lenges in creating sustainable communities. An unsustainable environment is
commonly characterized by “images of poverty, physical deterioration, increas-
ing levels of crime, and perceived fear of crime” (Cozens, 2002, p. 131). Despite
such importance, the social dimension of sustainable development is underrepre-
sented among the environmental and economic dimensions in rural contexts.
As a process, sustainable development is thought to be dependent on people’s
attitudes with daily practices, as it is considered the path to amend unsustainabil-
ities (Coral, 2009).
[Sustainable development] consists of a development process among other
things that leads to a society in which all present and future humans have
their basic needs met and in which everyone has fair and equitable access to
the earth’s resources, a decent quality of life, and celebrates cultural
diversity.*
Crime and safety in rural areas’ 21
In practice, Greed (2012, p. 219) believes that so far sustainability-driven pol-
icies are working against inclusive, equitable, and accessible places. She notes,
“sustainability policy is set at too high a level to engage with the realities of
everyday life.” Since the 1990s, academic discourse has promoted and chal-
lenged the sustainability of rural areas in relation to a number of issues, such as
energy, tourism, food production, and ecological entrepreneurship (Butler, 1991;
Kaygusuz, 2011; Munday, Bristow, & Cowell, 2011; Tovey, 1997). Research on
social sustainable development of rural areas has mostly concentrated on urban
agriculture, social capital, and ecotourism (Ferris, Norman, & Sempik, 2001;
Woolcock & Narayan, 2000).
It should come as no surprise that crime and safety are neglected in rural
research studies that focus on what is called the social dimension of sustainable
development (but see Carrington, Hogg, & McIntosh, 2011; Glasson & Cozens,
2011; Smith & McElwee, 2013). Although the studies by Carrington et al.
(2011) and Smith and McElwee (2013) do not mention sustainable development
as such, the impact of economic development on social and environmental
dimensions of the localities is discussed in a way pertinent to sustainable devel-
opment. The third study by Smith and McElwee (2013) is methodological and
explores the coverage of crime and safety issues in the history of Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) and similar documents, then considers several issues
for advancing better practice in crime prevention using an impact assessment
framework.
In practice, dealing with the problems of crime and community safety as
dimensions of rural sustainable development requires a clearer definition of the
roles of public and private actors in providing security as well as a better under-
standing of the roles of civil society and governments in balancing all goals of
sustainability on various spatial scales (local, regional, national, and supra-
national). Chapters 8 and 12 of this book touch briefly on conflicts between the
economic and social dimensions of sustainable development as illustrated in
cases of environmental harm and wildlife crime.
Concluding remarks
In contrast to urban areas, rural areas are regarded as a retreat from the problems
of urban living, including crime. Such areas are characterized as places where
people reside closer to nature, in cohesive communities. This chapter attempts to
untangle this simplistic view of rural areas by discussing a number of issues that
show facets of rural areas as both safe and criminogenic. For instance, crime and
safety in rural areas is a subject worth examining in its own right, because rural
areas are in constant transformation across space and over time, and such
dynamics sometimes create new opportunities for crime. Another important
reason among those discussed previously in this chapter is the nature of per-
ceived safety. Low crime rates, typical of rural areas, do not necessarily mean
safety for all if victimization is unequally distributed, perhaps even concentrated
among a specific group. Furthermore, safety is a reflexive phenomenon that
22 Introduction
depends on those who define it, something that goes beyond victimization.
Whether or not rural areas are proven to be safer than urban areas, what is
important is that low crime rates already put them at a great advantage in terms
of attractiveness and sustainability — and this is in itself a good starting point.
Notes
1 See http://bakerstreet.wikia.com/wiki/Story_Text:_The Adventure_of_the Copper_
Beeches, retrieved January 30, 2015.
2 The author is grateful to Richard Wortley, a declared Holmes fan, who cordially shared
this inspirational quote when this book was in its initial stages of being written.
3 The urban-rural typology is based on a classification of grid cells of 1km?. An area that
has a population density of at least 300 inhabitants per km? and a minimum population of
5,000 inhabitants in contiguous cells above that density threshold is classified as urban;
the other cells are considered rural. An intermediate region has its population in grid cells
that are classified as urban equal 50-80 percent of the total population, while a predomi-
nantly rural region comprises a population in grid cells that are classified as rural equal to
50 percent or more of the total population. For further information, see: http://epp.euro-
stat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/rural_development/introduction and_ http://epp.euro-
stat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Regional_typologies_overview (retrieved
April 7, 2015).
4 See http://hdr.undp.org/en (retrieved April 7 2015).
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3 Definitions, theory, and research
making in rural Sweden
This chapter has four sections. The first section offers a number of basic defini-
tions in rural criminology used in this book. In some cases, several definitions
are put forward instead of assuming a single definition. The case of “rural” pro-
vides an example of this approach. The second section is devoted to a number of
theories that provide the theoretical basis for the book. Each theory is introduced
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perceived safety, and crime prevention. In the third section, the chapter takes a
practical turn and focuses on the making of research on crime and safety in rural
areas. This section discusses issues of measurement and data quality that are
used later in the book. Finally, in the fourth section Sweden is introduced as
study area.
Definitions
The definitions set out a basis for the concepts referred to throughout the book.
Rural, rurality
There is common agreement that any attempt to obtain a common definition of rural
(rural areas, rurality) might not be useful or even possible.' There are several reasons
why a blunt template around the definition of rural should be avoided, such as:
Not all rural communities are alike, and defining the concept rural is subject
to much debate.
(DeKeseredy, 2015; Donnermeyer, 2012; Websdale & Johnson, 1998)
The broad category “rural” is obfuscatory ... as intra-rural differences can
be enormous and rural-urban similarities can be sharp.
(Hoggart, 1990, p. 245)
Rurality is a contested concept that remains somewhat arbitrary and open to
debate.
(Hogg & Carrington, 2006)
Definitions, theory, and research 29
Rural areas are not only a residual to urban areas: just because it isn’t urban
doesn’t mean it must be rural.
(e.g., Bosworth & Somerville, 2014; Groves, 2011)
Rural areas are in constant transformation (Woods, 2005, 2011), so any defini-
tion of what rural might be depends on the time, the space, and other contexts.
The search for a singular definition of rural is illusory.
(Halfacree, 1993)
Traditional images of “rural” compress the richness of rurality into a
homogenizing template, neglecting the existence of “other rurals” (Philo,
1997: 22) and images that embody different socialities, sexualities, ethnici-
ties, and subjectivities.
(Owen & Carrington, 2015)
The term “rural” is generally employed to describe non-urban or peripheral regions
(Barclay, Scott, Hogg, & Donnermeyer, 2007, p. 3). Rural is composed of a diverse
set of communities with different characteristics and needs that share a number of
qualities and challenges (Ceccato & Dolmén, 2013, p. 90). In Sweden, there are
different definitions of “rural”. The one adopted in this book breaks rural areas in
two types: Remote Rural (RR) and Accessible Rural (AR) (Swedish National Rural
Development Agency, 2008). This definition reflects the municipalities’ population
size and accessibility — two relevant components to an area’s criminogenic con-
ditions (For more details see the last section of this chapter). What do these areas
have in common? What does it matter to crime and community safety?
1
Rural has a spatial dimension. Hogg and Carrington (1998) suggest that
rural can be defined in terms of demography, population size, density, and
geographical isolation (Halfacree, 1993; Woods, 2005, 2011). Remoteness
is also associated with rural, but as Barclay et al. (2007) observe, the exact
distance that designates what places are remote and the exact number of
people that distinguishes rural are on a sliding scale. The geographical
dimension also involves the economic profile of an area, land use, and pro-
ductive systems (Woods, 2005). The spatial dimension may be attributed by
those who live there or by outsiders through intuitive understandings of
turality. For crime and safety, the spatial dimensions of rural have implica-
tions for both research and practice. Crime levels and the nature of crimes
may vary, as well as ways that they have to be combated through crime pre-
vention measures. See examples in Chapters 5—6 and 8—14 of this book.
Time is an important dimension when defining rural. Time is as fundamental
to the conception of rural as the spatial dimension is. As well observed by
Thrift (1996, p. 47), time and space do not exist alone. Time provides a ref-
erence, such that invisible changes might be happening in rural areas but as
yet may not be noticeable to the naked eye (Ilbery & Bowler, 1998;
Marsden, 1998; Shortall & Warner, 2012; Woods, 2011). “[Rural] space
30
Introduction
should be seen as a process and in process: all space is practiced, all space is
place.” In this respect, any investigation into rural space requires a strongly
temporal contextual approach that makes it possible to analyze potential
entanglements at play (Halfacree, 2006). For crime, the temporal dimension
is crucial, as crimes may not happen if their basic conditions are not in place
(Brantingham & Brantingham, 1984; Cohen & Felson, 1979; Rhodes &
Conly, 1981; Wikstrém, Ceccato, Hardie, & Treiber, 2010).
Context matters when defining rural. The importance of context in rural is also
suggested by Halfacree (2006, p. 45), as the author indicates that any analysis
of rural space must always be sensitive to the issue of geographical specificity.
This argument has been reinforced by many other scholars in the field of rural
studies (Woods, 2005; Yarwood & Edwards, 1995), some by focusing on
historical context (Mahon, 2007), the social, cultural, and economic change
contexts (Holloway & Kneafsey, 2000), regulatory contexts (Marsden, 2008),
and geographical ones, from the village up to the national levels (e.g., Barclay
et al., 2007; Ceccato & Dolmén, 2011; Scorzafave, Justus, & Shikida, 2015;
Weisheit & Donnermeyer, 2000). Focusing on the specificity of a particular
context for crime and safety in rural areas requires a new method of interpreta-
tion, one that avoids generalization and allows for the richer, more nuanced,
and perhaps more meaningful knowledge gained by investigating a particular
case study. For practice, context is fundamental to crime prevention, which
should be tailored to each local context, avoiding “‘one-size-fits-all” solutions.
Rural-urban interactions. The interactions between urban cores and their hin-
terland are fundamental to understand the contemporary conception of rural-
ity, not only in economic and political terms (van Leeuwen, 2010) but in
relation to people’s daily mobility and communication patterns as well as life-
style changes. These interactions and interdependences are not something new
(for a review of Von Thunen’s and Christaller theories, see Melamid, 1967)
but have fairly recently been recognized as important to understand the
dynamics of crime across regions (Ceccato, 2007; Ceccato & Haining, 2004;
Weisheit, Falcone, & Wells, 2006; Weisheit, Wells, & Falcone, 1994).
Table 3.1 Some rural-urban dichotomies
Author Urban category Non-urban category
Becker Secular Sacred
Durkheim Organic solidarity Mechanical solidarity
Maine Contract Status
Redfied Urban Folk
Spencer Industrial Military
Tonnies Gesellschaft Gemeinschaft
Weber Rational Traditional
Bell Criminogenic Idyll
Bell, Philo Normal Strange, horror
Source: adapted from Reissman (1964) in Halfacree (1993, p. 25).
Definitions, theory, and research 31
5 Rural depends on the eye of the beholder. The relativism of the concept of
tural is apparent in the diverse understandings of rurality, some emphasizing
cohesiveness, informality between locals, or idyllic images, others revealing
the dark side with retrograde values that allows a process of othering and
may be associated with peculiar behavior and horror (Bell, 1997; DeKe-
seredy, Muzzatti, & Donnermeyer, 2014; Donnermeyer, Jobes, & Barclay,
2006; Philo, 1997b; Scott, Carrington, & McIntosh, 2012; Tonnies, 1887).
Rural possesses a dimension of reflexivity (Giddens, 1991): what is rural
depends on those who observe and produce it. The dichotomy of percep-
tions within rural may be relatively new, but for some time it has defined
urban versus rural. Dichotomies related to rural-urban environments influ-
enced some of the early studies of rural communities (Halfacree, 1993) and
are also noticeable in more recent rural studies (Table 3.1).
Research on crime and community safety can take advantage of these common-
alities and make them visible by developing cases, that is, particular studies, and
promoting the application of comparative research that can shed further light on
rurality in its own right.
Rural space
“Space does not ‘just exist,’ waiting passively to be discovered and mapped, but
is something created in a whole series of forms and at a whole series of scales by
social individuals”; space is not one but rather a great diversity of “species of
space” (Crang & Thrift, 2000, p. 3). In a few chapters of this book, “spaces” are
the spaces experienced and/or perceived by people in rural areas. In other chap-
ters, space is the domestic environment, which can be a safe realm but may be a
place of violence. In yet other chapters, rural spaces are arenas of conflict and
resistance of imposed macro-scale political and economic social orders in the
wilds of northern Sweden. Yet, as this book progresses, the discussion will
suggest that rural space is “more than simply the sum of separate relations that
comprise its parts” (Smith, 1984, p. 83), tied up with different time frameworks
and contexts.
Traditionally, Frey and Zimmer (2001) suggests that there are three elements
which can help distinguish an area as “urban” or “tural.” First, there is the ecolo-
gical element, which includes population and density. The second element is eco-
nomic, which refers to the function of an area and the activities that take place (this
tends to increase the number of people commuting into the area and country con-
texts). The third element which distinguishes urban from rural areas is the social
character of an area. Differences appear, for example, in the way urban and rural
people live, such as people’s behavioral characteristics and values.
Halfacree’s model of rural space (2006, pp. 48, 52) is advertised as one “that
can be applied to all rural places” yet allows for distinctiveness of contexts. Hal-
facree’s architectural model for rural space is, according to this author, about
realizing “what is already there,” rather than imposing a new understanding of it.
32 Introduction
The first part of his model is composed of what he calls rural localities that are
inscribed by relatively unique spatial practices, either by production or consump-
tion activities. The second part refers to the formal representations of the rural
and how “rural” is framed, for instance, within the production process, by capi-
talist interests, bureaucrats, or politicians; in this case, how the rural is commodi-
fied in exchange-value terms. Finally, the third part consists of everyday lives of
the rural and, as such, is constituted by incoherent and fractured experiences of
the rural. These incorporate individual and social elements (“culture”) in their
cognitive interpretation and negotiation of the rural; in a planning language, this
provides a basis for a bottom-up perspective of the rural.
Rural community
One modern definition of rural communities is “places with small population sizes/
densities, areas where people are more likely to know each other’s business and
come into regular contact with each other” (Websdale & Johnson, 1998, p. 102).
Also, according to DeKeseredy (2015), they are locales that exhibit variable levels
of collective efficacy. The term collective efficacy, although generated originally
with urban settings in mind, means “mutual trust among neighbors combined with
a willingness to act on behalf of the common good, specifically to supervise chil-
dren and maintain public order’ (Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls, 1997, p. 1).
According to this, rural communities would tend to show these features more often
than any other type of environment. Chapters 12—14 show how these features are
expressed in the Swedish context by promoting individual and group mobilization
to prevent crime and promote safety principles.
Actions, meanings, and practices are also part of the definition of community
as proposed by Liepins (2000, p. 30). For the author, a community is a place in
which “entities ... are produced through relations and interactions between
actors and intermediaries which are linked through networks.” Spaces and struc-
tures relate to the physical and non-physical dimensions, for they enable “the
materialization of meanings” and impact on “how practices can occur.” Com-
munities are therefore “temporarily and locationally specific terrains of power
and discourse.” What is particularly positive about this definition is that it goes
beyond the space-related definitions of communities that have dominated rural
research and defines rural communities as worthy of analysis in their own right.
Up to now, rural communities have been identified as different from urban areas
(Rogers, Burdge, Korsching, & Donnermeyer, 1988), which fits into the contrasting
notion of urban and rural communities that was previously in vogue. These concep-
tions drew heavily on Ténnies’ (1887) gemeinschaft and gesellschaft, the former
being associated with communities with strong social ties, socially intimate and
characterized by strongly shared norms imposing social order. The latter type of
community was characterized by the individualistic, formal, and rational. Indi-
viduals’ standards of behavior are negotiated following rules and contractual
obligations and may be expressed in social relations that are more superficial,
leading to social isolation (Donnermeyer, 2007; Tonnies, 1887). This is the
Definitions, theory, and research 33
urban-rural dichotomy that has guided and perhaps dictated the way communities
have been framed in twentieth century research. However, there is reason to believe
that contemporary social interaction challenges the tyranny imposed by Ténnies’
“black and white” definition of gemeinschaft and gesellschaft and perhaps makes
obsolete any type of traditional notion of community. In a digital era, community
takes a virtual form and is a much more fluid concept than any other conception of
rural community so far, while still connecting with the gesellschaft notion of com-
munity and individualism. Individuality comes as a result of the fact that people are
given more “informed choices” (Giddens, 1991).
The idea of online community has become increasingly widespread. Fernback
(2007) found that the concept of “community” in cyberspace is one of conven-
ient togetherness without real responsibility or commitment ... that community
is an evolving process, and that commitment is the truly desired social ideal in
social interaction, whether online or offline. Yet cyberspace can also build on
existing communities and social ties. Lambert (2013, p. x) suggests that ““com-
munity — no matter the setting — is grounded in belonging, understanding, in
plurality.”
When relationships are built and strengthened through storytelling, people
feel welcomed and valued, and civic participation is enhanced. There is
nothing new in this. What is new is the digital. Indeed, we’re awash in such
stories.... We’re telling it as it is. As we are experiencing it. We are forming
communities around our stories.
In the summer of 2014, people in Sweden turned their eyes to the countryside, as
a fire spread over an area of 65km of forest in Vastmanland County. The media
portrayed the experiences of individual families and their vulnerability in this
disaster, which cost more than one billion Swedish crowns.” Locals as well as
people far from Vastmanland saw the involvement of individuals through social
media to support those in need. They offered shelter for people and space for
both big and small animals, such as cows and horses, using social media.*
Sweden is not alone. Social media and other online communication tools are
becoming a subject of great interest in mass emergency response (Hughes, Lise,
Palen, & Anderson, 2014; Palen, Vieweg, Liu, & Hughes, 2009), which helps
build new, perhaps solid social networks and temporary communities.
Crime, farm crime, and rural crime
The definition of crime varies by country, but all definitions share the same core.
According to the Swedish Penal Code, “Crime is legally an act in contravention of
a provision of law for which there is a prescribed punishment” (Ministry of Justice,
1994). The Swedish definition of crime is similar to the one in the Oxford English
Dictionary (2009): “an offense or a criminal offense and is an act harmful not only
to some individual, but also to the community or the state (a public wrong), which
is forbidden and punishable by law.” Some are directed to persons, other properties,
34 Introduction
the state or society, and the environment. Overall, to be classified as a crime, the
intention has to be part of the action; that is, an act of wrongdoing must usually be
accompanied by the intention to commit the wrong.
Rural crimes are crimes that take place in rural contexts. Some are ordinary
crimes, such as burglary and fights (crimes against property or a person), while
others are more specifically related to the opportunities for crime that only occur
in rural areas. Rural crime includes farm crime, such as theft of tractors or cattle,
often property crimes against the unit of production (farm), but also acts that
cause harm to nature or wildlife, also called environmental crimes (excessive
levels of air, water, or soil pollution, deforestation in natural reserves, injuries of
animals and wildlife). Some violations fit the definition of harmful actions but
may not be considered a crime; however, every crime violates the law. Chapter 8
discusses in detail examples and definitions of these rural crimes.
Harm and social harm
A few definitions of harm are “physical or psychological injury or damage,”
“wrongdoing, evil,” and “to injure physically, morally, or mentally” someone
and something (Collins English Dictionary, 2003). A portion of the research on
social harm that is pertinent to this book focuses on whether a social harm is
labeled a crime as well as the degree to which that crime or social harm is visible
(see e.g., Davies, Francis, & Wyatt, 2014). The authors suggest that uncovering
crime may not be easy; realizing that it is a criminal act and defining it as such
depends on a number of factors. There must be witnesses, detection, and recog-
nized victims. It is this dynamic that allows crimes and harm to have different
degrees of invisibility that stem from the interplay of this range of factors, which
overlap and interact to decrease or increase the level of visibility. In this book,
the term “harm” is associated with damaging acts against nature and wildlife;
some acts are registered as crimes by the police or environmental inspectors,
while others refer to cases of destruction of rivers or forests or maltreatment of
or injury to animals or wildlife witnessed, but in some cases captured only by
radio or newspaper journalists.
Safety and security
The concept of “security” is rooted in the Latin term securitas, associated with
“peace of mind, freedom from care, and also freedom from danger” (Ceccato,
2013b). Wiebe et al. (2014) defines security as “being free from the risk of being
assaulted and security from feeling afraid of being assaulted,” while safety is “an
individual’s perception of how safe they are from the risk of being victimized.”
Safety and security are contested concepts that remain somewhat arbitrary and
open to debate as different disciplines attach different meaning to them. Some
use these terms in completely opposite ways (Ceccato & Newton, 2015) or
broaden it by including the notion of harm to individuals and nature, such as
victimization by natural hazards.
Definitions, theory, and research 35
Although in this book safety and security are used interchangeably, security
will be more often associated with the risk of being the victim of a crime, while
safety will be linked to an individual’s perception of how safe they are from the
risk of being victimized. Individuals may also be affected by other anxieties
caused by multi-scale factors that may lead individuals to declare feeling unsafe.
Thus, perceived safety in this book is an umbrella concept that involves a
number of feelings, from fear of crime to emotions and anxieties that may be
triggered by current uncertainties and threats that are far from the individual,
family, or community scale (see for instance, Giddens, 1991, 2014). In Chapter
6 potential causes of these emotions are discussed in detail in the rural context.
Gender and intersectionality
Safety is defined here as being dependent on the individual and the groups to
which they might belong (Giddens, 1991). With regards to victimization and
perceived safety, this book puts a special focus on those individuals and groups
whose safety is overlooked by police and official statistics. Among the indi-
vidual factors affecting the perception of safety, gender is perhaps the most
important. Violence against women in domestic settings is just one example of a
situation that demands a nuanced approach to rural safety. On this subject, see
the work done by criminologists in DeKeseredy (2015). As rural is concerned,
what does it mean to adopt a gender-informed approach to safety?
Gender can be defined in the context of gender mainstreaming, which is
defined by the UN (1997) in terms of a set of strategies for making women’s as
well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral part of policies and programs
in all societal spheres, so that women and men benefit equally so inequality is
not perpetuated. The main goal is to achieve a society with better gender equal-
ity, assuming from the start that there are many spheres of life in which women
are at a great disadvantage to men. In the context of safety, this principle should
mean that victimization and fear should not depend on the basic characteristics
of an individual, such as gender or age. Worldwide, much of what is in place in
terms of intervention practices, for instance by the UN Women’s initiative Safe
Cities (UN, 2013), as the name illustrates, focuses on violence against women in
public places and is predominantly linked to women in urban areas (but see UN
Women, 2014).
Both in research and practice, though, it is important not to overgeneralize
between groups and not to overemphasize the gender dimension on top of other
individual qualities. A range of factors can influence victimization and fear of
crime, including age, gender, ethnicity, economics, behavior, culture, and self-
identity. The complexity of gender and safety requires paying attention not just
to being a woman or a man but also to the intersections between gender and age,
ethnicity, financial resources, individual experiences, and culture, to name a few.
These overlaps are essential considerations, because the way they take shape in
an individual creates different outcomes: one being of discrimination, weakness,
and disadvantage, as opposed to integration, power, and advantage. More
36 Introduction
interesting, the combination may also have a synergic effect, for instance, being
a woman from a minority ethnic group and unemployed.
Intersectionality has been around for some time and became popular particu-
larly in sociology in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It has been adapted to crim-
inology by studies devoted to inequality in victimization, particularly in the
United States (e.g., Barak, Leighton, & Flavin, 2010; Peterson & Krivo, 2005).
The concept of “intersectionality,” “the interaction of multiple identities and
experiences of exclusion and subordination,” as defined by Davis (2008, p. 67),
can also be associated with the environmental justice movement and scholar-
ships that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s in the United States (e.g., Bullard,
1983) and flourished since then as a predominately “urban-centric’” field (but see
e.g., Bell and Braun, 2010). Chapters 7 and 10 exemplify how these dimensions
cross over to emerge as layers of vulnerability and discrimination recognized by
experiences discussed in the case of Sami youth, and non-Swedish women.
Othering, otherness, and discrimination
Differences between residents and newcomers in a rural community can be max-
imized by both groups, giving expression to us—them feelings. In the literature,
this has been associated to different terms, such as “othering,” the process of
perceiving or portraying someone or something as fundamentally different from
oneself or a group to which the one pertains (as part of othering or the process of
transforming a difference into otherness). Sandercock (2005) suggests that fear
of others is often one cause of the animosity between newcomers and locals, pre-
viously identified as an expression of the fear of the unknown. This can take dif-
ferent shapes, from fear and neglect, to discrimination and violence of different
types (Carrington, Hogg, & McIntosh, 2011; Cloke & Little, 1997; Philo, 1997b;
Scott et al., 2012).
Garland and Chakraborti (2006) discuss the process of racial discrimination
in rural England against the idyll myth of the rural communities being neigh-
borly and close-knit with strong feelings of belonging. They suggest that this
process obscures and marginalizes the experiences of minority ethnic residents
who can often feel excluded from village life. Garland and Chakraborti (2006)
argue that the intersection of rurality with notions of Englishness and “white-
ness” serves to reinforce further the process of marginalization. For a detailed
discussion, see Chakraborti and Garland (2011). This book, in particular Chap-
ters 6 and 10, illustrates the process of othering and discrimination in the rural
Swedish context.
The emergence of rural crime and community safety in
criminology
Rural criminology is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary field of research
(Ceccato, 2015). This cannot be better illustrated than by the special issue on
“crime and community safety” recently published by the Journal of Rural
Definitions, theory, and research 37
Studies in 2015, volume 39. Researchers from different traditions provided a
variety of articles, each contributing new research to their own particular discip-
lines while together approaching the issues of crime and safety in rural com-
munities. These studies stemmed from different, sometimes similar,
epistemological and paradigmatic traditions in the social and natural sciences.
Their approaches varied, from positivistic, to critical and feminist, from quant-
itative modeling, to the many different qualitative methods. The volume resulted
in an intricate composition of themes at different analytical levels and depth,
from country-based to individual-level studies. This book bypasses that rich
body of previous theories and methods and instead sets out theories that are more
focused on and therefore more pertinent to the scope of this book. The objective
of this chapter is to translate these theories into an integrated theory-driven con-
ceptual framework within which crime and community safety in rural areas can
be further analyzed. None of these theories is without criticism, and none has
been developed strictly for the purpose of explaining crime and safety in rural
contexts. Worth noting is the special attention given to rural places as a crimino-
genic element in the interplay between offenders and victims. If the emphasis is
on the environment where crime takes place, then reducing crime, or making
places safer, requires initiatives that focus on reducing crime opportunities at
those places by taking into account their particular contexts.
Theories that support the study of crime in rural studies
Theories in rural crime research have focused predominantly on the spatial
dimension of crime (Donnermeyer, 2007), which is not surprising, as almost any
consideration of what “rural” means must consider its geographical dimensions
(Hobbs, 1994). Crime opportunities are not random; nor are patterns in fear of
crime. One explanation is that crime reflects people’s whereabouts, where people
spend time. For urban settings, environmental criminology research is populated
by examples of how crime geography reflects people’s routine activities over
time (e.g., Cohen & Felson, 1979; Sherman, Gartin, & Buerger, 1989). But how
do these principles work in rural areas? Do rural areas present a particular set of
situations unique from other non-rural environments?
According to crime point pattern theory, it is the interaction of the location of
potential targets and the criminal’s awareness or activity space that culminates in
particular patterns of crime occurrence. Brantingham and Brantingham (1984,
p. 362) indicate that this happens because individuals’ whereabouts affect their
chances of coming in contact with other individuals, some of them offenders. In
defining the concept of “opportunity space,” these authors suggest that offenders
learn through experience or social transmission the clues that are associated with
“good” victims or places where they can attack. A node is an activity space
where people carry out major activities and spend most of their time, for
example the office, home, or local pub. It is suggested that around these activity
nodes individuals develop awareness spaces, around the settings they become
acquainted with. Paths are the routes that individuals take between these nodes.
38 Introduction
In rural context they can be the streets individuals take when moving around in
the village or when commuting to the neighboring village — a principle that
applies both for victims and offenders.
Another concept of crime pattern theory is that of “edges,” beyond which
persons are unfamiliar with the space. Crimes occur where and when the imme-
diate environment makes the offender feel familiar and safe to act, whilst victims
are unfamiliar with certain environments and the risks they face, for instance,
when they are traveling in areas they do not routinely go. In rural contexts, edges
can be perceived as the boundaries of the village, or for young people or chil-
dren, it can be their own street. These ideas are corroborated by decades of evid-
ence that indicate that individuals commit crime not far from their current (and
previous) place of residence and that their journey is affected by different types
of geographical barriers (Bernasco, 2010; Porter, 1996; White, 1932; Wiles &
Costello, 2000) but see, for example, Townsley and Sidebottom (2010).
Whether an offender travels far is perhaps not as interesting as asking whether
crimes in rural areas are committed by locals and against local residents (Ceccato
& Dolmén, 2011; Mawby, 2015) or whether people take advantage of barriers to
commit crime elsewhere. For instance, Mawby (2015) examined police data and
victim surveys from Cornwall, England, to investigate victims’ and offenders’
status: long-term residents; recent arrivals; second-home owners; temporary resi-
dents, e.g., seasonal workers; visitors, e.g., holidaymakers; or people there on
business. Findings provide little evidence whether the offenders or victims were
nonresidents or residents. Ceccato and Haining (2004) assessed offenders’
mobility at the southern Swedish border after the opening of the Oresund bridge
linking Sweden and Denmark and found different results. Data on the total
number of suspects committing offenses by citizenship indicates a slight increase
since 2000 in the total number of offenders in the Oresund region for all citizen-
ships selected (Danes, Germans, Poles, Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians).
According to the National Police Board, despite the fact that data on offenders’
citizenship does not provide an accurate indication of offenders’ mobility pat-
terns, since we do not know their home address, the data constitutes “a good
proxy.” For example, 75 percent of Polish citizens and 45 percent of Danish
citizens arrested for committing crime in Swedish Oresund in 1998 did not live
in the region. Among Polish citizens, a large number came from deprived areas
in northwest Poland. The analysis, however, was not limited to rural areas but
covered the whole region of Oresund with large urban agglomerations such as
Malm.
Two other interesting concepts are “crime attractors” and “crime generators”
(Brantingham & Brantingham 1995). These concepts help us think about differ-
ences in crime concentrations in rural contexts, though they may be more appropri-
ate to explain the geography of crime in urban environments. Crime generators are
places where large numbers of people are present, for reasons unrelated to criminal
motivation. This convergence in time and space creates new and unexpected crimi-
nal opportunities for violence and property crimes. Crime attractors are places that
breed crime and many criminal opportunities and may be well known to offenders.
Definitions, theory, and research 39
Criminally motivated individuals are drawn to such locations, thus increasing the
number of crime and disorder events. For instance, some types of crimes are con-
centrated in border municipalities or in some parts of them (crime attractors);
others are concentrated in villages that receive a large inflow of population during
the summer (crime generators). Yet, not all places that attract many people are
criminogenic. For certain types of offenses, fewer people around and alert makes
the environment more criminogenic, for instance for burglary, rape, domestic viol-
ence, dumping of oil in nature. This leads us to reason about the necessary con-
ditions for crime, here indicated by routine activity theory. The theory draws
attention to the environmental or situational context that influences the offender’s
decision to commit rape.
Crimes depend on the convergence in space and time of motivated offenders,
suitable targets, and the absence of capable guardians (Cohen & Felson, 1979).
The “right place” poses opportunities for crime, which for theft might be a
crowded place, for rape a secluded place, or where either guardianship is not
present or not willing or able to intervene. Felson (2006) exemplifies that guardi-
anship can be produced by multiple actors. Some are what is called handlers
who control potential offenders (e.g., guards, police, and the rural community in
general). Others are managers, who control places (e.g., rural transients, those
who collect milk at the entrance of a farm daily), and guardians, who control
targets (e.g., the farmers themselves). For targets, there are two types of guard-
ians: formal guardians whose responsibility is to protect people and property
from crime, such as police officers and security guards, and informal guardians,
including friends and others who are at the same place as the target. Donner-
meyer (2007) indicates that more so than other place-based theories, routine
activity theory includes changes of circumstances in its framework. Such
changes can be economic, social, or cultural changes that modify the number of
motivated offenders and/or suitable targets and increase or decrease guardian-
ship; crime levels will change accordingly. For instance, the location of build-
ings may affect thefts (close to the road as opposed to far from the view of
transients), dogs or other farm security measures may reduce the chances for
thefts by improving guardianship on a farm, or thefts might increase if prices on
livestock rapidly increase.
As in crime point pattern theory, routine activity principles rely on people’s
everyday life rhythms: morning, noon, afternoon, night, weekdays and week-
ends, winter and summer. This means that any type of human activity is limited
by the amount of time available each day. Time is both a necessary condition
and a constraint for an activity. In this sense, committing a crime (or falling
victim of it) is an example of an activity like any other. As Felson (2006,
pp. 6—7) indicates:
The daily life of a city provides the targets for crime and removes them. The
sleeping, walking, working, and eating patterns of offenders affect the
metabolism of crime.... We must study these rhythms of life if we wish to
understand crime.
40 Introduction
Whilst routine activity theory defines the necessary conditions for a crime to
occur, it does not define the sufficient conditions. Crime does not happen just
because victims and offenders happen to share similar spatial awareness and
converge at a certain place and time. An understanding of the sufficient con-
ditions for crime begins by considering each individual’s perception of their
safety and how it affects their movement patterns. Between the residents of dif-
ferent neighborhoods, there are large differences in perceptions of safety that
affect individuals’ daily movements and people’s capacity to exercise social
control. The offender may avoid these areas, and, as a consequence, crime
becomes concentrated in other areas. Yet, crime varies within rural areas, just as
rural areas themselves vary from one another (Lowe, Marsden, Murdoch, &
Ward, 2012). Equally, within rural areas, towns appear to experience higher
levels of crime than villages and smaller settlements (Mawby, 2015). Com-
munity size and population density are not the only factors that affect crime
(Carrington, 2007; Ceccato & Dolmén, 2011; Donnermeyer et al., 2006; Felson,
2013; Kaylen & Pridemore, 2013b; Mawby, 2007). Decades of evidence from
urban environments have shown that socially disorganized neighborhoods
experience disproportionately more crimes.
Social Disorganization Theory (Bursik, 1999; Kornhauser, 1978; Sampson,
1986; Shaw & McKay, 1942) has provided part of the theoretical foundation for
many studies that focus on the impact of area (and neighborhood) characteristics
on crime. Shaw and McKay linked neighborhood social disorganization (areas
that combine deprivation, residential instability, and ethnic diversity) to delin-
quency and crime. The mechanisms linking socially disorganized neighborhoods
and crime relate to people’s inability to exercise social control in their neighbor-
hoods and solve jointly experienced problems. In neighborhoods with high popu-
lation turnover (perhaps linked with people’s fear of crime in that area),
guardianship decreases further, enhancing the ecological conditions associated
with crime. Social disorganization theory suggests that structural disadvantage
breeds crime and that offending occurs when impaired social bonds are insuffi-
cient to encourage or enforce legitimate behavior and discourage deviant
behavior.
Bursik (1999) defines social disorganization as an inability of community
members to achieve shared values or to solve jointly experienced problems. In
other words, these communities lack social capital. Social capital has been asso-
ciated with social bonds that create networks that bring a collective benefit to
neighborhood residents. Communities with high stocks of social capital are more
effective in exerting informal social control through the establishment and main-
tenance of norms. However, high social capital does not necessarily result in col-
lective benefits. Social capital can be bonding, or exclusive, or bridging, or
inclusive (Putnam, 2000, p. 22). Groups may exclude or subordinate other
groups (Ceccato & Haining, 2005). Deller and Deller (2012) assessed the role of
social capital in explaining patterns of rural larceny and burglary crime rates.
They find consistent evidence that higher levels of social capital tend to be
associated with lower levels of rural property crime rates.
Definitions, theory, and research 41
Nevertheless, Sampson et al. (1997), suggest that action to restrict crime does
not necessarily demand “strong local social ties or associations.” Action by the
group may happen where personal ties and social networks are weak. Collective
efficacy is the group-level term used by Sampson et al. (1997) to refer to the
situation where there are shared expectations within the group and a willingness
to engage in processes of social control.
Two versions of empirical applications of social disorganization theory are
recognized in the international literature: the structural antecedents model and
the systemic model (Donnermeyer, 2014). Donnermeyer writes that the structural
antecedents model relies on aggregated properties of a specific area (neighbor-
hood, town, city, village, mostly coming from censuses and other sources) as
factors affecting crime and delinquency (police recorded data). In the systemic
model, the antecedents are only “proxies” and are mediated by more direct indic-
ators of internal social cohesion and control through local networks.
The first test of the antecedents model was the one by Osgood and Chambers
(2003). They hypothesized that, as in urban areas, in small towns and rural com-
munities, systems of relationships are relevant to crime and delinquency. The
authors found that one or more of the social disorganization variables were sig-
nificantly associated with arrest rates for all of the violent offenses other than
homicide. Rates of crime and delinquency were associated with residential
instability, ethnic diversity, and family disruption. For example, a higher propor-
tion of female-headed households was strongly associated with higher rates of
arrest for violent offenses except homicide. This was interpreted as the burden of
single parenting and joint supervision of children. However, surprisingly, the
authors did not find any link between poverty and rates of delinquency. One of
the interpretations is that poverty does not strike in rural areas as it does in urban
areas, particularly metropolitan areas. Thus, the authors concluded that a high
rate of rural poverty that does not affect the delinquency rate appears to be con-
sistent with social disorganization theory.
However, the results of a similar study conducted by Kaylen and Pridemore
(Deller & Deller, 2010, 2011; Kaylen & Pridemore, 2011, 2012, 2013a, 2013b)
indicate that the association between social disorganization and violence in rural
areas is sensitive to how the dependent variable is measured. Authors suggest a
search for other data sources and not to rely solely on official crime data from
rural areas when testing sociological and criminological theories. On the latter
point, they are convincing in Kaylen and Pridemore (2013a), using the British
Crime Survey. The study examines data from respondents living in rural areas in
318 postcode sectors and is declared to be the first test of the full social disor-
ganization model in the literature on rural crime. Again, their findings call for a
reassessment of the conclusions drawn about how social disorganization and
crime are related in rural communities.
Donnermeyer (2014) suggests therefore that the same social networks and
social capital that produce social cohesion and collective efficacy can simultan-
eously constrain some crimes even as the occurrence of other crimes is facilit-
ated. The author suggests that there are multiple forms of social organization, or
42 Introduction
collective efficacy (instead of social disorganization or anti-efficacy) at the same
place and same time, allowing individuals to simultaneously participate in mul-
tiple networks, some of which may be criminal. For a detailed discussion of
social organization and crime, see Donnermeyer and DeKeseredy (2013), Don-
nermeyer, Scott, and Carrington (2013).
Cultural differences in values, norms, and beliefs held by members of groups
or subgroups may also explain variations in crime. The idea of the existence of a
subculture for crime has been associated with high rates of violence, particularly
in the United States (Messner & Rosenfeld, 1999). In the United States, the evid-
ence for this subculture of violence is the concentration of high rates of murder
that have characterized the south. The subculture of violence theory is a contro-
versial one (Farrington, Loeber, & Southamer-Loeber, 2003) but has been sug-
gested to be part of the explanation for large regional differences in violence
elsewhere (Salla, Ceccato, & Ahven, 2011). Chapter 9 in this book refers to the
subculture of crime and violence that characterizes motorcycle gangs in rural
Sweden, such as Hells Angels and Bandidos, and that is intertwined with the
local way of life in some municipalities.
The influence of area characteristics on individual offender behavior depends
on their mobility. Individuals are mobile and spend time in many settings and
environments with differing criminogenic characteristics. Situational action
theory (SAT) offers a process-based explanation of offending and identifies the
sufficient conditions for a crime to occur. This framework attempts to explain
why individuals commit crime. It comprises four features: an individual, a
setting, a situation, and an action. SAT states that criminal acts in a place are the
outcome of a perception—choice process initiated by the interaction between the
individual’s crime propensity and the discouragements to crime that are present
in the area. The outcome (offending or otherwise) depends on two sets of factors:
(1) the individual’s own moral rules and self-control and (2) the extent to which
society’s moral rules are enforced in that place (Wikstrém et al., 2010, p. 56).
This means that a rural environment that enforces law-abiding behavior would
be less propitious to promote offending. A remaining question is whether rural
areas present a distinct set of situations for an individual living there that are dif-
ferent from those for individuals living in urban environments.
Macro theories of crime and rural transformations
Macro theories relating crime to society’s structure and organization, such as
anomie theory, have also been adopted in rural studies to aid in understanding
the levels and patterns of crime. These transformations in rural areas are thought
not to be detached from processes suggested by theories of rural change (Ilbery
& Bowler, 1998; Marsden, 1998; Ramsey, Abrams, & Evans, 2013). Woods
(2011) presents in detail the process of rural transformation, from rural as a
space of production, to contemporary products of exploitation of the countryside
that characterize the global economy. Similar processes of rural change occur
under multiple forces at an unprecedented pace elsewhere, involving rapid and
Definitions, theory, and research 43
unexpected changes that are bound to have an impact at the micro level, that is,
in rural communities. For example, Ravera et al. (2014), drawing upon six
context-specific case studies from Asia, Latin America, and Europe, examine the
current drivers and pathways of rural change by analyzing examples of new
ruralities that are emerging as responses across different world regions. Sweden
has also shown signs of rural change as a result of a period of major restructur-
ing under the recent development of the globalized economy (Ilbery & Bowler,
1998; Marsden, 1998). Johansson, Westlund, and Eliasson (2009) suggest that
this “new rurality” is imposing new patterns of demographic, socioeconomic,
and environmental differentiation at both local and regional levels.
Crime is argued to be linked to rural change, because profound transformations
are expected to produce a chronic state of deregulation in society, in which valued
goals are reduced and society fails to place normative limits on people’s behavior.
Durkheim (1897) was the first to suggest that rapid social change creates anomie,
which can have a negative impact on society and is linked to increases in crime.
Individuals take advantage of anomic conditions, or the insecurity status resulting
from a breakdown of standards and values in society. Using the United States as a
background, Merton (1938) suggests that anomie is the result of a lack of adequate
means to fulfill society’s culturally sanctioned goals conceptualized as “the Ameri-
can Dream.” Thus, “normlessness” transforms into a lack of or weakening of social
controls which are fundamental for preventing crime. Another line of inquiry con-
siders the relationship of strain to criminal behavior (Agnew, 1999). A growing
literature has evolved in the past decade linking societal transformations to crime
(Ceccato, 2008; Ceccato & Haining, 2008; Kim & Pridemore, 2005; Liu, 2005;
Salla et al., 2011) but rarely focusing specifically on rural areas (but see Freuden-
burg & Jones, 1991; Rephann, 1999). Ceccato (2008) examines how demographic,
socioeconomic, land use, and institutional factors relate to crime geography and
levels in the Baltic countries after the fall of the Soviet Union and in the transition
to a market economy. The author also found that indicators of municipalities social
structure, such as divorce rate, predict the variation in crime better than other indic-
ators, such as land use and economic covariates. In rural contexts, Freudenburg and
Jones (1991) assessed crime in rural communities that undergo rapid population
change due to various types of economic development.
The effect of societal changes may be moderated by the existing safety net,
promoted by pro-social institutions. It was Messner and Rosenfeld (1994, 1997)
who suggested social institutions tend to be devalued in comparison to economic
institutions (which they called “institutional anomie’) and lose their power so
that criminogenic conditions increase. However, they also suggest that such an
effect can be moderated by social institutions in places that invest in formation
of social capital. Chapter 5 focuses on shifts in the geography of crime, from the
1990s to the 2000s, and some of these principles are used as a reference. A redis-
tribution of the urban population to larger cities has affected the labor market
and affected regional income distribution (Johansson et al., 2009). These changes
are expected to have an impact on crime dynamics that might be moderated by
pro-social institutions.
44 Introduction
Principles of fear of crime and perceived safety
The nature of perceived safety (or the lack thereof — fear) is a phenomenon
affected by multi-scale factors (Day, 2009; Los, 2002; Wyant, 2008). Some
factors that affect perceived safety are generated locally, and perhaps they are
felt as tangible, whilst others may be more difficult to assess but still affect indi-
viduals’ anxieties and may be produced in all possible geographical dimensions,
from global to local. Perceived safety involves more than just fear of crime.
Warr (2000, p. 453) defines fear as “an emotion, a feeling of alarm or dread
caused by awareness or expectation of danger.” Thus, an increase in crime would
hypothetically affect perceived safety. Yet, this simplistic causal relationship
rarely matches, as the fear of crime refers to the fear of being a victim of crime,
as opposed to the actual probability of being a victim of crime. Fear can be mul-
tidimensional, as an individual can fear for oneself (personal fear) and fear for
others (altruistic fear) whose safety the person values.
Chapter 6 includes a detailed discussion of why perceived safety (fear of
crime and overall anxieties) varies across groups and across rural areas, looking
for answers behind individual, local, and global factors. The chapter also sepa-
rately reviews possible causes of variations in perceived safety, but, of course, in
reality perceived safety is bound to be a result of intersections of all these
factors: gender, previous victimization, familiarity, physical environment, signs
of disorder and crime, mobility patterns, social cohesion and collective efficacy,
othering, macro-societal changes, commodification of security, and media.
Crime prevention in theory
There are several ways to prevent crime from occurring. One is to intervene
before an individual has the choice to consider crime as an alternative. For that,
social crime prevention addresses individual- and family-level factors that might
lead to offending. Individual-level factors, such as attachment to school and
involvement in pro-social activities, decrease the probability of criminal involve-
ment but rely on long-term intervention. Other types of intervention focus on
individuals that are already at risk and are in need of targeted intervention.
Crimes cannot be properly explained, or effectively prevented, without a deep
understanding of the environments in which they occur (Smith & Cornish,
2006). These interventions adopt techniques focusing on reducing the oppor-
tunity to commit a crime. Some techniques include increasing the difficulty of
crime, increasing the risk of crime, and reducing the rewards of crime (Clarke,
1997). Situational crime prevention aims to affect the motivation of criminals by
means of environmental and situational changes and is based on three elements:
(1) increasing the perceived difficulty of crime; (2) increasing the risks; and (3)
reducing the rewards. Thus, this book focuses on situational crime prevention
but also looks at general actions in rural community policing. As suggested by
Yarwood (2015), community policing may engage several actors: police, volun-
tary organizations, citizens, and private actors. Whilst police are typically
Definitions, theory, and research 45
assigned to act in specific geographical areas in their jurisdiction, policing may
have less distinctive territorial boundaries, as actors are not necessarily restricted
on a territorial basis, which is the way the police work to cover large rural muni-
cipalities in rural Sweden, particularly in the north. These types of crime preven-
tion strategies are considered in detail in this book in Chapters 12, 13, and 14.
The making of criminological research in rural areas
Quoting Young (2011, p. 58), Joe Donnermeyer made an important point in his
presentation at the 2014 Stockholm workshop on crime and community safety.
Donnermeyer noted the importance of theories in rural studies, regardless of the
methods and tools a researcher may adopt: “It is not more and fancier statistical
testing that will solve the problems of numbers in the social sciences. Rather it is
theory and conceptualization ... that give numbers relevance, utility, and their
place.” This is certainly accurate, for any field of science. In rural studies, this is
especially important as the rural is, and always has been, a dynamic and diverse
space (Woods, 2011, p. 293). Theories and conceptual frameworks have to allow
for the diversity and complexity of rurality. This complex rural reality is what
guides us through the process of inquiry.
In this book, Crime Science principles (see e.g., Laycock, 2005; Pawson &
Tilley, 1997) have been adopted to guide the process of inquiry. I have attempted
to illustrate why rural areas are worth investigating by taking into account the
variability of the term “rural.” To do that, principles from Crime Science can be
useful, as they promote the integration of theories from different disciplines for
understanding patterns of crime and perceived safety. Two examples here illus-
trate this point. The first step, before outlining the theory to be used, is to define
the aim of the inquiry. For instance:
1. Why does farm crime cluster in certain areas of the country?
or
2 What do offenders and victims know about the situational conditions of farm
crime?
While the first research question aims at generalizing the criminogenic conditions
of farm crime across the country, the second one aims at teasing out thieves’ and
farmers’ interpretations (of the target and offender) of particular criminal opportun-
ities (situational conditions) and their respective actions for crime perpetration/pre-
vention. Most researchers would agree that despite being two similar research
questions, in practice they demand different theoretical frameworks and different —
perhaps complementary, at best case, overlapping — research methods and datasets.
The second step in the process of inquiry is to adopt a set of theories that support
the search for answers to the research questions. In example (1), routine activity
theory may be useful in the interpretation of patterns of farm crime, together with
theories of social (dis)organization. Here quantitative indicators may be regressed
against rates or cases of police-recorded farm crimes at municipal levels.
46 Introduction
In example (2), a combination of positivistic and critical sociological theories
is desirable to frame the research question, relying on situational crime preven-
tion and the theory of “othering” analyzed through interviews with farmers and
thieves. Each research question is set with specific context descriptors, for
instance, temporal and spatial. It is worth noting that spatial analysis can become
an integral part of the research process in these examples: in (1) by mapping and
statistically analyzing spatial patterns of police-recorded statistics, and in (2) by
allowing detailed mental maps drawn by both thieves and farmers. Thus, the
argument put forward here is that the research is not data-, method-, or theory-
driven. Instead, as common sense as it sounds, it is the (rural) reality material-
ized by the research questions that guides the researcher’s decision-making
through the process. These overlapping research questions exemplify different
realities of rural seen through the eyes of the researcher. Both are worth investi-
gating, as they are bound to produce different outcomes, providing com-
plementary pictures of the rural. By acknowledging this plurality, Woods (2011)
observes that our studies give only partial glimpses of what rural is. He recog-
nizes that it is exactly this complexity of the rural that makes its study challeng-
ing and exciting, with much to explore. This leads us to the next issue.
The idea of obtaining a single definition of rural, rural areas/spaces, or rural-
ity — something that has become clearer through this book — appears to be fruit-
less. Yet, the recognition that rural areas are composed of a diverse set of
communities with different characteristics and needs that share a number of
qualities and challenges compels us forward in an attempt to capture the nature
of rural areas from a particular viewpoint. In this book, rural areas were framed
from a criminological perspective using different theoretical frameworks. How
was this done?
The focus is on the plurality of crime, victimization, and practices in crime
prevention. The book also considers a number of ways of tackling these subject
areas, from top-down to bottom-up research approaches. One example of this is
the analysis of violence against women. On one hand, official statistics showed
general concentrations of gendered violence across the country and within rural
areas; on the other hand, violence was investigated considering specific cases of
women who, for instance, were brought to the country by their partners and later
fell by the partner’s brutality. Another example is the assessment of crime pre-
vention practices using cross-triangulation of three data sources: from top-down,
a database from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention; from
bottom-up, an email survey sent to representatives of local crime prevention
groups in all rural municipalities in Sweden and interviews with more than 40
agents working with crime prevention in eight rural municipalities. A similar
approach was taken when assessing youth-related problems and crime against
nature. Overall, this combination of perspectives was successful in illustrating
sometimes diverging, other times complementary, views of rural safety.
The multi-method and multi-data approach adopted in this book requires the
object of study to be fixed in relation to particular temporal (cross-sectional or
longitudinal) and spatial references, as well as other contexts that might be
Definitions, theory, and research 47
relevant to the studied phenomena. Comparative frameworks can be useful to
establish some external reference to a specific case. As Chapters 4—14 illustrate,
this approach calls for a development of research and practice in rural crime and
community safety that goes beyond the borders of research fields and theoretical
perspectives.
The novelty of this approach is to allow the combination of interdisciplinary
research questions (for instance, from Psychology and Criminology) into a frame-
work of analysis that shares the same field of inquiry but takes different perspec-
tives. Another advantage is to welcome a diverse array of paradigmatic
perspectives, from positivistic to critical perspectives in Criminology (see e.g.,
Donnermeyer & DeKeseredy, 2013), into a single framework. Traditionally, such
diverse approaches are thought to be incompatible and require different research
processes. They may do so, but these paradigmatic starting points can, when
pursued in parallel, produce complementary views of the same rural reality.
Issues of measuring crime and perceived safety in a rural
context
Ten different types of data were used for the analysis in Chapters 4-14 of this
book (Table 3.2). The use of multi-methods was a necessity, given the diverse
types of data sources. The array of quantitative, qualitative, and spatial methods
has proved useful, as the combination allowed new ways to explore new rela-
tionships between different scales of analysis of a single-problem (for instance,
violence against women or crime against the environment), nation-wide or case-
study-based analysis. The use of maps and spatial analysis is a red thread in
Chapters 4 to 14.
Table 3.2 Types of data
Data type Coverage
Official police data Sweden, municipality, x,y coordinates
National victims surveys and farmers Sweden
victimization survey
Demographic, socio-economic and land use data Sweden
in GIS
Database on local crime prevention projects Sweden (selected municipalities)
(BRA)
Health statistics/hospitalization of women Hospitals
victims of violence by hospitals
Women’s data shelter database for Sweden Sweden by women’s shelter
CrimeStoppers Sweden database on crime
incidence
Media coverage analysis, newspaper Sweden
Email survey Sweden (selected municipalities)
Interviews face-to-face Sweden (selected municipalities)
Source: Halfacree (1993).
48 Introduction
The most important data sources for this book were recorded police data
and national victim surveys, but without other sources the book would not
exist. Each of these crime data sources is reliable for most crimes, but none is
free of problems. In this section the data quality issues with police-reported
statistics and victimization surveys are discussed. Some of the issues discussed
below are particularly problematic in rural areas and are discussed in detail in
each chapter. Police statistics are based on administrative data (or x-y coord-
inates) generated by reports of crime to the police, and national victimization
surveys show the prevalence and incidence of crime based on crime victim
surveys.
Police-recorded data
Data reliability is an important issue when working with police crime data or
crime-victim survey data. Underreporting is a known cause of lack of reliability in
databases of police-recorded offenses. Traditionally, levels of reporting vary with
the type of offense and its seriousness. This is particularly important in rural areas,
as an individual may face traveling long distances to report a crime. Internation-
ally, burglary and theft of vehicles are far more likely to be reported than many
other types of offenses, such as domestic violence. Burglary and theft are often
more reported for insurance purposes, while domestic violence is not because the
offender is someone whom the victim knows well (see Chapter 10 for more). There
are also indications that the offense reporting level may be underestimated in areas
where people think that it is not worthwhile reporting them. Chapters 5 and 8 illus-
trate the low reporting rates for certain types of crimes among farmers in Sweden,
as they believe that reporting is “‘a waste of time.”
Other problems of data quality occur during the process of recording.
Ceccato (2005) observes that this can be caused by the lack of information
about the event from the victim (not knowing exactly where the offense took
place) or by the police officer failing to record the event properly (failing to
record the exact location). This may create extra cases in those particular loca-
tions, which may, if not identified in advance, contribute to “false hot spots.”
In rural environments, it is common to have crime associated with a single
point linked to the center of a polygon; often that location does not match the
exact location of the offense (for instance, behind a barn, garage, main house).
This inaccuracy can be related to the place of the offense or the time it hap-
pened (if the victim was away when it happened). When there is no available
information about the time that the event occurred, estimating a range of hours
is often the common practice (e.g., 12:00—16:00). However, for analysis pur-
poses, this limits any space-time trend assessment. Aoristic models (Ratcliffe,
2010; Ratcliffe & McCullagh, 1998) are commonly used to interpolate time-
related data that are missing.
Despite the fact that there are conventions for recording offenses in many coun-
tries, including Scandinavia, differences still occur in practice. Problems of data
quality relate to the lack of systematization of procedures when recording an
Definitions, theory, and research 49
offense. For example, an assessment of the Swedish offense database for Skane
(southern Sweden) has shown that large municipalities often have better offense
records than small ones. After an evaluation of thousands of records in small
towns, Ceccato and Haining (2004) found that the victims or police officers in
small municipalities only approximate the offense’s location (such as close to the
park, in front of the bus station), which contributes to the poor quality of records.
Inaccuracies in crime data can also be introduced during geocoding. Geocod-
ing is the process of matching records in two databases: the offense addresses
database (without map position information) and the reference street map with
x-y coordinates. The quality of the geocoding process depends very much on the
quality of the offense records, the quality of the address dictionary, the chosen
method for geocoding (matching), and the experience of the geocoder. Ceccato
and Snickars (2000) estimate, for instance, that about 25 percent of all offenses
committed in a district were attached not to their “real locations” but to the poly-
gons’ centroids of the local commercial area.
Although they constitute a minority, one group of offenses have places or
times unknown by the victim or are hard to pinpoint, as people were in motion
when the crime happened. A typical example is when a crime takes place on a
bus or train traveling between point A and point B. Stations and bus stops are
often the reference for these types of crimes but may be indicators of potential
false hot spots. A good way to identify potential false hot spots is to check them
for long-term patterns. If they are false, they may disappear over time, because
the way the offense is reported may change, affecting the choice of “dumping
site” (Ceccato, 2005).
In some cases, the location of crime is not geographical but virtual and is
difficult to tackle. In many cases such as fraud over the telephone, the victim
and offender may never meet. On the Internet, residents living in rural, remote
areas in Sweden are potentially as vulnerable to these sorts of crimes as their
counterparts living in the Swedish capital, assuming they have Internet access
and a computer. The crime can also be committed against a large number of
people simultaneously. On a general level, one can speak of a trend away from
theft offenses toward more fraud and scams, constituting a new type of crime
often using ICT (BRA, 2014).
National victims surveys
Most general methodological problems in victimization surveys are related to
sampling, measurement, and inference problems (Schneider, 1981) — but they
are not limited to these. There are numerous methodological pitfalls in the use of
survey data to study violence against women or to analyze fear of crime, for
instance (Farrall, Bannister, Ditton, & Gilchrist, 1997; Schwartz, 2000).
Schwartz and Pitts (1995) indicate that the major problems in analyzing violence
against women are definitional problems, operationalization of concepts, recall
bias, underreporting, question order, external validity, and the sex and ethnicity
of interviewers.
50 Introduction
In terms of sampling, an important problem is the issue of representation.
Serious crimes are a relatively rare event. Thus, samples have to be of a
considerable size to generate enough incidents of any particular type to permit
detailed and meaningful analysis. This is particularly a problem when rural areas
are concerned. However, a number of strategies can be used (e.g., weighting)
depending on the response rate by groups and classes. See Chapter 10 for the
details of this particular problem in the case of the Swedish victims surveys for
violence against women in rural areas.
Another challenge when using crime victim survey data is that most research
in this area may face problems because of what they assume with the data avail-
able. There is a long tradition among criminologists to use casual models using
data from a survey cross-sectionally instead of a panel design. The problem
grows when victimization is set as an independent variable, because the direc-
tion of causality may be difficult to ascertain. The problem is particularly accen-
tuated when these variables designate behaviors and attitudes and are collected
at a certain point in time, whereas the assumed victimization occurred prior to
the interview. Schneider (1981) noted, for instance, that when victimization is
set as an independent variable it is easier to deal with.
The third type of problem with crime victimization surveys is how far one
can make inferences for a certain variable. It is difficult to determine how much
of the variance in the victimization variable is true variance and how much is
error. Whether the error is produced by a lack of reliability or by a lack of valid-
ity is not particularly important; what is important is that measurement error can
influence the conclusions drawn from research studies.
In summary, the challenges in using police-recorded statistics and/or crime-
victim survey data include not only the data itself but the way in which these
data resources are utilized and theoretically framed. For instance, in ecological
analysis there is a constant risk of so-called ecological fallacy, which occurs
when correlated, aggregated values over a specific geographical area are errone-
ously related to the individual level. There is also the risk that maps, such as the
ones presented in this book, may be used to create images that cannot be gener-
alized for the whole group, and a distorted map may turn out to be a tool for
exclusionary practices instead of providing a basis for more just actions
(Ceccato, 2013a, pp. 20-21). In practice, the quality of data impacts on the
quality of safety provided, in a best case scenario guiding evidence-based prac-
tices that can be shared by policing actors.
Rural Sweden: The study area
Why study Sweden? Sweden is an interesting case study for several reasons.
Sweden is a Scandinavian and Nordic country (Figure 3.la) with a milder
climate than most other European countries. Most of the country is icebound
from December to April, which limits, for instance, agriculture.
According to Eurostat, in 2014 there were 9.7 million people in Sweden. Of
Sweden’s 9.7 million residents, about 200,000 live in remote rural areas. Far
High crime
Old economy New economy
Low crime
(b)
Figure 3.1 Municipalities in Sweden by type (a) and selection of eight municipalities for
evaluating local crime prevention (b).
52 Introduction
from being a homogeneous entity, rural in this book is considered here as a
diverse set of communities with different characteristics and needs but that share
a number of qualities and challenges. In Sweden, rural municipalities can be of
two types: Remote Rural (RR) are areas more than 45 minutes by car from the
nearest urban neighborhood with more than 3,000 inhabitants and Accessible
Rural (AR), is composed of areas 5—45 minutes by car from urban locations with
more than 3,000 inhabitants. Municipalities with more than 3,000 inhabitants
and reachable in five minutes by car are regarded as Urban Areas (UA)*
(Swedish National Rural Development Agency, 2008) (Figure 3.1a). Although
problematic because it does not incorporate other dimensions of rurality, this
definition reflects the municipalities’ population size and accessibility, which are
important criminogenic factors.
From an European perspective, Sweden is a sparsely populated country (22
inhabitants per km’; the corresponding figure for Denmark is 125). There are 290
municipalities (Kommun) in Sweden, with an average population size of 31,000
inhabitants (from a minimum of 2.6 up to 766,000 inhabitants). In most chapters
of this book municipalities are the unit of analysis since it is the smallest admin-
istrative unit and it is at this level that most indicators are available for compari-
sons at national level. There is a clear north-south divide in the population
distribution: most remote rural municipalities are located in the mid-northwest of
the country (22), whereas accessible rural (156) and urban (112) areas are found
in the mid-South.
In addition, Sweden constitutes an interesting case study because most of the
literature on crime and perceived safety in rural areas is based on case studies
from North American and British studies. There is a need to extend the empirical
evidence to include cases studies such as those in Sweden, which are embedded
in more socially oriented forms of capitalism. Like the United States and most
Western European countries, Sweden has transitioned from being rural and
agrarian to urban and industrial/post-industrial state, which has affected not only
crime levels but also the organization of basic services, including the police. Yet,
welfare system principles play an important role in defining policies in Sweden,
but with a more market oriented economy, the country has shown signs of ‘rural
change’ that has imposed different demographic, socio-economic and cultural
differentiation at both local and regional levels. In the last few decades the
regional population redistribution have decreased but the tendency is towards
concentration to a few regions with a decrease of population in rural areas. These
developments — as described above — can be linked to the dynamics of crime. In
addition, about 14 percent of the Swedish population was born in another
country, the 10 largest groups coming from Finland, Iraq, Poland, the former
Yugoslavia, Iran, Somalia, Germany, Turkey, and Denmark. Although they tend
to be concentrated in the three largest cities in Sweden, certain foreign-born
groups may be overrepresented in some parts of the country and/or towns.
Foreign-born individuals are more often exposed to crime than natives, which
has a direct impact on their perceived safety and quality of life, with marginal
differences between urban and rural areas.
Definitions, theory, and research 53
Studies reporting experiences with crime prevention (CP) in rural areas are
relatively few in the international literature in comparison with those in urban
areas. This book makes a contribution to this knowledge basis by looking at CP
in rural areas particularly to deal with youth problems, farms and environmental
crimes, and gendered violence. In 2010 there were 300 CP groups across the
country. In order to evaluate CP in rural areas, a group of eight municipalities
were selected representing the new and the old economy chosen based on the
percentage of the active population employed in service sectors (Are, Gotland,
Storuman, and Sdderk6ping) and in traditional sectors of the economy (Arvika,
Markaryd, Dorotea, and Gnosj6), respectively (Figure 3.1b). High and low crime
levels are defined based on the relative rural regional average rate: high-crime
municipalities are those with crime rates above the average and low-crime muni-
cipalities show a rate below the rural average (Are and Gotland from the new
economy and Arvika and Markaryd from the traditional economy are high-crime
municipalities; low-crime municipalities are Storuman and Séderk6ping from
the modern economy and Dorotea and Gnosjé from the old economy). By
studying Sweden, this book characterizes rural crime, perceived safety and crime
prevention in Scandinavian rural contexts, which was until recently inexistent in
the international literature.
Concluding remarks
This chapter highlights some of the most important theoretical markers for the
book. It starts with basic definitions in crime and community safety in rural areas
with the intention to provide a conceptual framework for the book. Key theories
in criminology are discussed in relation to their theoretical power to support the
analysis and complexities of rural areas. This includes a short review of the main
types of crime prevention models portrayed in Chapters 11 to 14. Finally, a
number of issues related to data quality and implications of data sources for the
analysis of rural crime, perceived safety, and crime prevention are highlighted,
with the focus on official police statistics and national crime victims surveys.
A number of points are worth keeping in mind when reading the next chap-
ters. First, the search for a singular definition of “rural” is illusory, but this
does not mean that rural is an indefinable theoretical entity. In reality, rural
areas are composed of a diverse set of communities with different characteris-
tics and needs that share a number of qualities and challenges. Their qualities
might be worth investigating taking into account both the relativism of the
term associated to what is considered to be “rural” according to those that
produce and experience the rural (its reflexivity). Rural must be regarded in
relation to time and spatial references as well as contexts in which it occurs.
This calls for the development of research and practice about rural and safety
that crosses the current boundaries between fields, disciplines, and theoretical
perspectives.
Another important point is that none of the theories discussed in this chapter
is without criticism, and none was developed for the purpose of explaining
54 Introduction
crime, perceived safety, and crime prevention in rural contexts. However, all
these theoretical principles have the potential to support the analysis of rural
areas in the next chapters, from routine activity theory to situational crime
theory, as well as macro theories such as institutional anomie.
Perceived safety involves more than just fear of crime but it can be captured
as such through crime victim surveys. How one defines safety is a result of inter-
sections of many factors, some being individual (such as age, gender, sexual
identity, disability, previous victimization, familiarity with an environment,
mobility), others being related to qualities attributed to the environment where
he or she is embedded (such as signs of disorder and crime, social cohesion, and
collective efficacy) or macro-scale processes (such as the media, natural hazards,
global threats). Safety depends on the individual and the groups’ characteristics
to which they belong. With regards to victimization and perceived safety, special
focus is given in this book to those individuals and groups whose safety is often
overlooked by police and official statistics. The book adopts a gender-informed
approach to safety, avoiding generalization and assessing how victimization
intersects with other types of individual characteristics.
Emphasis is given to the environment where crime takes place. This means
that reducing crime, or making places safer, requires initiatives that focus on
reducing crime opportunities at those places by taking into account their par-
ticular contexts. Knowledge of what works and what does not work in rural con-
texts is necessary. Problems in police data and data from crime victims’ surveys
are unlikely to be resolved in the short term, by researchers or practitioners, but
the use of multi-data and multi-methods, as in this book, will likely become a
worthwhile alternative for rural criminology.
Notes
1 For a complete discussion of the different types of definitions, see, for example, Halfa-
cree (1993, 2006) and Woods (2005, 2011).
2 Dagens Nyheter, Forsakringsbranschen: Foérbered Sverige biattre for extremvader,
retrieved September 11, 2014, from www.dn.se/ekonomi/forsakringsbranschen-forbered-
sverige-battre-for-extremvader/.
3 Sédermanlands Nyheter, Stort engagemang for skogsbranden i sociala medier, retrieved
August 5, 2014, from www.sn.se/nyheter/sormland/1.2537146.
4 An alternative way to classify Swedish rural areas was suggested by Statistics Sweden
(H-regions), with six classes of municipalities, from large urban areas to remote rural
ones, based on their geographical and economic homogeneity.
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Taylor & Francis
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http://taylorandfrancis.com
Part II
Trends and patterns of
crime
Taylor & Francis
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http://taylorandfrancis.com
4 Ruralurban crime trends in
international perspective
Since the mid-1990s, many countries have witnessed substantial and widespread
drops in crime. Major decreases in crime were first observed in the United
States, where violent crime including homicide fell 40 percent during the 1990s
and attracted much international attention (Blumstein, 2000; Blumstein &
Rosenfeld, 2008; Farrell, Tilley, Tseloni, & Mailley, 2010; LaFree, 1999; Levitt,
2004). Though there is little consensus on the reasons for this decline, the trend
has been confirmed in many countries using data from the International Crime
Victims Survey, with declines in all types of crime except burglary (Tseloni,
Mailley, Farrell, & Tilley, 2010). Some claim some sort of “universality of the
crime drop” (Levitt, 2004), as supposedly the decrease in crime affected all geo-
graphic areas and demographic groups. However, there have been efforts to
question this “universal nature of the crime drop” that focus on broad explana-
tions for such crime reduction (Parker, 2008). Still, most of this literature is
based on cross-national studies or focused on urban centers only (see e.g.,
Tseloni et al., 2010). Most studies do not regard urban-rural differences in the
decrease as a relevant issue in its own right (but see e.g., Levitt, 2004).
This chapter starts by comparing crime rates in Sweden with those in the
United States and the United Kingdom. In all three countries, urban crime rates
are higher than rural ones, regardless of definitions of crime types and how rural
areas are conceptualized. An alternative to relying solely on official police statis-
tics is to complement them, as much as possible, with data from national crime
victim surveys, as it is done in this chapter. Despite the limitations of these
sources of data, they are the most reliable data available for representing the geo-
graphic distribution of crime in Sweden and elsewhere. First, trends in crime rates
and prevalence are compared in a selection of countries as background for the
Swedish case. This chapter discusses evidence about the so-called “convergence
hypothesis” of urban and rural crime rates. Then, the analysis focuses on specific
types of violent and property crimes in rural areas, drawing conclusions for rural
areas across countries whenever possible. The chapter also discusses crime vari-
ation by groups of individuals (including repeat victimization), but the focus is on
crime variations over time in selected rural communities. The concept of popula-
tion at risk using both resident population and floating population (by vehicle
traffic) is also discussed. What the chapter does not do is to speculate about
66 Trends and patterns of crime
possible reasons for these trends, as it would not be wise to assume general expla-
nations for the drop and completely immature to pose specific causes for urban—
tural crime trends at the national level. Yet, this is an important new territory for
future research that is beyond the scope of this book. The chapter concludes with
a summary of the urban-tural trends in crime in Sweden and internationally and a
request for better understanding of these trends that, at least in some places, are
making rural areas more similar to urban ones.
Urban-rural crime trends
Are rural areas becoming more criminogenic? Crime victimization dispropor-
tionately affects more urban than rural residents, regardless of crime trends,
country, or differences in rural—urban contexts. Although some would claim that
crime is eminently an urban phenomenon, recent changes in rural—urban rela-
tionships have affected regional criminogenic landscapes; apparently this process
is making individuals who live in some rural areas more exposed to crime than
in the past. It is suggested that this trend goes undetected often because changes
do not affect homogeneously rural areas. Victimization may also be selective
and unequal across social groups and environments. Evidence on how these
changes affect criminogenic conditions is difficult to ascertain because, as we
will discuss in this chapter, it may be hidden under general “decreasing” or
“stable” trends. By standardizing crime by population (not considering crime
levels or prevalence only), this chapter later attempts to systematically look at
concentration of victimization. This is relevant because, if rural crime increases,
it could be either because there are more rural victims or the same number of
victims who are victimized more often (repeat victimization).
In the United Kingdom, crime is decreasing regardless of area or data
source (Home Office, 2011). In Sweden (Table 4.1) and, to some extent, in the
United States (Levitt, 2004), the trend is patchier but still decreasing. In
Sweden, some rural areas are more criminogenic now than they were previ-
ously. Police records over 15 years show that urban and accessible rural areas
are at higher risk of crime than the most remote ones but that the increases
converge toward the year 2014. Although the trends diverge somewhat in
urban and rural areas, the short-term directions of change seem to track one
another quite closely up to 2014, when rates dropped to levels similar to those
found in 2002 (Figure 4.1). The biggest increases are in violence, criminal
damage, and some types of property crime. Crime victim surveys in Sweden,
although covering only five years, show a more stable picture, indicating a
declining trend in crime.
In the United States, total crime rates for urban counties have declined, whilst
crime rates in rural counties have increased, particularly for violent crime (Deller
& Deller, 2010; Weisheit, Wells, & Falcone, 1994). As Fischer (2011) suggests,
from the 1970s through the 1990s, the equation “big city equals violent crime”
was often taken for granted. During the past 20 years, there have been signs in
the United States that rural and urban crime rates are converging (Deller &
Rural-urban crime trends internationally 67
100)
o
rd
Total crime per 100,000 inhabitants
(1996, index
100 T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T 1
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
YS ees Remote rural — Accessible rural _ ----------- Urban areas
Figure 4.1 Increase in offending rates in Sweden per area, 2002—2010 (total crime per
10,000 inhabitants, 2002/2003 = 100) (source: Ceccato & Dolmen, 2013, p. 97).
Deller, 2010). Fischer (2011) suggests that the view of the 1970s and 1980s that
associated big cities with “danger” may be fading away.
Kneebone and Raphael (2011) provide evidence of this convergence. In a study
covering 5,400 communities located within the 100 largest US metropolitan areas,
both violent and property crime were found to have declined significantly between
1990 and 2008, with the largest decreases occurring in cities. The Kneebone—
Raphael analysis divided suburban communities into four types: “dense inner
suburbs,” “mature suburbs,” “emerging suburbs,” and rural “exurbs.” On average,
the inner suburbs experienced major declines in rates of violent crime, although not
as great as the core cities. But the more outlying suburbs experienced little change
or even increases in rates of violent crime. Violent crime rates dropped by almost
30 percent in cities, while property crime fell by 46 percent. Though city crime rates
remain considerably higher than rates in the suburbs, smaller decreases in suburban
violent and property crime rates over this time period narrowed the gap. In 90 of the
100 largest metropolitan areas, the gap between city and suburban property crime
rates narrowed between 1990 and 2008. Cities and high-density suburbs saw violent
crime rates decline, but predominantly rural communities experienced slight
increases that are not explained by their changing demographics.
Carrington (2007) also suggests that rates for violent crime and property
offenses have been growing at faster rates in rural Australia, where crime, par-
ticularly violent crimes, is not a predominantly urban phenomenon. In Sweden,
as in the United States and, to some extent, the United Kingdom, a convergent
pattern between urban and rural areas is found more often in crime rates from
police statistics than in data from crime victim surveys (Table 4.1).
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70 Trends and patterns of crime
In England, for burglary and offenses against vehicles there is some evidence
of a narrowing of the disparity in crime rates between urban and rural areas
(Higgins, Robb, & Britton, 2010). However, overall police-recorded crime
figures for England in 2009/2010 show that crime rates in areas classified as pre-
dominantly urban were higher than in areas predominantly rural. Trends in levels
of police-recorded crime were similar between 2002 and 2010 (Figure 4.2). A
similar trend is found when looking at rates from crime victim surveys in
England and Wales. The risk of being a victim of crime was 23 percent in urban
areas and 16 percent in rural areas. The risk that a household was victimized was
also higher in urban areas than in rural areas (18 percent compared to 12
percent). Trends in household crime incident rates have been broadly similar in
urban and rural areas in England and Wales. Levels of household crime
decreased 30 percent in urban areas and 26 percent in rural areas between the
2001/2002 and 2009/2010 surveys. Burglary, vehicle-related theft, and vandal-
ism showed similar trends in both urban and rural areas, with decreases in all
three crime types (Higgins et al., 2010).
Keeping in mind that violent crime and property crime might be defined dif-
ferently in the penal code of each country, the next section discusses differences
in the trends in these offenses.
Property crimes
Urban areas are often more criminogenic than rural areas not because they con-
centrate lots of people per area (and some degree of social control) but because
110-
1005
90-5
805
Index, 2002/2003 = 100
707
60
2002/2003 2003/2004 2004/2005 2005/2006 2006/2007 2007/2008 2008/2009 2009/2010
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Figure 4.2 Increase in offending rates in England per area, 2002—2010 (total crime per
10,000 inhabitants, 2002/2003 = 100) (source: Home Office, 2011).
Rural-urban crime trends internationally 71
urban areas offer more opportunities for crime (that is, stock of goods) than rural
ones do. This assumption is particularly true for property crimes.
Overall property crime rates are decreasing, but there are exceptions in all
selected countries. In the United States, in 2005 the rates of burglary, motor
vehicle theft, and household theft were the highest for households located in
urban areas. However, rates of burglary were somewhat higher for rural house-
holds than for suburban households, but lower than for urban households. Subur-
ban households were victims of motor vehicle theft and household theft at rates
higher than those of rural households. Households in every region of the country
experienced declines in property crime, and the trend is similar for all areas: 51
percent of inhabitants who experienced a decrease in property crime rates from
1993 to 2005 were living in urban areas, whilst suburban areas had declines of
54 percent and 49 percent for rural areas (US Department of Justice, 2011)
(Table 4.2).
In the United Kingdom, crime statistics show that rural areas experience
lower levels of robbery and theft of motor vehicles than in urban areas. However,
crimes such as theft from a motor vehicle appear to be a disproportionate
problem for rural residents (Marshall & Johnson, 2005, p. 26). Aust and
Simmons (2002) noted that the incidence of property crimes increases as popu-
lation density increases. Robbery seems to be a particularly urban phenomenon.
Dodd, Nicholas, Povey, and Walker (2004) reported that more than half of all
recorded robberies take place in just three police force districts: the Metropol-
itan, Greater Manchester, and West Midlands, which comprise 24 percent of the
population. The Metropolitan police force alone is responsible for recording 40
percent of all robberies in England and Wales. Similar proportions were found in
2009/2010 by Higgins et al. (2010).
In Sweden, a drop in property crime rates was observed in the same period
based on police statistics. Data from crime victim surveys also shows a declining
trend for nearly all property crimes in Sweden compared to other EU countries.
The prevalence rate for car thefts, car vandalism, burglary, shoplifting, and theft
of bicycles is decreasing, following a declining trend also experienced in coun-
tries that took part in the International Crime Victimization Surveys (ICVS)
between 1992 and 2004-2005. The exceptions are fraud and robbery in small
towns (Tables 4.4 and 4.6). Going against the figures recorded in most ICVS
countries (Van Dijk, van Kesteren, & Smit, 2007), the prevalence of fraud and
robbery in small towns has increased in Sweden. With the advance of ICT and
sales over the Internet and through telemarketing, people living in remote areas
of Sweden may run a risk of becoming a victim of crime similar to people living
in the Swedish capital. This fact per se requires new ways of understanding
crime dynamics and crime prevention that go beyond existing administrative
police boundaries.
Robbery, regarded as a violent offense, seems to follow the trend for
violent crimes more than the trend for property offenses. Both police statistics
and national victim surveys show that households in urban areas are more
vulnerable to property crime (residential burglary, car theft, theft from cars,
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Rural-urban crime trends internationally 73
bicycle theft) than households in rural areas. The pattern is similar in terms of
car theft and theft of or from vehicles. For overall property crimes, there has
been a decrease of about 30 percent (Table 4.3), mostly in car-related thefts.
Note that the prevalence of burglary in small towns and rural areas has been
unchanged since 2006 while for urban areas a decline of about one-quarter has
been recorded.
Police statistics show that this pattern is not spatially homogeneous, as it
varies by crime type and is particularly concentrated in urban areas. Whilst rural
areas record increases in burglary, car theft, and robbery, urban areas have
experienced a decrease in almost all types of theft. For instance, the number of
“hot spots” in urban municipalities (municipalities with high theft rates close
together) dropped, whilst in remote rural areas the number was nearly constant
in the same period, and in some accessible rural areas the number of hot spots
increased, particularly in southern Sweden. The difference in levels of theft by
area was tested using one-way Anova with a post doc Scheffe test for 2007
(Table 4.4). The average of thefts by area significantly dropped from 16.46 in
the urban areas to 13.90 in the accessible rural. Remote rural had a slightly
higher average in 2007. Municipalities showing concentrations of total thefts
increased in number in 2007, and compared with 1996 the pattern has become
more polarized. In the most recent decade, the core of hot spots shifted, from
Stockholm to Skane County. In the next chapter, these geographical shifts will
be discussed in more detail as well as possible explanations for such spatial vari-
ation in property crime rates.
Violent crimes
Kowalski and Duffield (1990) find that in rural areas the potential for violence
decreases as individualism is reduced and cohesion is strengthened. Residents of
a small community are more likely to know one another socially than in a larger
city, and this informal guardianship leads to lower rates of crime in rural settings
(Freudenburg, 1986). Still, rural areas are not free from violence, though in rural
areas most violence happens among acquaintances. Capsambelis (2009) suggests
that attention should be paid to domestic violence and neighborhood dispute
calls in rural areas, because over time they may escalate into assault or even
homicide.
Although isolation is a criminogenic characteristic of rural areas, there is an
assumption that urbanity means higher anonymity among people (especially
neighbors), which leads to lower social control, and thus the likelihood of suc-
cessful completion of crime (Kaylen, 2011). The positive association between
urbanity and crime rates does not always hold for all locations. When testing
hypotheses in multiple European countries, Entorf and Spengler (2002) find that
the proportion of the workforce that is agricultural (in other words, rural labor
force) has a significant negative impact on homicide in Denmark and positive
impact on homicide in Spain and Finland. Furthermore, it had a significant neg-
ative correlation with serious assault in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands
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Rural-urban crime trends internationally 75
Table 4.4 Differences in theft in urban areas, accessible rural, and remote rural
Areas Theft mean F-test Scheffe
Urban areas (1) 16.46 14.23* (1) and (2)
Accessible rural (2) 13.90 (1) and (3)
Remote rural (3) 14.58
Source: Dolmén (2010).
Note
* Significant at 95% level and above.
and a significant positive correlation in Spain. After an extensive review of
literature on rural homicide in Europe, Kaylen (2011) concludes that “much of
our knowledge about rural homicide comes from studies of rural violence or
homicide more generally that briefly suggest explanations for rural homicide ...
theoretical tests of crime and violence in rural Europe are scarce.”
This lack of knowledge about differences in the nature of violence in urban
and rural areas is revealed by an analysis of decreasing crime rates comparing
urban and rural areas in the United States. Levitt (2004, p. 167) presents the per-
centage decline in homicide, violent crime, and property crime from 1991 to
2001 by region in the United States, urban—rural, and city size. He indicates that
“in each of these subgroups and for all crime categories, the trend has been
downward. Crime declines in the Northeast outpaced the rest of the country,
whereas the Midwest was a laggard.” The greatest reduction in crime occurred
within metropolitan statistical areas and especially in large cities with 250,000 or
more inhabitants. As regards violent crime in particular but also property
offenses, rural areas showed much smaller declines in both absolute terms and
percentages. For instance, Levitt (2004) shows that the homicide rate per
100,000 inhabitants in large cities fell 12.9 per 100,000 (from 26.2 to 13.3),
while the drop in homicide rates for cities with populations less than 50,000 was
only 1.5 (from 4.3 to 2.8). This fact certainly indicates potential differences in
the nature of homicide between urban and rural areas in the United States during
this time period.
In the United States, Kneebone and Raphael (2011) point out that violence in
non-urban areas is less related to the demographics of these areas nowadays than
it has been in the past. They suggest that violence in rural and some suburban
areas has increased on average, whilst the inner suburbs experienced major
declines in rates of violent crime, although not as great as the core cities. The
inner regions of metropolitan areas have shown major declines (Figure 4.3).
However, this trend does not hold if trends in homicide are taken into account,
which possibly means that in suburban areas violence has increased but, for
various reasons, has become less lethal. Statistics on homicide also show that
trends have been similar for more than three decades for urban areas in the
United States but not for all types of rural areas (Figure 4.4). Although urban
homicide rates varied, from 8.9 to 2.5 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2008 (with the
76 Trends and patterns of crime
4,000-
1990 2008
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cities suburbs suburbs suburbs
Figure 4.3 United States violent crimes per 100,000 residents, 1990 and 2008 (100 largest
metropolitan areas) (source: adapted from Kneebone & Raphael, 2011, p. 10).
percentage increase converging in 2005), in rural areas the rate has been less
than 2.0 since the early 1990s. Baharom, Muzafar, and Royfaizal (2008) also
show signs of a divergent trend using state-based statistics: crime rates in the
overwhelming majority of states are diverging from the national average (in only
eight cases are crime rates converging). The US Department of Justice (2011)
shows, for instance, that homicides in which the offender was known to be an
intimate (spouses, ex-spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, and same-sex partners)
have declined in cities of all sizes and types. However, since the mid-1980s, the
percentage of homicides committed by an intimate has been larger in rural areas
than in suburban or urban areas. See Chapter 10 for more details on violence
against women in the United States.
In Sweden, violence also seems to be increasing in rural areas, according to
police records. Statistics show that more violent offenses occurred in 1990s and
2000s in rural areas than if they had followed the national trend. The trend is the
same when violent acts are standardized by resident population. Despite being
available since 2005, the national crime victim survey does not confirm such an
increase in violence rates but actually shows a decrease. For all types of violent
crimes, people living in urban areas tend to be more exposed to crime than those
living in smaller cities or rural areas — but there are exceptions. Robbery has shown
an increase in small towns and rural areas since 2005. There was no significant dif-
ference in the prevalence of assault between urban and rural areas (Table 4.5), or
harassment (a crime often committed by someone the victim knows).
In the United Kingdom, Aust and Simmons (2002) note that violent crime
was specifically concentrated in areas of the highest population density, with
Rural-urban crime trends internationally 77
1607
1407
1207
1004-<
Index, 1976 = 100
©
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=
40+
20-
AOR DP Dy MMH HP HM Dr HM HM HM HP HM om
PD DP DP PF FFX FFT T PF PP
©
FS
-
---- Rural —— Small city ——— Suburban ------- Large city
Figure 4.4 Homicide rates in the United States per area, 1976-2008 (total crimes per 100,000
inhabitants, 2002/2003 = 100) (source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2011).
roughly equivalent risks evident for the other types of area. This was later con-
firmed by Marshall and Johnson (2005), who indicate that the risk of becoming
the victim of a violent crime in rural areas and urban areas, excluding cities, was
actually similar. In 2009/2010, 54 percent of the total of selected serious offenses
involving a knife were recorded in rural police forces. In more urban police
forces, knives were involved in a greater proportion of recorded serious offenses
than was the case in more rural forces (Higgins et al., 2010). Kaylen and Pride-
more (2013) find that indicators of social disorganization are not a good explana-
tion of the variation in rural crime rates. They suggest that previous links
between rural violence and social change, lifestyles, alcohol consumption, and
specifically rural concerns demand new empirical testing.
For homicide, for instance, Granath et al. (2011) show that although rates are
low in Sweden, urban areas tend to have higher rates than rural areas. Compared
with its neighboring country Finland, Sweden shows relatively low homicide
rates. Drunken brawl-related homicides between unemployed alcoholic men
cause most of the difference in the structure and rate of homicidal crime between
Finland and Sweden (Granath et al., 2011, p. 93). In both countries, some rural
areas are also in the upper top range of homicides. In the north, although there
are few cases, they produce high rates in relation to the total resident population.
For more details, see Chapter 5.
There are places where violence is prevalent in rural areas. Rural areas in
Australia show a higher rate of violent crimes than property crimes. Carcach
(2000) finds that in rural Australia violent crime outdoors was particularly
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Rural-urban crime trends internationally 79
prevalent in some remote rural regions. Rural areas also showed a higher crime
rate for malicious damage, breaking and entering, assault, sexual assault, and
drug offenses. Carrington (2007) suggests that family violence, domestic assault,
assault, and sexual assault are growing at a faster rate in regional Australia and
are consistently higher in some rural localities than state averages.
Honor- and revenge-related crimes are also part of the rural culture of viol-
ence in some parts of the world. For instance, [cli (1994) discusses the phenom-
enon of homicide related to revenge between families in rural Turkey, known as
blood feuds. Disputes over land, resources, and matters of honor are often the
root of conflicts that continue over generations. Honor killing' is not rare in rural
areas of South Asia, in countries like Pakistan and India, and also occurs in
Turkey and other countries in the Middle East.
Dramatic changes resulting from industrialization, the transition from a planned
to a market economy, population shifts, and political instability have had different
effects on rural violence. In some rural areas in the transition states of Estonia,
Latvia, and Lithuania, violent crimes, including homicide and assault, were pre-
valent despite the fact that urbanity was still a key factor explaining regional differ-
ences in crime rates (Ceccato, 2007; Ceccato & Haining, 2008; Kerry, Goovaerts,
Haining, & Ceccato, 2010). According to Kaylen (2011), the collapse of the Soviet
Union has been shown to affect rates of violence in rural communities in Russia,
Belarus, and Lithuania. In countries such as Estonia (Salla, Ceccato, & Ahven,
2011), the link between alcohol and violence has also been established for rural
areas, particularly areas with a high proportion of ethnic minorities.
The hypothesis of convergence of rural—urban crime trends
Although rural areas traditionally experience lower levels of crime than urban
areas do, international evidence shows signs of convergence of crime trends
between rural and urban areas in some countries but not for all, and not for all
types of crimes (e.g., Carcach, 2000; Marshall & Johnson, 2005; Osgood &
Chambers, 2003). The key issue for criminologists is perhaps not to check
whether the convergence is happening but rather whether it can be checked in
different country contexts. It is the view here that testing the hypothesis of rural—
urban crime convergence is a challenge for a number of reasons.
The first challenge is methodological, as it relates to changing proportions
in the demographics of each area (e.g., because of migration) and areal cat-
egories (e.g., changes in boundaries over time) that affect both numerator
(number of crimes and victims) as well as denominator (population at risk). It
is important to note the value of population at risk. When it decreases in an
area whilst crime remains stable, it might be assumed that crime increased in
the area while actually the mechanisms associated with the change were related
to emigration and not to the criminogenic features of the area. Moreover,
biased victim samples can boost victimization incidence, for instance, urban
victimization versus rural victimization (see e.g., the case of Eastern European
samples discussed in Tseloni et al., 2010).
80 Trends and patterns of crime
The second challenge is related to repeat crimes against the same victim
(Davis, Weisburd, & Taylor, 2008; Tseloni et al., 2010). Of course, this is par-
ticularly important when the basis for analysis is crime victim survey data,
because repeat incidents impact international crime reduction. Assumptions
about trends in crimes with high repeat victimization should therefore be inter-
preted with some caution (for instance, violence against women or harassment)
(BRA, 2014b). Tseloni et al. (2010) found, for instance, that a decline in per-
sonal theft to a large extent was associated with a decline in repeat incidents
against the same victims. Osborn and Tseloni (1998) investigate factors that
differ in repeat victimization from those that explain an isolated crime experi-
ence. They highlight the need to consider what they call “risk heterogeneity,”
which refers to the fact that some individuals or targets are more attractive than
others and may remain so over time, leading to repeat victimization. In Sweden,
this “risk heterogeneity” is often discussed under the discourse of “victimization-
related inequality.” Victimization-related inequality is often associated with the
notion that a group of individuals is targeted more often than other groups in
society rather than an individual is repeatedly victimized, although it may mean
the same thing.
In Sweden, for instance, Nilsson and Estrada (2006) suggest that the reason
behind the overall stability in victimization rates in relation to police records is
that these rates hide an increasing polarization between different groups of
society. For richer groups, the exposure to violence has stabilized since the mid-
1980s, whilst the proportion of those victimized has become significantly greater
among the poor. Overall, the National Council for Crime Prevention warns
researchers to be careful in drawing conclusions based on data from crime
victims’ surveys by small geographic areas or within groups (BRA, 2014).
Another challenge that makes the hypothesis of crime convergence hard to
test is the difficulty of untangling differences in “unexplained heterogeneity”
(Osborn & Tseloni, 1998) in crime targets in urban and rural areas. For instance,
“[t]}wo households can face risks which are systematically different from each
other even when these households have identical measured characteristics”
(Osborn & Tseloni, 1998, p. 308). The greater the level of unexplained
heterogeneity, the poorer the predictability of crime risks (Tseloni et al., 2010).
This issue concerns the dynamics of crime and their context in rural areas, for
instance, how farms are differently embedded and exposed to local and regional
routine activities. In Sweden, crime follows a north-south divide. Southern rural
municipalities tend to be more criminogenic, because they are often accessible
communities and more exposed to local and regional flows of people and goods
than northern rural municipalities are (Ceccato & Dolmén, 2011). When viol-
ence rates are considered, there is a need to distinguish between violence caused
by strangers (often in public places or outdoors) and that initiated by people who
know each other and, not rarely, are intimates (often in the domestic sphere).
The first type of violence is typical of urban environments (street robbery,
assault) while domestic violence and violence among acquaintances is overrep-
resented in rural statistics of violent encounters.
Rural-urban crime trends internationally 81
Differences within rural areas and how they affect crime and its nature should
also be noted in this context. One example is how the economic base in rural areas
generates crime. An economic breakdown of the local economy, associated with
high unemployment and demographic decay, may lead to anomic conditions and
then more crime in certain areas. On the other hand, the convergence may also be
happening in rural areas that are exposed to a temporary or continuous influx of
population, that is, individuals bringing in themselves as well as goods (potential
targets). Thus, an increase in crime here is associated with healthy rural economies.
Rural touristic municipalities in Sweden tend to experience seasonal variations in
crime rates, often dependent on visitor inflows. These municipalities also tend to
have several service sectors (restaurants, hotels) that are not found in municipalities
with a more “traditional” economic structure (mining, forestry), which may
produce extra social interactions that could be criminogenic.
Repeat and inequality in victimization
A high percentage of crimes against individuals are committed against a small
portion of the population. In the United Kingdom, the risk of being a victim of
any household crime was higher for households living in the most deprived areas
than for those in the least deprived areas in England. For burglary, for instance,
while there have been sharp declines in burglary rates in the most deprived areas
since 2001/2002, rates have remained broadly flat in the least deprived areas
(Higgins et al., 2010). In some countries, such as Australia, unequal victimiza-
tion has an ethnic-demographic dimension (Cunneen, 2007) and, in the United
States, also a health dimension linked to an increase in cases of violence related
to climate change (Mares, 2013).
In Sweden, as in other countries, victimization is unequal as previously
noticed by Nilsson and Estrada (2006). Limited by data/sampling limitations,
inequality in victimization cannot be tested by areas, because socioeconomic
data from crime victims’ surveys is not appropriate for meaningful analysis.
Hypothetically, what could be done is to divide data by group and area over time
as was done by Parker (2008) in the United States. She shows that homicide
trends for distinct groups (blacks, whites, black males, black females, white
females, and white males) varied greatly when compared to total homicide rates
in an area. The decline in homicide rates involving whites started as early as
1980, whereas the overall decline in homicide rates began in the early 1990s.
Also, racial disparities in homicide rates varied considerably over time: larger in
the 1980s, narrowing in the 2000s. This does not mean that this is not an
important issue. On the contrary, decreases in crime rates have been revealed
thanks to crime prevention initiatives that target specific groups of victims to
avoid repeat victimization.
Recent figures (BRA, 2013) show that more than half of crimes against persons
(abuse, threats, sexual offenses, robberies, fraud, and harassment) were against a
small group in the population (1.6 percent of the population, representing 14
percent of the people exposed to crime). Less common is repeated exposure to
82 Trends and patterns of crime
crime against property: about 3 percent of crimes against property are reported to
have been committed against the few who have suffered four or more offenses in
the same period in 2011. Repeated victimization is not randomly distributed in a
population in Sweden. For instance, it is mainly young people who are victims of
violence (four times or more), most commonly in the 20-24 age group. Women are
slightly more common as repeat victims than men are, lone households and house-
holds with a single parent, and people with pre-secondary education or less. People
who are foreign-born are overrepresented among those who are victimized on four
or more occasions compared to those who are native Swedes (BRA, 2013). These
statistics cannot easily be split by geographical area without compromising their
quality. However, there are indirect indicators that point to greater repeat victimiza-
tion in larger urban centers, as youth and foreign-born tend to be concentrated in
large cities. Differences between counties are quite small (BRA, 2013), but Vast-
manland, Orebro, Stockholm, and Skane generally rank somewhat higher than the
other counties, which is largely expected and in line with the results of previous
measurements.
Table 4.6 shows that repeat victimization is more accentuated in metropolitan
areas, but for those who are victimized four times or more there are no major
differences between urban and rural areas. Note that for violence, the percentage
is the same for those who are victimized four times or more (violence against
women or violence among people who know each other are certainly feeding the
number of repeat victimization). Fraud might also be affecting the numbers of
repeat victimization in rural areas, as this type of crime has increased in muni-
cipalities outside the metropolitan areas (Table 4.3). See also Lantbrukarnas-
Riksférbund (2012).
These findings on repeat victimization in Sweden hold both research and
policy implications. Previous research (e.g., Tseloni et al., 2010) indicates that
repeat incidents influence crime rates. Thus, interventions that aim at reducing
crime rates must support known victims to decrease their future risk of being vic-
timized again. A recent review performed by BRA (2012a) based on 31 studies
(no reference to urban-rural differences) suggests that repeat victimization can
be tackled and be effective in preventing crime. The impact on crime varies with
Table 4.6 Repeat victimization, Sweden, 2012, by crime type and area (%)
Metropolitan city Victim Once 2-3 times 4 or more
13.2 8.8 2.8 Ld
Violence Large city 10.5 7.1 Ded 1.2
Small town and rural area 9.9 6.3 2.0 1.5
Metropolitan city 10.2 8.5 1.6 0.0
Property Large city 9.7 eS) 2D 0.1
Small town and rural area 7.0 5.9 0.9 0.1
Source: National Crime Victim Survey (2013).
Rural-urban crime trends internationally 83
the effectiveness of prevention interventions and the way they are put into prac-
tice (note that the studies were based on burglary, domestic violence, and sexual
victimization). BRA (2012a) indicates that information and education for victims
are not as effective as those tailored to specific situational crime interventions.
Future analysis of repeat victimization in rural areas should therefore be more
sensitive to the types of crime that affect those who live there. This issue is dis-
cussed in detail below. The analysis of repeat victimization should aim to do the
following:
1
Consider the sparse and remote populations. Although repeated crime
victim data is useful, it is collected in a way that gives little attention to the
specificities of certain types of crime that often lead to repeat victimization.
For instance, violence caused by a known offender tends to happen more
than once to the same victim. Knowledge on this type of crime is limited
based on aggregated analysis from crime victim surveys. Such surveys do
not allow disaggregation by small geographical units or by different socio-
demographic groups because of limited sampling procedures. Similarly,
little can be said for the whole of Sweden about fraud over the Internet that
focuses on rural victims.
Be specific to rural crime. Repeat crimes against the same victim are a phe-
nomenon typical among certain farmers. The Farmers’ Safety Survey (Lant-
brukarnas Riksférbund, 2012) shows that half of those who have been
victims of crime were victimized twice or more times in the preceding two
years. Farmers in southern Sweden more often than the national average
suffer repeat victimization. In this case, their properties are more often the
target than they themselves are, but being a victim of fraud is still the second
most common type of crime they suffer, after theft of fuel and farm equip-
ment and other products. At present, support to these victims is limited to a
few specific areas and associations (for instance, Sweden CrimeStoppers) as
crimes against farmers are not considered as a priority in local crime pre-
vention councils (for more details, see Chapter 12). Knowledge about their
protection practices and what works is not available at the national level
despite the Farmers’ Safety Survey and National Crime Victim Surveys.
Include a wide spectrum of crimes as well as harm. Some events in rural areas
may happen during a certain time, several times, until they are detected, or if
ever detected. Crimes against wildlife and nature are typical examples of such
events. Since offenders are often corporations (not individuals), the prevention
for this type of repeat victimization imposes challenges. Moreover, the victim
plays a different role from a person whose car is stolen, for example. A mining
company is certainly only one of the actors that may be in court if a case of
repeated water contamination has been detected by environmental inspectors
(see Chapters 8 and 12 for more details). The complexity of these types of
crimes calls for a more holistic perspective on repeat crimes against the same
victim. Some of these include temporal aspects of victimization that are dis-
cussed in detail in the next section.
84 Trends and patterns of crime
Monthly and seasonal patterns of crime
Crime variations over time can be relevant when comparing crime profiles across
areas. Crime opportunities are neither uniformly nor randomly organized in space
and time (Ratcliffe, 2010, p. 5), but they do follow rhythmic patterns of human
activity. What determines these patterns? Some relate these temporal differences
to the influence of weather on behavior, such as aggression (Anderson, Anderson,
Dorr, DeNeve, & Flanagan, 2000), whilst others associate to the indirect effects
that seasonal variations in the weather have on people’s routine activities, namely
vacation during summer or else structured activities (Brantingham & Branting-
ham, 1984; Cohen & Felson, 1979). In practice it is not always easy to untangle
these factors into “weather-behavior’ or “weather-routine activity-behavior.”
Although no causal relationship has been claimed, links between weather and
crime are fairly well established. One of the earliest studies was the work of
Quetelet ([1842] 1969) who indicated that the greatest number of crimes against a
person is committed during summer and the fewest during winter.
Studies in the United Kingdom reported in Field (1992) find strong evidence
in England and Wales that temperature was positively related to most types of
property and violent crime, whilst Tennenbaum and Fink (1994) find an overall
rise in murders across the United States in the summer months. In the United
Kingdom, maximum temperature and hours of sunshine both had a statistically
significant positive relationship with the number of sexual assaults committed in
a day (McLean, 2007). For a comprehensive review see Cohn (1990) and also
Cohn (1993); Cohn and Rotton (2000); Harries, Stadler, and Zdorkwski (1984);
Horrocks and Menclova (2011); McDowall and Curtis (2014). Ceccato (2005)
evaluates the influence of weather and temporal variations on violent behavior in
Sao Paulo, Brazil, one of few studies of this type on a tropical country. Overall,
the results show that temporal variables (variations in people’s routines) are far
more powerful than weather covariates in explaining levels of homicide for the
Brazilian case. Despite a well-developed body of research, these studies make
no reference to possible temporal variations in crime in rural areas.
Figure 4.5 shows variations in total crime in two rural touristic municipalities.
Although crime varies seasonally, these variations reflect more population inflow
during high season (potentially more targets and violent encounters) and changes
in people’s routine activities in these municipalities (from structured to leisure
activities) than the claimed effect of weather per se (such as temperature or
humidity) on crime. These patterns have a number of implications.
Note that while crime increases during the summer on the island of Gotland,
when relative high temperatures occur, the crime peak in Are, the ski resort, is in
the cold months of the year. This inverse crime pattern summer/winter indicates
the impact of changes in routine activities on crime for people either living in or
visiting these municipalities. For instance, short-term visitors — young people
especially — would be tempted to engage in activities such as excessive drinking
or public disturbance that they would not otherwise do in their home muni-
cipality because of the lack of anonymity. As Figure 4.5 illustrates, population
Rural-urban crime trends internationally 85
2,500 ;
1,500 |
1,000 |
500 | |
0 yA,
> x= >
= oO O
§ G =
=
&
Figure 4.5 Crime rates in two touristic municipalities, Gotland (an island) and Are,
summer and winter respectively (data source: police records, BRA, 2012b).
w Are (winter)
Gotland (Summer)
i)
[o)
(SI
[o)
1
Are 4
Crime per 100,000 inhabitants
€ Gotland
CN
Aust
September
! —
June
February |
oo —__
November
December
inflow may be periodical, as it is in touristic places, but still has the potential to
affect crime records.
Although crime rates seem to increase during high season (summer on
Gotland and winter in Are), this rise may be just an artifact of a “poor” denomi-
nator, that does not take the population inflow into account. Crime rates shown
in Figure 4.5 take only resident population into account. This is important,
because the debate surrounding investment in the tourist industry in rural com-
munities often includes assumptions that these activities may attract or stimulate
disorder and crime. As suggested by previous studies (Park & Stokowski, 2009;
Stokowski, 1996), this development is often expected to lead to social disruption
and impoverish social control, but evidence shows mixed and sometimes contra-
dictory results.
An alternative to resident population as denominator for crime rates is some
indicator for population inflow. In a study by Stokowski (1996), vehicle traffic
was compared with resident population to standardize crime levels. The study
aimed to compare crime before, during, and after the initiation of gaming in
three rural Colorado towns. The results show that while crime has increased in
some offense categories, it was not proportional to the numbers of tourists visit-
ing. To check crime in relation to population inflow, vehicle traffic data from the
Swedish Transport Administration was used for a number of examples of tourist
municipalities in Sweden. The data measures incoming traffic on one major road
on Gotland as a proxy for tourist population inflow. Gotland is a good example
because it is an island, with limited connections to the continent beyond boats
and airplanes, certainly capturing most of the “real” vehicle traffic of the area.
86 Trends and patterns of crime
Figure 4.6 illustrates crime in 2012 in relation to vehicle flow from January to
December. As vehicle traffic flow increases, so does crime. This indicates that if
crime is standardized by vehicle traffic (instead of resident population), a better
measure of risk can be derived. The likelihood of an individual being a crime
victim on Gotland as a whole is stable and perhaps decreases in certain months,
because the tourist population rises more than the number of crimes. In this case,
the pattern of risk of victimization is fairly constant from January to December.
Of course, this is a rough measure of risk, and the number of arrests could
perhaps be used as a reference for a complementary picture of crime risk over
time. Again, the risk of victimization is unequal among population groups (youth
run a higher risk than the elderly for street crime and violence) and geograph-
ically. Visby concentrates more of the tourist population during the high season
(June-August) than the rest of the island and suffers disproportionately from
seasonal problems (see Figure 4.6). Not all types of crime increase. Heavy drink-
ing, aggression, social disturbances, and other types of violent encounters domi-
nate the police records. The type of population that increases during the high
season is also relevant to whether or not crime increases. In areas that attract
families with children, population inflow may have little effect on crime, com-
pared to attractions that receive groups that are more prone to get involved in
fights.
Although the risk of crime may be fairly constant over the year, there are
“community costs” (Stokowski, 1996) associated with intense population inflow
during the high season. Of course, some of these costs are compensated by eco-
nomic gains, and overall the risk of being a victim of crime is relatively low.
One of the tangible costs is new demands on local government (police officers,
January
February
March
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Figure 4.6 Crime (%) on Gotland (summer tourism) in relation to the vehicle flow, 2012
(data sources: Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) (2012)
Vehicle flow, Trafikverkets databas; BRA, 2012b).
Rural-urban crime trends internationally 87
healthcare). Gotland, for instance, receives police reinforcements from the
Stockholm area for specific events that attract many visitors. Moreover, local
perceptions of violence and social disturbance in the streets and public places
may lead to community fear and also has costs. Cases of violence are currently
reported by media, which may also affect the attitudes of future tourists that
would consider visiting. They may also be averse to visiting a place where
reports show that the community is out of control and perceptions of crime have
increased.
Figure 4.7 shows two other Swedish municipalities, Are and Malung-Salen,
with crime and indicators of population inflow, January to December. Both
municipalities have winter attractions, and the high season is December to April.
In Salen, traffic flow data captures population inflow and an increase in crime,
but Are shows a patchier pattern over the year. A potential reason for this mis-
match could be that Are has several attractions that attract visitors in summer,
while in Salen winter attractions dominate. It may also be that traffic flow data
does not estimate the real population inflow in the winter (note that the data is
(a) 25
20 I
© », Violence
615 “ye
5 a
g 10 Total crime
aM —
5
- © Ss £ S 23286 6 G g
are S§s 225552822
c = S = -
oe 2 z 2 ea ¢ 8
> oP Sy Oo 83 38
D Za
(b) 25
Malung-Sdalen .
N
oO
=
het Violence
=
Total crime
Percentage
January
February
September
November
December
Figure 4.7 Crime (%) in relation to the flow of vehicles passing into or out of two muni-
cipalities that are dependent on winter tourism: (a) Are and (b) Malung-Salen
(sources: Swedish Transport Administration, 2012; BRA, 2012).
88 Trends and patterns of crime
based on two major roads only), partially because the vehicle traffic is not com-
posed of passenger cars but trucks and other freight vehicles. Another reason for
this mismatch is that the datasets are not from the same year: vehicle traffic flow
data is from 2008, while crime data is from 2012.
The presence of a floating population — seasonal workers, tourists, and daily
commuters — may change the dynamics of the communities where they spend time
in different ways. For locals, social control may not be as effective as usual because
of the relative inflow of population. Those who belong to the temporary population
may be engaged in offenses, become victims, or act as guardians (Bucher,
Manasse, & Tarasawa, 2010). Even when they stay in the country for months as
temporary workers, they compose a heterogeneous group. Depending on their con-
ditions in the country, some would keep a low profile and would not report the
offence to the police even if they were victimized. Also, this group shows little
motivation to intervene if anything happens (Ceccato & Haining, 2004; Reynald,
2010), as they are in transit or temporarily linked to that particular place. As an
example, Chapter 6 illustrates the challenges of those who come to Sweden as tem-
porary labor (for berry picking) in the summer in some rural municipalities.
Concluding remarks
This chapter shows that, not surprisingly, rural areas traditionally experience
lower levels of crime than urban areas, but a comparative inspection of the inter-
national data sources for selected countries shows mixed, often declining, trends.
This is the big picture. The “exceptions to the rule” are actually the most inter-
esting part of the analysis, because they provide clues to further understanding
what happens in both rural and urban municipalities. Thus, this chapter ends by
indicating several crimes that need more attention in the Swedish rural context.
These offenses are discussed in detail in Chapter 5 as well as in Chapters 8-10
and 12-14.
In the United States and the United Kingdom, a decrease in crime for all types
of areas has characterized trends from both police statistics and victim surveys, but
in Sweden police statistics show a slightly upward trend since the mid-1990s for a
number of crimes. The tendency is toward convergence when crime increases are
shown side by side for urban and rural areas since 2010. A more stable picture of
victimization is found when looking at the past seven years of overall prevalence
rates from national victims’ surveys. However, even there exceptions are found in
victimization for certain crime types and areas. The prevalence of residential burg-
lary and assault are stable across urban and rural areas. A key issue for future
research in this context is to understand the causes of changes in crime rates in
tural areas and how they relate to specific rural conditions for each area. Although
crime in rural areas may not always be specifically rural, its nature fails to be fully
understood by the current urban-based theories.
Are rural and urban crime rates converging? It is difficult to say. If it is hap-
pening, evidence cannot be based on official statistics as they are collected now-
adays. Rural—urban convergence of crime rates may also be hidden under general
Rural-urban crime trends internationally 89
crime trends that disregard unequal victimization in rural areas or differentiated
levels of crime-reporting practices. The challenges in dealing with the issues of
crime trends over space are not limited to methodology or data quality. Crime
trends have to be considered against a background of what is happening in these
areas: changes in their economic base, each population’s socioeconomic and
demographic challenges, and people’s routine activities — just to name a few
issues. These conditions affect levels and processes of social control in these
areas and, consequently, crime.
The concept of population at risk, using both resident population and floating
population (by vehicle traffic), is discussed in high and low seasons. The chapter
also highlights the need for and more nuanced evaluations of whether crime
affects rural municipalities, as much of the debate on the impact of temporary
population on local communities is often based on perceptions of increased
crime.
Inequality in victimization by groups is still a major challenge when crime
trends are compared between areas. Most of the groups that are overrepresented
in repeat victimization against the same victims are found in urban areas, but for
certain crimes and for frequent victimization the differences between those
living in urban and rural areas are low or nonexistent. As it has been discussed in
this chapter, the analysis of inequality in victimization demands an approach that
is informed by crime, group, area, and time. The next chapter takes the first step
toward a more nuanced picture of crime in rural areas by illustrating the cases of
property and violent crimes in rural Sweden.
Note
1 Defined as the homicide of young women by their family members, because the perpet-
rators believe the victim has brought dishonor upon the family or community.
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5 The geography of property and
violent crimes in Sweden
Chapter 5 starts showing the changing rates and geography of a selected group
of offenses by municipalities in Sweden. Police records are used as the main
source of the analysis but reference is also made as much as possible to the
National Crime Victim Surveys. This chapter aims at improving the knowledge
base regarding the rates and spatial distribution of crimes in Sweden. Focus is
given to shifts in geography between rural (remote and accessible) and to urban
municipalities (especially Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malm), and vice versa.
Geographical information systems (GIS) and spatial statistics techniques are
used to assess concentration of thefts and violence. There is an inequality in vic-
timization that is worth highlighting as trends in crime may impress different
geographies in space.
Which are the main factors behind the geography of crime in Sweden? Are
these factors in urban areas different from the ones found in rural municipalities?
Following the main strand of theories in environmental criminology, the second
section of this chapter searches for factors that can explain the spatial arrange-
ment of crime. Crime rates are modeled cross-sectionally as a function of the
municipalities’ structural indicators, such as demography, socioeconomic con-
ditions, and lifestyles. Note that this chapter is based on previous work published
by the author with the criminologist Lars Dolmén in 2011! but it makes an effort
to take distance from the previous study by expanding the analysis, including
detailed analysis of property crime and updating the violence section with new
statistics. The chapter ends with a discussion of unanswered questions about the
geography of crime in Sweden and the methodological challenges of analysing
the regional distribution of crime using police recorded data at municipal level.
Finally, a relevant issue that is also discussed in the final section of this chapter
is the adequacy of current criminological theory in supporting the analysis of
crime dynamics that go beyond the urban and/or neighborhood contexts.
Property crimes
Both property and violent crimes are concentrated in urban areas, but across the
country the pattern is patchy. Municipalities with either high or low property crime
rates are found located close to each other. Confirming this clustering pattern, a
94 Trends and patterns of crime
global measure of spatial autocorrelation, Moran’s I? shows that property crimes
show more concentrations than would happen by chance in the country as a whole
([=0.2131, p=0.00, I=0.3042, p=0.00 in 2007). Again, this is not a big surprise
since according to Tobler (1970), “everything is related to everything else, but near
things are more related than distant things.” Crime, as a social phenomenon, is no
different: it reflects the organization of human activities in space.
A significant clustering pattern of crime, as indicated by Moran’s I statistics,
is informative because it indicates that crime does not happen at random.
However, this indicator does not allow checking where these crime concentra-
tions are. More helpful would be a test that identifies the location, magnitude,
and significance of clusters of crime across the country. A Local Indicator of
Spatial Association (LISA)* can provide just that: it reveals the municipalities
with either high or low concentrations of crime (cold and hot spots, respec-
tively). Figure 5.1 illustrates the location of clusters of total thefts, thefts from
cars and residential burglary in the mid-1990s and 2000s based on police
recorded data. Skane County but also Stockholm and Gothenburg metropolitan
areas as the most urbanized regions are constant hot spots of property crime.
As illustrated in Chapter 4, the number of police-reported property crimes
have dropped since the mid-1990s which was also indicated by the data from the
National Crime Victim Surveys. The National Crime Victim Surveys also show
that victimization varies somewhat between different counties. Skane County
has the highest and significant proportion of victims both for crimes against
property and against persons, while some counties in the north had the lowest
proportion at risk. The differences between the Swedish counties are not dra-
matic, but some differences are significant. Most counties show victimization
levels close to the national average (BRA, 2007c).
Not surprisingly, the largest cluster of thefts (mostly composed of Stockholm
County’s municipalities) shrank from 1996 to 2007 (Figure 5.1a, b). Less than
half of municipalities belonging to the core hot spots of residential burglary were
located in the south of the country in the mid-1990s whilst in 2007, they
compose near 80 percent of the hot spots core (Figure 5.le, f). Despite a less
concentrated pattern, still a number of municipalities around Stockholm show
high rates of residential burglary (high-high areas). Note that the low-low clus-
ters for theft are pretty much constant over time, in some cases, such as theft
from cars and to some extent burglary, have increased since the mid-1990s, for
instance central-north municipalities.
Although the shift from Stockholm to Skane County is less pronounced for
thefts from cars (Figure 5.1c, d) than for residential burglary, changes in the geo-
graphy of thefts from cars have occurred which are important to highlight. The
number of municipalities with high crime property crimes classified as “urban”
dropped from 32 in 1996 to 23 municipalities in 2007, whilst some accessible rural
municipalities have become the core of these clusters, particularly in southwestern
parts of the country (close to Malm6, Helsingborg, and Gothenburg). The change
in the geography of property crimes from Stockholm to southern urbanized areas
can be associated with a couple of factors; here two are discussed in detail.
Geography of property and violent crime 95
LISA-Theft LISA-Theft from LISA-Residential
rates 1996 cars 1996 burglary 1996
mm High-high wm High-high mm High-high
= Low-low = Low-low = Low-low
sn Low-high san Low-high sza Low-high
High-low High-low High-low
are,
DS So
& as” Stockholm Stockholm BE AS
a
Gothenburg Eaye3 Gothenburg @ASbAR SS Gothenburg %44
9g mH 4 iF 9g meest g ?
aA ee Sf
Malmo r ‘ Malmo or Malmo
<8
(a) (b) (c)
LISA-Theft
rates 2007
mm High-high
= Low-low
sza Low-high
LISA-Thefts from
cars 2007
mm High-high
= Low-low
sz Low-high
LISA-Residential
burglary 2007
mm High-high
= Low-low
sz Low-high
CP
Po High-low we High-low High-low
HE er?
SZ PRR SS
ea A BY GER ge dy ‘
SY pyr Stockholm ehh SSR Stockholm OK 3 Stockholm
BES
Gothenburg Gothenburg pedewets Gothenburg
Ye vf
Malmo Malmo 3
Figure 5.1 Hot and cold spots of thefts, thefts from cars, and residential burglary,
1996-2007 (Clusters significant at 1% level or less) (data source: Police
recorded data, Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention).
1 Inequality in the distribution of economic resources. The concentration of
property crimes in the region can also be related to old and new crimino-
genic conditions in the area. Pre-existent but also new demographic and
socioeconomic conditions in the region should be considered as an
important factor behind the regional increase in acquisitive crime rate, such
as the increase in segregation levels in Malm6 region (Persson, 2008) and
the rise of organized crime (Bengtsson & Imsirovic, 2010). Drug addicts
may get involved in residential burglary (Wiles & Costello, 2000) and thefts
in order to obtain quick money to buy drugs. Explanations for the geography
of crime may be related to socioeconomic and demographic changes of the
96 Trends and patterns of crime
areas, sometimes for short time. For instance, some rural touristic municip-
alities tend to experience seasonal variations of crime rates, often dependent
on visitor inflows (Ceccato & Dolmén, 2013 and examples from Chapter 4).
2 Changes in the dynamic of the borders. One important fact that took place
between 1996 and 2007 was the completion of a bridge linking Copenhagen
and Malm in July 2000, the Oresund bridge (previously the flow of people
and goods was carried out by boats and other vessels). Goods transportation
is now facilitated by the bridge as a natural channel to the continent before
driven by ferry boats only. This physical link has been accompanied by
large-scale, long-term infrastructural and business investments in southern
Sweden as well as in northern Denmark. Such changes have had both a
direct and an indirect effect on crime patterns by creating a new site for
offending and victimization. With the bridge, easier movement of people
and goods impose new challenges to detection of criminal activities in the
urban areas concerned and particularly for the border patrol. Border crime,
such as smuggling, may affect other types of crime. Some of these crimes
are committed by short-time visitors in both sides of the bridge.
Already four years after the bridge was inaugurated, Ceccato and Haining
(2004) indicated that the category of offense that had increased most in
number in the Swedish Oresund region was theft of different types, particu-
larly from cars and bicycles but also drug-related crimes. It is possible that
the bridge increased the car stock in these areas and, consequently, the
number of targets for possible vehicle theft and theft from vehicles. In the
cities, parking lots are targeted by thieves as individuals leave vehicles for a
relatively long time to take the train to Denmark, and then to the airport.
There are also criminogenic conditions that are intensified with the bridge,
especially those related to organized crime groups (within the triangle Malm6—
Gothenburg—Stockholm) with international links. These activities include
smuggling of alcohol, drugs, weapons, and people. About a decade ago,
Ceccato and Haining (2004, p. 810) reported that “the drug trade between
Denmark and Sweden was a consequence of drugs in Denmark being cheaper,
of better quality, and easier to buy than in Sweden.” In addition, there is a
more liberal attitude toward drugs in Denmark than in Sweden. Since then, the
situation has not changed much. The result is that local and decentralized
criminal organizations take advantage of these conditions to repeatedly
smuggle small quantities of narcotics by train. This intense but localized
smuggling is known in the region as Myrtafiken (ants’ traffic) and may involve
also other products, such as loads of alcohol that will attend more than peo-
ple’s own consumption. This has been intensified since the mid-1990s when
Sweden became part of the European Union, when alcohol smuggling has
been facilitated by liberal importing rules (Korsell, 2008; Weding, 2007).
These regional patterns in crime records and victimization raise a number of
questions about possible explanations for these differences, and similarities
between them. Which are the factors that underlie the regional geography of
Geography of property and violent crime 97
crime? Is there something special with the regional arrangement of these locali-
ties that triggers crime? For instance, to what extent is the regional variation due
to local factors affecting the scope and character of the conditions of crime?
There have been an increasing number of studies that attempt to associate
local and regional differences in crime with structural indicators of communities,
such as the population’s demography, employment levels, and daily commuting
patterns (e.g., Ceccato & Dolmén, 2011; Kaylen & Pridemore, 2011, 2013;
Kerry, Goovaerts, Haining, & Ceccato, 2010; Kim & Pridemore, 2005). Some of
the crime underlying factors relate to make up of these populations. International
literature often indicates links between crime and (un)employment (Sampson &
Laub, 1993; Uggen & Thompson, 2003), others between crime and poverty in
rural areas (Higgins, Robb, & Britton, 2010; Petee & Kowalski, 1993). Little
evidence is found for instance that the decentralization of poverty contributes to
higher crime in distant suburbs (but see Kneebone & Raphael, 2011). In the US,
as crime rates fell and communities diversified relationships between crime and
community demographic characteristics weakened significantly, especially in
rural areas. In Sweden, although there is no empirical evidence linking rural
poverty and victimization, Johansson, Westlund, and Eliasson (2009) suggest
that inequality in rural areas is increasing. In England and Wales, for instance,
households living in the most deprived areas are more often victimized by crime
compared with those in the least deprived areas in England (19 percent com-
pared with 14 percent).
Other factors may be more related to the dynamics that characterize indi-
viduals’ movement in space (e.g., the commuting flows, or in other words,
people’s routine activity patterns), than the statistic characteristics of the areas.
Large commuting distances between place of residence and workplace may
expose individuals at a higher risk of becoming a crime victim. Population
inflow might be periodical but still has the potential to affect crime records (e.g.,
in touristic places). In everyday life, only a small portion of individuals would
consider committing crime. More interesting is to investigate why some indi-
viduals would consider crossing the borders of a municipality or country to
commit crime. Lack of employment opportunities are suggested as one of the
motivations but it is not the only one. Ceccato (2007) suggests, for instance, that
for tobacco smuggling in Lithuania cigarettes are often transported by young
people or residents of border zones, who are usually unemployed. However,
without a regional European market, businesses would not be profitable. There is
evidence (Eisenberg & Von Lampe, 2005) that larger shipments pass undetected
in East European countries, reaching other destinations through large-scale
smuggling schemes. Regional patterns of crime may indicate processes orches-
trated over large areas, and some characterizing a chronic “culture of violence”
(Messner & Rosenfeld, 1999). In Italy, for instance, regional patterns of crime
cannot be assessed without looking at the geography of organized crime: a dis-
tinct pattern of violent crime is found between northern and southern parts of the
country (Cracolici & Uberti, 2009). Entorf and Spengler (2000) identify a similar
geographical divide was also between West and East Germany as well as (Baller,
98 Trends and patterns of crime
Anselin, Messner, Deane, & Hawkins, 2001) in the United States. They found a
north-south divide in homicide patterns, with a clear diffusion process in the
south throughout a period of three decades (Baller, Anselin, Messner, Deane, &
Hawkins, 2001).
The penultimate section of the chapter presents the findings of the hypo-
theses’ testing of links between crime rates and structural indicators at muni-
cipality level in Sweden. Before that, a complementary picture of the geography
of crime is next portrayed, now focusing on violent offenses.
Violent crimes
The categories of offenses that have increased most in number in Sweden since
the mid-1990s are drug offenses, followed by violence and criminal damage.
Drug offenses are highly sensitive to police practices, so such an increase may
be related, at least partially, to programs directed to substance abuse and dealing,
but also to changes in the way the offense is recorded. For criminal damage,
although there has been an increase, the expected number for both rural and
urban regions is smaller than the national trend. For violence, there is a contro-
versy around its increase.
On a national level, reported crimes of violence have increased since the mid-
1990s while other sources (e.g., National Crime Survey, health statistics) show a
more stable picture over time of violence. The National Council of Crime Pre-
vention (BRA) suggests that lethal violence, for instance, is decreasing while the
vulnerability to crimes against the person, especially assault in public places
since the mid-2000s, has recently decreased after a continuous large increases
since the 1970s (BRA, 2014).
What explains the rise in police records of violence? The view is that the
increase can be interpreted in the light of an increasing tendency among the popu-
lation to report violence (Estrada, 2005), as a consequence of society’s increased
sensitivity to such behavior, and national political focus to violent crimes, without
mentioning international trends of crime reduction (BRA, 2014). This is also
backed up by figures from the National Crime Victim Survey that shows that the
percentage of respondents who declare that they reported assault to the police has
increased overall during the period 2007-2012 from 27 to 38 percent (BRA, 2014).
Still, the view is that a drastic increase in reported violence such as this may also
reflect a genuine rise in levels of violence at least in some parts of the country, and
for some types of violence as suggested by BRA (2007b), Andersson and Mellgren
(2007) and Ceccato and Dolmén (2011). These authors suggest that overlapping
societal processes such as increasing segregation, economic deprivation, and, most
importantly, increasing alcohol consumption are also the causes of the rise of viol-
ence records, particularly in urban areas.
Regardless of the controversy about trends in violence, a more interesting
issue is whether patterns of victimization vary over space and time. Just by
looking at crime levels, one notices that in 2007, more violent offenses occurred
in rural areas than if they had followed the national trend; more recorded cases
Geography of property and violent crime 99
than the expected in remote rural and more cases in accessible rural. This trend
varies by crime type and regions (Ceccato & Dolmén, 2011).
The trend is the same when violent acts are standardized by resident popula-
tion. An increase from an average of 45 to 83 per 10,000 inhabitants from 1996
to 2007 was detected. From 1996 to 2013, rural municipalities have had increase
of more than 100 percent in the rates (e.g., Storuman in the north, 29 to 75 per
10,000 inhabitants; Aneby in the south, from 22 to 82 per 10,000 inhabitants).
As in the case for property crimes, violence also shows a clustering pattern since
the mid-1990s (Table 5.1), with a significant and larger Moran’s I in 2013.
Despite the widespread increase in violence rates, cluster techniques show
that the core clusters of violence remain fairly constant (Figure 5.2). LISA statis-
tics were applied to check the geographical distribution of areas with both high
and low crime rates. Hot spots of violence (municipalities with high violence
rates close together) were found mostly in Stockholm County and surrounding
areas, while municipalities with low violence rates close by, the so-called cold
spots, were concentrated in northern Sweden.
Ceccato and Dolmén (2011) suggest that although there is evidence that this rise
reflects an increase in population propensity to report violence, the view is that such
an increase also reflects a genuine rise in levels of violence, related to a rise in socio-
economic polarization and alcohol consumption. In other words, the reasons behind
such a development are difficult to establish, but there seem to be demographic and
structural socioeconomic changes that are affecting rural and urban areas differently.
The authors looked specifically at the issue of proximity to urban centres as it relates
to rural violence. They found increases in crime in both remote rural and accessible
rural areas over the last decade. For more detail, see the next section.
Lethal violence has been fairly constant over time but still shows ecological
patterns in space. Granath et al. (2011) suggest, for instance, that the presence of
a criminal milieu and the frequency and characteristics of alcohol consumption
associated with marginalization are factors that have a large impact on lethal
violence levels. The study by Granath et al. (2011) shows that increases are not
restricted to large urban areas. Besides Stockholm, the southeast had higher than
average homicide rates, while southwestern and central regions had the lowest
crime levels. According to BRA (2007a) for homicides in large urban areas the
victim is often not acquainted with the offender, and homicides are often related
to criminal motives and associated with the use of firearms. In rural areas, mental
health problems are often the cause of homicides.
Table 5.1 Violence rates — global measure of spatial autocorrelation (Moran’s I)
1996 2007 2013
Violence rates (log) 0.1819* 0.0941* 0.512*
Source: Police recorded data, Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention.
Note
* p=0.00.
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102 Trends and patterns of crime
Domestic violence, particularly violence against women, shows an increasing
trend that is confirmed both by police records as well as hospital admissions.
Chapter 10 illustrates in detail the nature, levels, and geography of gendered
violence in Sweden.
The geography of property and violent crime: theory and
hypotheses
The international literature has a long tradition of searching for links between
socioeconomic structural conditions and crime. This section reviews a set of the-
ories that flag for potential links between crime and structural conditions as a
background for the modeling of crime rates presented in the next section.
Durkheim (1897) was the first to argue that social change creates anomie,
which can have a negative impact on society and may lead to crime. In the same
line of thought, Merton (1938) proposed that crime rates can be explained by
examining the cultural and social structure of society. He was particularly inter-
ested in explaining the relatively high rates of crime present in the United States.
The research by Messner and Rosenfeld in the 1990s (1994, 1999) attempted to
explain high crime rates as a function of society’s structural conditions in the
United States. These authors expanded Merton’s theory of structural anomie to
include the relationships among the various social institutions in society, which
is now known as institutional anomie theory. They suggested that in a dominant
capitalist society, social institutions tend to be devalued in comparison to eco-
nomic institutions and lose their power to positively influence crime rates. Since
its introduction, several researchers have attempted to partially test these theoret-
ical assumptions using aggregated level data (e.g., Ceccato & Haining, 2008;
Chamlin & Cochran, 2007; Kerry et al., 2010; Maume & Lee, 2003; Messner &
Rosenfeld, 1997). Kim and Pridemore (2005) as well as Maume and Lee (2003)
drew on Messner and Rosenfeld’s (1997) institutional anomie theory to argue
that societal negative effects are mitigated where pro-social institutions are
strong (e.g., family, welfare, and polity). In countries in which the welfare state
is strong, such as in Sweden, it could be expected that these anomic conditions
are mitigated by social institutions since they moderate the negative effects of
rapid social changes, for instance, crime.
For the Swedish case, these assumptions can be helpful to interpret social
changes from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s. This period of time is relevant
because Sweden has overcome a number of structural changes, particularly after
its entrance to the European Community in 1995. In line with these changes,
regional policies have shifted focus from being a welfare project, run by the need
to care for “the whole of the nation” throughout the 1950s to 1980s, toward the
“regions’ dynamic growth” (Westholm, 2008). In practice, this development has
led to a greater regional differentiation. Regions have differed in the way they
invest in welfare, promote socially oriented institutions, and, to a certain extent,
decide on how to support vulnerable social groups. There are indications that
municipalities have become more market-oriented, privatizing and rationalizing
Geography of property and violent crime 103
many basic services. Those areas characterized by historical population decrease
and relatively high unemployment rates are expected to have been affected the
most by these changes. There are reasons to believe that changes like these
would have a direct effect on both crime levels and geography. For instance,
during the second half of the 1990s more than 200 of the 290 municipalities had
a population decline. The main causes of this rural population decline are low
birth rates and out-migration, particularly of young people; in other words, popu-
lation is aging. The percentage of the population aged 65 and above is higher
than the national average in most remote rural and accessible rural areas, whilst
relatively few people aged 20-29 live in these areas (Amcoff & Westholm,
2007; Karlsson, 2012). This development is not geographically homogeneous.
The city regions and their hinterlands grew quickly while rural and peripheral
areas were generally worse off. It is expected that municipalities that struggle
with socioeconomic and demographic changes (e.g., anomic conditions, unem-
ployment, and population changes) show higher crime levels.
Individuals are more prone to crime within a social context where there is an
unequal distribution of material resources and where there is an absence of pro-
social-oriented institutions (Messner & Rosenfeld, 1997). The theory has suggested
the importance of social institutions in moderating the negative effects of
economic-structural problems in a society that might otherwise be associated with
higher rates of offending (Chamlin & Cochran, 2007; Sampson, 1986). Evidence
suggests that crime levels would be lower in areas with high expenditure in social
care, despite negative socioeconomic development (e.g., high unemployment rate).
There are reasons to believe that in Sweden, crime levels are moderated by “collec-
tivistic” approaches to supplying public resources (e.g., investments in democracy
and social cohesion as well as police resources per municipality).
Another important theory that relates structural characteristics and crime is
social disorganization theory (Kornhauser, 1978; Shaw & McKay, 1942). The
theory was developed to explain urban crime patterns and has been tested primarily
in urban areas. However, recent theoretical and empirical work in this area has
extended to rural communities (Kaylen & Pridemore, 2011). Traditionally, the
social disorganization theory suggests that communities with high rates of poverty,
residential instability, family disruption, and ethnic heterogeneity are poorly integ-
rated and thus less able to exert informal social control, socialize youth, and solve
shared problems. Social disorganization theory suggests that structural dis-
advantage breeds crime and suggests that offending occurs where impaired social
bonds are insufficient to encourage or enforce legitimate behavior and discourage
deviant behavior (Bottoms and Wiles, 2002). Social control in socially disorgan-
ized communities tends to be weak given among other things, intense housing
mobility. As a result, these communities have higher rates of crime.
In this context, family structure is suggested as a predictor for offending
(Ceccato, 2007; Sampson, 1986). In American and British literature, one of the
mechanisms that links broken families with offending is the increase in poverty
(Corcoran & Chaudry, 1997) but in Scandinavia it is related to psychological
challenges that lead to higher mortality, morbidity, and crime. The divorce rate
104 Trends and patterns of crime
was constant in Sweden between 1996 and 2007 (from 2.4 to 2.3 divorces per
1,000 persons) and at similar rates to other Scandinavian countries (Eurostat,
2008). More recent investigations suggest that socioeconomic polarization com-
bined with the loss of collective efficacy have an effect on crime levels
(Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls, 1997), although not for rural areas. Despite
such potential, current research suggests a lack of support for the generalizability
of these theories to rural communities (see e.g., Kaylen & Pridemore, 2013).
According to these authors, these studies are limited because they missed the
intervening social organization factors that may operate to influence crime.
Crimes also depend on how individuals move around in space and to what extent
this movement leads to opportunities to crime. The convergence in space and time
of motivated offenders, suitable targets, and absence of capable guardians, as sug-
gested by routine activity theory (Cohen & Felson, 1979). At the regional level,
day/night population density, location at the border, order of center in an urban hier-
archy, and transportation lines and nodes are often used as indicative of people’s
movement flows (Ceccato, 2007). Large urban centers tend to show indications of
social disorganization, therefore it is expected that the geography of crime follows a
distance-decay pattern from larger urban centers in Sweden.
Conditions for property crimes are impacted by population shifts. In the case of
Sweden, often when the population within a community grows, this may be fol-
lowed by an increase in housing construction, recreational, and other facilities,
which offer more crime opportunities and, at least in the short term, weaker social
control. Particularly in accessible rural areas single family houses might constitute
potential targets for crime since they are not equally equipped with security devices
as in typical single family neighborhoods in urban areas. Changes in residence also
mean that people’s daily routine activity is altered putting them hypothetically at a
higher risk of becoming a crime victim than they may have been previously.
Offenders may also take advantage of people’s routine activity and mobility during
the day or summer, when properties are unattended. The example below exempli-
fies the flexibility of thieves in farms across the county in southern Sweden and the
availability of a number of crime targets:
Burglaries have increased drastically in two months, they happen every night
in homes, barns, sheds and garages, around the county. Thieves gather large
amounts of chainsaws and later, transport them out of the country. The police
believe that they are active at night time, use often rural and minor roads.‘
Population inflow might be periodical (e.g., in touristic places) but still has the
potential to affect crime records, such as in the example above. Other aspects that
affect people’s routine activity are location (e.g., south, north) and geography (e.g.,
being at a border) (Ceccato, 2007; Ceccato & Haining, 2004). For instance, the
close location to Denmark and therefore transport corridors of rural municipalities
located in southern areas of Sweden, could potentially be more criminogenic than
relatively isolated northern rural municipalities. Southern municipalities, particu-
larly those within the urbanized triangle of Stockholm—Malmé-Gothenburg (the
Geography of property and violent crime 105
three largest urban areas in Sweden), are expected to be more exposed to local and
regional flows of people and goods than the northern municipalities and therefore
are more criminogenic than elsewhere in the country. For more details of the con-
ceptual framework of this analysis, see Ceccato and Dolmén (2011, p. 122).
Modeling geographical variation in property and violent
crime rates
Using ordinary least square regression, the geography of offense patterns in
Swedish rural areas was tested by fitting models for the whole of Sweden that
contrast 1996 and 2007 data. Based on the last section of this chapter, the fol-
lowing indicators were chosen:
1 Socioeconomic, welfare and lifestyle indicators
Proportions of:
Young male population (13—25 years) “YoungMale”
Divorced population “Divorce”
Foreign population “Foreigner”
Total unemployed population “Unemp”
Population increase “PopIncrease”
Average income “Income”
Voter turnout “Voterturnout”
Resources earmarked for democratic issues (1/0) “Demo”
Employed in the police by municipality “Police”
Alcohol-serving licenses per 10,000 inhabitants “AlcoServ”
Alcohol purchase per inhabitants “AlcoPurch”
Population density “PopDens”
Southern municipalities, particularly those within the urbanized triangle of
Stockholm—Malm6-Gothenburg (the three largest urban areas in Sweden),
should be more exposed to local and regional flows of people and goods
than the northern municipalities (the dummy triangle was significant in all
models) and affect crime rates.
2. Land use indicators (population dynamics)
Dummy for border regions “Border”
Dummy for Stockholm—Malm6-Gothenburg triangle “Triangle”
Dummy for urban areas (“UA”), remote rural (“RR”), and accessible rural
(“AR”)
Main results
Models predicting both violence and property crimes do not show any special
dimension that is typical “rural”: the ones that strike the most are similar for
both urban and rural municipalities. However, the predicting variables in these
models are not exactly the same (Tables 5.2, 5.3, and 5.4). Young male popula-
tion and divorce rate were the most important covariates based on social
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110 Trends and patterns of crime
disorganization that account for the variation of both violence and theft. Among
the routine activity covariates, the dummy that flags for differences in urbaniza-
tion between north and south Sweden and alcohol serving licenses per inhabit-
ants emerged significant for both 1996 and 2007 for most crimes, including
violence.
These results shed light on the importance of taking into account the diversity
of rural localities and avoid generalized models that may not apply for rural
areas. However this is not the same as saying that the hypotheses’ testing was
able to fully test principles of social disorganization theory, routine activity, or
institutional anomie. This analysis, together with others found in the inter-
national literature faced a number of challenges when applied to rural areas. The
incapacity to fully test the models and the dependence on police records (which
imply problems of data quality) for this type of analysis constitute serious limita-
tion (Kaylen & Pridemore, 2011).
The reasons behind the link between divorce rates and victimization are diffi-
cult to ascertain at this aggregated level but may be related to other factors
beyond economic hardship as suggested by Fréjd, Marttunen, Pelkonen, von der
Pahlen, and Kaltiala-Heino (2006) and Weitoft, Hjern, Haglund, and Rosén
(2003). An alternative interpretation for the effect of divorce on crime is through
the parent-child relationship. Social control theory suggests that ineffective
socialization processes or weak parental attachment (in this case, following a
divorce) may lead to a breakdown in social conformity, as manifested, for
example, in law breaking. Other forms of instability, such as economic ones
(e.g., triggered by long-term unemployment), are less consistent and only in a
few cases associated with crime rates. For more details see Ceccato and Dolmén
(2011).
As hypothesized, municipalities that experienced population increase since
1996 show higher rates of thefts and robbery. Shoplifting rates are also greater in
municipalities with higher unemployment rates. Contrary to what was initially
suggested, no moderating effect was found for social institutions on crime in
these models. The variables (e.g., earmarked resources for democracy) did not
function as expected. Instead, they behave as proxies for urbanity or have an
impact that is not geographically homogeneous, which is not captured by the
model employed here. The only exception was found for theft in urban areas.
The variable for police resources did not function as an indicator for the
moderating factor of social institutions on crime. Proportion of police resources
(police employees) has an unexpected impact (a rise) on rates of violence and
thefts in Sweden. Neither were variables voter turnouts and resources earmarked
for democratic issues. An explanation for this is that the welfare state in Sweden
shifted its focus toward a more market-oriented system, public resources have
shrunk, which certainly affect formal social control in rural communities (fewer
police) and less support for bottom-up initiatives, and, consequently, crime
would increase. Another explanation for this finding is the fact that police
resources do partially reflect the municipalities’ population sizes (the larger the
population, the greater the number of police officers and related administration)
Geography of property and violent crime 111
and therefore it is actually unsurprising that it showed positively in relation to
offense rates. Furthermore, high crime rates relate to more police in models for
both 1996 and in 2007, which indicates that the distribution of police resources
has not altered much in the last decade despite changes in the welfare system
and regional policy.
The impact of the border on crime in each region was assessed by including
in the model a dummy variable for municipalities located at the border (both for
land and sea). Interestingly, findings show that being located at the border has no
effect on crime, the only exception being theft in rural municipalities in 2007.
Outliers for a diversity of offenses were found for some municipalities at the
border such as Strémstad, at the border with Norway, but were not strong
enough to affect modeling results.
As expected, findings indicate that the criminogenic conditions in Sweden
follow a north-south divide, having southern rural municipalities being more
criminogenic because they are often composed of accessible rural municipalities,
and more exposed to local and regional flows of people and goods than northern
rural municipalities (see the significance of variable: triangle, Stockholm—
Gothenburg—Malm6).
Property crimes
Chapter 4 shows evidence of a drop in property crime rates in Sweden which is
confirmed both by police recorded statistics and victim crime surveys. Such
trend is not however homogeneous over the country and varies by crime type.
The analysis focuses first on geographical differences of property crime between
urban areas, accessible rural areas, and remote rural areas. For property crimes,
an important change in the regional geography of crime between 1996 and 2007
is the shift of clusters of high rates of theft and residential burglary from Stock-
holm County to Skandia region. The number of urban areas comprising the core
hot spots dropped, whilst some accessible rural municipalities instead became
part of the new cores. In line with these shifts, there has been a decrease in the
number of cold spots of theft between 1996 and 2007. Modeling results show
links between spatial variation of property crime rates and regions’ demography,
socioeconomic and locational characteristics both in 1996 and 2007.
Property crimes is a phenomenon typical of urban or densely populated muni-
cipalities, the largest concentrations are found at and close to Stockholm,
Gothenburg, and Malmé. They are the economically leading regions, where both
positive and negative sides of a successful economy are experienced: invest-
ments create new jobs and the supply of goods (targets) but also exacerbate
income disparities through wage differentials and selective unemployment, also
affecting the pool of motivated offenders.
However, crime might be an urban phenomenon but it does not mean that
offenses are concentrated only in urban areas. Among the rural municipalities,
the accessible rural are extra vulnerable to offenders committing burglaries,
thefts, robbery, since there are more targets to steal than the remote rural areas.
112 Trends and patterns of crime
The effect of being an accessible rural area is higher on crime in 2007 than in
1996, particularly for car theft, residential burglary, and shoplifting, which indi-
cate a rise in the vulnerability of these municipalities to some types of crimes.
Violent crimes
As for property crimes, characteristics of family structure (divorce rate) and pro-
portion of young male population are significantly linked to high rates of violence
at municipal level both in the mid-1990s and mid-2000s (Tables 5.3 and 5.4). For
rural municipalities only, being accessible rural areas put them at higher risk for
violence than remote rural ones. Moreover, there was no moderating effect of pro-
social institutions on violence. The variables (e.g., earmarked resources for demo-
cracy) did not function as expected. Instead, they behave as proxies for urbanity.
The link between alcohol consumption and outdoor life and violence outdoors
is indicated by the significance of the variable alcohol-serving licenses per
inhabitants and, to a lesser extent, alcohol purchase. Note that according to the
Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention violence records in public
places are often composed of offenses committed by young people directed
against other young people.
A common scenario of street violence often involves young people, most
often two youngsters who know each other from before and enter in conflict
with each other during a late weekend night in a public place. The conflict
results in minor injuries.
(BRA, 2012)
The modeling findings indicate that outdoor violence is more related to differ-
ences in patterns of routine activity (e.g., violent encounters after work hours,
weekends, outside home) than alcohol consumption alone. When people are
often away from home, there is a greater risk of victimization (especially when
the perpetrator is unknown to the victim). “Being on the move” means that there
is a greater chance that potential victims or targets (e.g., a car) are in the same
place at the same time as motivated offenders.
Violence may strike seasonally. Some of the rural municipalities that show
relatively high rates of premises selling alcohol per inhabitant are often touristic
places. Crime takes place when changes in routine activities in these com-
munities are imposed by the inflow of large numbers of an external population at
particular times of the year. As previously shown in Chapter 4, ski resorts in the
winter and summer destinations as well as municipalities in the “cottage belt”
around Stockholm, are examples of this dynamic.
Concluding remarks
Results from the regression models indicate that accessible rural municipalities
were more criminogenic in the late 2000s than they were in the 1990s, particularly
Geography of property and violent crime 113
those located in southern Sweden (these findings are of course bound to the pre-
viously discussed limitations of police recorded data). Changes in routine activ-
ities associated with existent and new risky factors are pointed as potential
causes of increased vulnerability of accessible rural areas in the last decade.
These results show increasing links of dependence between the city and the
countryside with regard not only to the population’s demographic and socio-
economic characteristics but also lifestyle and criminogenic conditions. Crime
rates are higher where urban criminogenic conditions emerge, not necessarily in
urban areas but in settings that have strong links with urban centers.
Some evidence of anomic conditions is found when population increase does
affect crime rates. However, as in other similar studies, it still unclear whether
pro-social institutions moderate or mediate the negative effects of the economy
on the rate of crime. The effect is not confirmed either for property or violent
crimes. As it is suggested by Bjerregaard and Cochran (2008) this fact may be
due to the complex nature of this institutional anomie theory and the lack of sys-
tematically collected data that properly operationalize its key dimensions, as it
may have occurred also in this study.
The search for more adequate dependent variables as well as covariates
should be part of future studies of this type. Kaylen and Pridemore (2013)
suggest the use of data from national crime victim surveys as better measures of
victimization than police recorded data, as was used in this study. However, the
problem is that the sampling of respondents in rural areas in many countries
(including in Sweden) is relatively small compared with urban areas which
impose a number of methodological problems, even after data aggregation. In
terms of covariates, Kaylen and Pridemore (2013, p. 905) broke down variables
into two groups (the exogenous sources of social disorganization and intervening
measures of community organization) which are claimed to allow “the first test
of the full social disorganization model.”
In a more technical account, future studies should also consider more appro-
priate models that suit the case of small counts (Osgood & Chambers, 2003),
particularly where some counts are zero as here in the case of rural areas (for
instance, the negative binomial model). Data permitting, future research should
attempt to include indicators of social change rather than the ones (rates cross-
sectionally) used in this analysis. Moreover, the model specification needs the
inclusion of both change and cross-sectional rates variables in order to capture
both short- and long-term social dynamics that affect crime. Moreover, future
studies should also test the importance of differences in regions’ functionality
(e.g., if they contain capital cities, holiday resorts, or industrial towns) since they
affect human interactions and, as a consequence, crime. The inclusion of vari-
ables that function as good indicators of social institutions as moderators of poor
socioeconomic conditions on crime is an example. An important area of study
that has not been covered by this chapter is the effect of organized crime on local
crime dynamics. This may, for instance, explain crime clusters in some border
regions, such as between Sweden and Denmark or Sweden and the Baltic coun-
tries. It would be useful to identify potential links between international/regional
114 Trends and patterns of crime
organized crime and crimes that take place within national territories. To
approach the question of the mechanisms underlying such a relationship, it
would be beneficial in future analysis to integrate individual level data, such as
data on offense, victim, and offender. A key issue here is to investigate the
nature of crimes in rural areas.
Findings from this chapter raise questions of whether there is a need for
criminological theories (or new theoretical frameworks) that can regard large-
scale crime patterns. The call for new ways of theoretically dealing with crime
in this fluid framework of human interactions is not new (see e.g., Bottoms &
Wiles, 2002). As it is now, most environmental criminology theories fit at their
best the analysis of intra-urban underlying forces of crime but do a poor job in
identifying criminogenic conditions that extend over large geographical areas,
particularly beyond state borders. This is particularly true for areas that are
sparsely populated, rural, and covering large areas of the country, and where
human interactions happen in nodes in space. The question of scale
(micro=individual, meso=neighborhood, macro=region/country/global) is
fundamental here: (1) What makes an individual commit a crime is certainly
determined by similar processes either in urban or rural areas (it is argued here
that there are not necessarily special mechanisms when an individual breaks the
law in rural areas than if he does in the city). (2) Rural areas (and its environ-
ment) promote particular types of crimes that may not happen elsewhere. (3)
Yet a crime attractor (a train station for instance) does not necessarily change
just because it is in a rural area, it is still a place where people converge, at least
at certain times of the day. (4) The same areas/dynamics that facilitate crime
because of their socioeconomic and cultural contexts are also expected to be
similar in nature in both urban and rural areas. (5) Crimes that happen in rural
areas may be generated by processes that are far from the conditions that they
are created. However, it is submitted here the mechanisms that explain why
crimes occur in points 1—5 are not enough to provide clues behind the location
and spatial context in which large concentration of crimes occur. Some of the
potential candidates to help explain large-scale patterns of crime (for instance,
group of municipalities, across borders) require systemic thinking (e.g., von
Bertalanffy, 1974) that links individuals in settings, these nested in areas, and
they, in their turn, in larger contexts that sometimes go beyond national borders;
but often, not necessarily in this particular order.
The need for new criminological theories that can support the interpretation
of large-scale processes of crime must accommodate the notion of “space of
flows” (Castells, 1989, p. 146), with the current extensive use of modern modes
of transportation as well as telecommunications technology. This concept of
space is based on human action and interaction occurring in real time and some-
times orchestrated remotely, over cyberspace. Needless to point out the poten-
tial usefulness this type of framework may have to interpret organized crime,
but certainly its potential can also shed light on trivial local crime problems.
One important question to be analyzed in rural areas is whether thefts are com-
mitted by local offenders or whether they are actions by outsiders coming from
Geography of property and violent crime 115
neighboring communities or both. Traditionally, outsiders are often blamed for
certain types of crimes. Of course this is an empirical question that can be
checked looking at how the flow of information from the targets reaches poten-
tial offenders, supposedly living outside the community. It is crucial to analyze
the potential travel to crime for different types of offences/targets. As these
examples show, challenges of interpreting crime in space requires paradoxically
less attention to spatial boundaries (perhaps leaving behind the thought of crime
following the tyranny imposed by police administrative districts), and more
focus on multi-scale temporal factors that affect individuals, settings, areas,
countries — in a systemic way.
Notes
1 Ceccato and Dolmén, 2011.
2 Spatial autocorrelation is characterized by a correlation in a signal among nearby loca-
tions in space, this means for example that a positive sign shows that areas with similar
values of violence rates tend to be clustered together in space, either high or low (+1).
A random arrangement of values would give Moran’s I a value that is close to zero and
a completely dispersed pattern of rates would produce a negative Moran’s I (1).
Moran’s I was calculated in GeoDa 0.9.5—1 (Anselin, 2003), with row-standardized
binary weight matrix, queen criterion, first order neighbours. Moran’s I statistic sum-
marizes the spatial pattern for the whole study area. Swedish islands in the weight
matrix were manually linked to the mainland by replacing the zero values to a known
neighbour (Oland was linked to Kalmar, and Gotland to Oskarshamn and Nynashamn)
but they do not belong to any cluster, and are excluded from Figures 5.1 and 5.2.
3 LISA analysis allows us to identify where are the areas of high values of a variable that
are surrounded by high values on the neighboring areas, namely high-high clusters
(black). The low-low clusters are also identified from this analysis (gray), which are
the areas with low values surrounded by low values. High-low clusters are areas with
high values neighboured by low values (hashed) while low-high are areas with low
values neighbored by high values (spots).
4 Press release, County Police authority, 2012.
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Part Ill
Perceived safety in rural
areas
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
http://taylorandfrancis.com
6 The nature of perceived safety in
rural areas
Imagine that some farmers declare they are worried about having their livestock
stolen. Should this be enough to influence crime prevention efforts by the local
police force? Or consider the case of a woman who is in fear because of constant
threats from her violent partner. Should her fear be taken seriously by workers in
social services or the police to avoid something more serious happening?
Fear of crime is not typically considered a conventional policing matter and
seems to be even less of an issue in rural communities. One reason for this
neglect is that the police, as well as those who devote their time to crime preven-
tion, often work reactively, requiring an offense to be committed before any
action can be taken. Another problem is that fear (of crime) may be triggered by
the trauma of victimization, though that is not its only source. Anxieties are fed
by multi-scale factors. This chapter examines how the multifaceted nature of fear
makes perceived safety a difficult issue to tackle. Instead of denying such com-
plexity, this chapter attempts to provide examples of how such anxieties form
and are associated with the fear of crime in rural environments in Sweden. “Per-
ceived safety” is a general concept used in this chapter to characterize both fear
of crime and other overall anxieties, often measured by safety and crime victims’
surveys.
Lack of perceived safety — or, more specifically, fear of crime — has been the
subject of interdisciplinary research for many decades, but the results are far
from unproblematic. Crime victims’ surveys and interviews are often the basis
of this type of research, which has been criticized for offering a shallow picture
of what fear is actually is. This chapter examines fear as an informative resource
that may improve quality of life for those living in rural communities. If fear is a
reflection of everyday life experiences, what are those experiences in rural
communities?
The nature of perceived safety in rural areas
Rural areas are regarded worldwide as relatively safer environments than urban
areas (Barclay, Scott, Hogg, & Donnermeyer, 2007; Bradford & Myhill, 2015;
BRA, 2011; Ceccato & Dolmén, 2013; Donnermeyer & Kreps, 1986; Maxfield,
1984; Shappland & Vagg, 1985). Despite this widespread belief, research has
122 Perceived safety in rural areas
also found that this apparently homogeneous pattern of safety in rural areas does
not hold up to scrutiny. Fear and other types of anxiety are as much an issue in
tural areas as they are in big cities or, at least, are for some groups of individuals
at particular times (Panelli, Little, & Kraack, 2004). The literature suggests that
people in rural towns are not actually fearful of crime itself but are concerned
with what they perceive as a threat to their rural idyll (Marshall & Johnson,
2005). Power relationships in the community may trigger fear, at least for some
by some (Hunter, Krannich, & Smith, 2002; Scott, Carrington, & McIntosh,
2012; Yarwood & Gardner, 2000). Thus, the nature of perceived safety (or the
lack thereof — fear) is a phenomenon affected by multi-scale factors (Day, 2009;
Los, 2002; Wyant, 2008). Some factors are local and tangible, whilst others may
be more difficult to assess but still affect individuals’ anxieties at the local level.
Fear can be multidimensional, as an individual can fear for oneself (personal
fear) and fear for others (e.g., children, spouses, friends) whose safety the person
values.
Fear is, according to Warr (2000, p. 453), “an emotion, a feeling of alarm or
dread caused by awareness or expectation of danger.” If one concentrates on
looking at “fear of crime” only, Ferraro (1995, p. 8) defines it as “an emotional
reaction of dread or anxiety to crime or symbols that a person associates with
crime.” Thus, an increase in crime would hypothetically affect perceived safety.
However, this simplistic causal relationship is rarely confirmed by empirical
studies, as the fear of crime refers to the fear of being a victim of crime as
opposed to the actual probability of being a victim of crime, that is, the actual
risk (Hale, 1996). As Pain (2009) suggests, the concept of fear of crime has less
significance than is widely expected. Yet, its construct, as it is argued here, can
be informative in the context of perceived safety in rural context.
Furstenberg (1971) was one of the first researchers who recognized the diffi-
culty in distinguishing between concern about and fear of crime. Concern about
crime, the author suggests, is an estimation of the seriousness of crime as a public
issue, while fear of crime is the perceived risk of victimization. The author found
that concern and fear of crime were not significantly related to each other: concern
with crime was associated with resentment to social change, while fear of crime
was not related to attitudes toward social change, and therefore these were not
interchangeable concepts. Later, Lotz (1979) has suggested that concern about
crime is related to a variety of individuals’ politically conservative attitudes. Still,
not everyone agrees with these explanations and the conceptual differences.
Previous research has shown that an individual’s fears depend on his/her indi-
vidual characteristics, such as physical abilities, age, gender, socioeconomic
status, and ethnic background (Box, Hale, & Andrews, 1988; Garofalo & Laub,
1979; Pain & Smith, 2008). Individual factors play an important role in defining
perceptions of risk and safety. Gender and age are perhaps the strongest ones.
The individual dimension of fear is often related to the vulnerability hypothesis,
in which those perceiving themselves as vulnerable are likely to be more fearful.
The nature of perceived safety in rural areas 123
Gender
Traditionally, women are portrayed as being more fearful than men about their
personal safety (Box et al., 1988; Koskela, 1999; Loukaitou-Sideris, 2004). This
degree of fear by women is higher in public places than in domestic settings.
One of the reasons for these unbalanced levels of fear is that women and men
are victimized in different places. Regardless of which part of a city a woman
lives in, her home tends to be more dangerous than any outdoor environment.
For example, although the majority of rapes are committed indoors by someone
the victim knows (e.g., a partner or parent), the international literature on sexual
violence indicates that rape in public places is the one that feeds the idea of
public places as dangerous places (Canter & Larkin, 1993; Ceccato, 2014; Pyle,
1974). It has also been suggested that women are more fearful because of their
physical and social vulnerabilities (Furstenberg, 1971; Gray & O’Connor, 1990;
Jackson & E. Gray, 2010; Skogan & Maxfield, 1981).
In one of the seminal studies in this area, Valentine (1990) finds that women
anticipate being at risk in several specific public settings (e.g., bus stops, open
spaces, alleys, underground passages) than in the domestic arena. Gender differ-
ences in stated personal safety may also be related to the fact that women and
men are traveling in different ways or spending time in different places (Kunieda
& Gauthier, 2007). However, gender is not the only factor that affects perceived
safety. For instance, Bromley and Nelson (2002) find significant gender differ-
ences in the perceived safety of boys and girls in the city center environment
(e.g., where many transportation nodes are located) but no difference in per-
ceived safety in their home areas.
Age
Research also finds that feelings of insecurity typically increase with age, partly
because of the inevitable increase in individuals’ physical and/or mental vulner-
ability. Previous research has shown that while young people are statistically
more at risk of being victimized, older and/or disabled individuals tend to be
more fearful (Furstenberg, 1971; Lagrange & Ferraro, 1989). Sweden is not an
exception (Hayman, 2011). Those who feel that they have one or more disabili-
ties experience more anxiety and fear of being a victim to crime and avoid going
out (City of Stockholm, 2011). In Sweden, although the elderly represent only
18 percent of the population, more than two-thirds of all fatal accidents occur
among them; more than half of these accidents take place around their homes
(Torstensson, Forslund, & Tegnell, 2011). Many people stop using public trans-
portation when they get older, even in small municipalities. Wretstrand and
Svensson (2008) show that 46 percent of elderly people interviewed refrain from
taking the bus because they are afraid of traveling alone.
Vulnerability interacts with other factors to determine an individual’s perceived
safety. For example, new evidence shows perceived vulnerability to be the strong-
est predictor and mediator of the relationship between perceived disorder in a place
124 Perceived safety in rural areas
and perceived safety (Acufia-Rivera, Brown, & Uzzell, 2014). The authors indicate
that the more disordered a place is perceived to be, the more a person relies on the
perception of risk to estimate how safe she/he might be. A relevant question here
is, safety for whom? Homeless people temporarily parked in a central station may
be perceived as threats by the local inhabitants, while the itinerants themselves are
frightened by the lack of familiarity and the anonymity of transients. Overall,
factors in the local social environment were found to be more important as drivers
of fear of crime (including values, social networks, and familiarity) than the phys-
ical environment in a qualitative study by Lorenc et al. (2013).
Previous victimization
Among the individual factors, prior victimization (or awareness of others’ vic-
timization) is often considered a determinant of a person’s fear. Current per-
ceived safety in both urban and rural areas may be affected by the experience of
having been a victim of a crime, for example, having been robbed, subjected to
intimidation, or assaulted. Experiencing or witnessing other people’s victimiza-
tion (particularly someone close, family, or friends) may also affect an individu-
al’s level of personal safety (for a review, see e.g., Skogan, 1987). However,
previous studies show ambiguous links between victimization and fear of crime
(Cates, Dian, & Schnepf, 2003; Garofalo & Laub, 1979), as its effect on peo-
ple’s behavior and attitudes may be moderated by other factors. At the com-
munity level, rural communities with relatively little crime may express high
levels of fear because of occasional serious crimes, such as homicide. These
“rare events” can disproportionately affect rural residents’ fear of crime. Phys-
ical isolation may also lead to a disproportionately high declared fear of crime
because of individuals’ relative vulnerability. For example, rural farm residents
are more sensitive to risk than are their counterparts living elsewhere (Bankston,
Jenkins, Thayer-Doyle, & Thompson, 1987).
Physical environment
Fear (of crime) is a reflection of what one sees and perceives with one’s senses.
Fear is a function of an individual’s emotional reactions to a place and memories
and associations that a place brings to the surface. In rural contexts, forests, parking
lots, and service stations along roads and other desolated areas in a rural village
may generate fear among visitors to a small village but may be just the place that
young people treasure the most, as they can gather and spend time free from adult
supervision. In other words, fear is a feeling produced by the social constructs of a
physical space. Skar (2010), for instance, illustrates how feelings of a forest (in
Norway) are dynamic in terms of gender and explores how men and women
experience — and respond to — feelings of fear and anxiety in nature.
The nature of perceived safety in rural areas 125
Signs of disorder and crime
Lack of clearly defined private—public spaces is said to affect perceived safety
(Newman, 1972). At the same time, barriers and the construction of fortresses
around buildings can create, at least in urban areas, geographical disruption and
generate suspicion and fear (Landman, 2012). Thus fear of crime goes beyond
buildings and streets. It is sometimes regarded as a reflection of the state of the
community, and the meaning attached to an environment at a particular time.
Social interactions that occur at certain places may also lead to lack of perceived
safety, around bars or transport nodes, for instance. The mechanisms linking visible
deterioration to a fear of a place can be likened to the Wilson and Kelling’s broken
window syndrome (Wilson & Kelling, 1982), which suggests that unrepaired damage
to property encourages further vandalism and other types of crimes. They indicate
that acts of vandalism and public disorder function as symbols of the extent to which
an area is in decline. Signs of physical deterioration are also thought to be more
important determinants of fear of crime than the actual crime itself. Signs that nobody
has control — abandoned buildings, litter, vandalism, and loitering — are thought to
trigger fear of crime (Lewis & Maxfield, 1980) and are indicators of more serious
crimes. As Skogan (1996) suggests, this is not only because signs of physical deterio-
ration are often visible but also because they are able to capture a much broader range
of problems and are therefore more informative to residents than official crime statis-
tics. Public perceptions of disorder have also been linked to implicit stereotypes about
race and deprivation (Sampson & Raudenbush, 2004) and, at least in urban areas,
they help perpetuate segregation and suspicion among groups. Rural areas are not as
immune to physical deterioration as the literature would suggest (LaGrange, Ferraro,
& Supancic, 1992), quite the opposite, signs of disorder and crime often translates
into a differentiated rural housing market (Wilhelmsson & Ceccato, 2015).
Mobility patterns
Fear can be affected by the way people travel and the environments to which
they are exposed. The simple decision one takes to leave home implies a change
in one’s safety status (increase or decrease), depending on how and when one
moves (Ceccato, 2013). People’s fears and risk perceptions are determinants for
the kinds of risk they can accept to be exposed to (Fyhri & Backer-Grendahl,
2012). In rural areas, particularly in the most remote ones, long distances sepa-
rate people’s homes from their work and basic services. Recent changes in the
Swedish regional market have imposed more frequent and longer commutes.
These are often onerous for individuals: men still travel further to work than
women, but both spend a similar amount of time commuting, which has implica-
tions for gender equality (Bergstrém, 2008; Gil Sola, 2010).
Familiarity
Newcomers may feel unsafe if they do not know an area. Valentine (1990) sug-
gests that, in the absence of prior experience or familiarity with a particular
126 Perceived safety in rural areas
place, judgment is likely to be based on preconceived ideas about similar set-
tings and their occupants. This familiarity can also be linked to the individual’s
social context and norms. Rural residents moving to large urban centers may feel
unsafe, at least for some time, by the fact that such places offer anonymity that
may be perceived as a threat. Milgram (1974, p. 46) suggests that anonymity can
vary, from total anonymity, to full acquaintance, and that the various degrees of
anonymity may influence how individuals feel in cities and towns. For example,
“conditions of full acquaintance offer security and familiarity but they may be
stifling because an individual may be caught in a web of established relation-
ships” and expected behaviors, sometimes unknown to the outsider. Panelli et al.
(2004) also contest constructions of the rural community as an emotionally har-
monious, safe, and peaceful space by exposing women’s experiences of fear in
various rural communities in New Zealand.
Social cohesion and collective efficacy
Perceived safety relates to the social environment an individual may encoun-
ter. Places characterized by strong social ties and cooperative behavior (social
cohesion) are often associated with high perceived safety. Social relationships
in rural communities are traditionally thought to be based on networks of per-
sonal ties that perpetuate over time, while in urban areas social networks are
thought to be less stable. This echoes the popular cultural oppositions between
the city as the site of an artificially imposed order and the country as a natur-
ally ordered, bonded, and cohesive community. The dichotomy between
gemeinschaft and gesellschaft (Tonnies, 1887) provides a framework for
potential urban/rural differences in terms of social ties and cooperative behav-
ior. In certain cases, this active engagement leads to collective efficacy
(Sampson, Morenoff, & Felton, 1999). Cancino (2005) shows evidence that
the differential ability of residents to realize mutual trust and solidarity (..e.,
social cohesion) is a major source of variation in citizens’ perceived safety in a
non-metropolitan area in Michigan. Safety is a reflection of patterns of assist-
ance and protection within groups regardless of whether the members reside in
rural or in urban areas (Hofferth & Iceland, 1998; Milgram, 1974). In practice,
criticisms of the effect of strong ties in communities suggest that strong social
networks strengthen communities but may also have the unintended effect of
“enabling” exclusion and other types of harmful behavior (DeKeseredy &
Schwartz, 2008).
Othering
Fear (and other anxieties) may also result from the overall sense of change that a
place is undergoing. Rapid changes in the economy, especially with population
inflow, are argued to have an impact on residents’ quality of life. Because of the
nature of rural areas, even a relatively small population inflow has the potential
to affect the dynamics of a village. Other changes are more tangible, such as the
The nature of perceived safety in rural areas 127
construction of encapsulated rural gated communities (Spocter, 2013). Differ-
ences between residents and incomers can be maximized by both groups, giving
expression to us—them feelings (as part of othering or the process of transform-
ing a difference into otherness). Fear of others is often one cause of the
animosity between newcomers and locals, previously identified by Sandercock
(2005) as an expression of the fear of the unknown.
Fear of “stranger danger” in public spaces has been much more engrained
from childhood in women than in men. Therefore it is not odd that surveys show
women declare feeling more unsafe than men do when on the move (Ceccato,
2013; Whitzman, 2007). Sandercock (2005) argues that expressions of fear are
expressions of fear of difference. Sandercock (2000) claims that there is some-
thing about us that is in conflict with the stranger: “The stranger threatens to
bring chaos into the known world.... We must secure our centrality, and they
who upset our homely space must be pushed out from the center. They are not
like us and therefore they are threatening” (p. 205).
Many examples are found in the international literature. For example, Ruddell
and Ortiz (2015) report how locals express concerns about reductions in quality
of life (due to anti-social behavior, drug use, and aggressive, impaired, or dan-
gerous driving) that the residents regard as a result of a large inflow of popula-
tion into a Canadian rural town. In the United States, Hunter et al. (2002) assess
the fear of crime across three categories of community residents with different
migration histories in three rural boom municipalities: lifetime residents,
migrants who joined the boomtown community during its period of rapid
growth, and post-boom migrants. The authors find that boom migrants express
greater fear of crime than longer-term residents or post-boom migrants. In a
rapidly growing rural area in the United States, Crank, Giacomazzi, and Heck
(2003) find that perceptions of drug and gang problems are associated with a
wide variety of police order and crime problems. Fear of crime seems to incorp-
orate what residents regard as cultural threats to their dominant constructions of
rurality (Yarwood & Gardner, 2000), which sometimes reveal hidden layers of
intolerance and racism (Garland & Chakraborti, 2006; Hubbard, 2005; Palmer,
1996). Norris and Reeves (2013) assess whether fear of crime represents itself
differently according to the social environment in which it is experienced. They
find that more authoritarian residents in a rural area are concerned about offend-
ers traveling into their community to offend (“the danger is out there” feeling),
whereas there were no differences among urban dwellers.
A homeless person is exposed to an increased risk of victimization and fear.
Gaetz (2004) shows, for instance, that in Canada the conditions that place street
youth at risk and cause fear are connected to such youths’ experiences of social
exclusion in terms of restricted access to housing, employment, and public
spaces. Similarly, Gypsies and travelers in rural England face similar challenges
in rural communities (Greenfields, 2014); such people are regarded as a constant
source of anxiety for the locals but themselves feel a burden of exclusion. Tar-
geted by the police when public order issues arise, travelers in the United
128 Perceived safety in rural areas
Kingdom live with permanent feelings of fear from feeling out of place (Halfa-
cree, 2011).
In England and Wales, exclusion of ethnic minorities from the life of rural
communities is not the result of a monolithic entity (as described by Robinson
and Gardner, 2012, p. 85) and takes different shapes, generating anxieties experi-
enced on a daily basis (Robinson & Gardner, 2012). In Australia, Scott et al.
(2012) reveal how crime talk in a mining town is a result of specific social con-
structions and the relative ability of groups to act as a cohesive network, used in
the power relations between locals and newcomers. In Sweden and Finland,
Jensen (2012) illustrates how economic change in rural areas, dissatisfaction,
and anxieties create fertile ground for the proliferation of xenophobic ideas,
expressed by the advance of extreme-right-wing political parties in recent elec-
tions. Similar expressions of discrimination are reported among the young Sami
population, a group that has historically been a minority in Scandinavia. For
more details, see the next section of this chapter.
Macro-societal changes
Some contemporary anxieties are generated by a sense of loss of personal
security imposed by changes that go far beyond the local community. The trans-
ition from “modernity” to “late modernity” (Giddens, 1991, pp. 70-88) or by the
preeminence of the risk society (Beck, 2000) is said to cause major changes in
our sense of safety. This is an ongoing process that occurs worldwide yet also
produces local effects. These transformations, according to Bottoms and Wiles
(2002), have had a direct effect on crime and fear of crime. In “late modernity,”
the moment in time that most characterizes what we are undergoing now, glo-
balization is creating potential risks that concern all types of people. According
to Beck (2000), “these dangers” cannot be socially delimited in either space or
time. Thus, the potential threat eludes the control of institutions of society and
cause feelings of anxiety about who is at risk or who is responsible for what. The
challenge of catching international networks of organized crime is just one
example of the challenges faced by authorities when trying to control the flow of
people and money in a quasi-borderless Europe. Perhaps it is irrelevant, though,
to attempt to quantify individuals’ fear as an everyday life experience. More
important to one’s perceived safety is perhaps “fear attractors” that are quite
mundane, daily life experiences or facts that make one anxious or worried but do
not affect the individual directly (e.g., mass-media coverage of violence), and
“fear generators,” such as being victimized by a crime or seeing someone else
become a victim of crime.
Victimization is an important fear generator, but anxieties may also be fed by
an individual’s uncertainties and frustrations in everyday life, such as being
unemployed or having a sense of the gap between the individual’s limited
resources and society’s overall unlimited opportunities for consumption (anomic
conditions). As Hope and Sparks (2000, p. 5) suggest, fear of crime may
“intersect with the larger consequences of modernity.” Thus, as suggested by
The nature of perceived safety in rural areas 129
Hummelsheim, Hirtenlehner, Jackson, and Oberwittler (2010, p. 5), “if fear of
crime can be both a specific concern about crime and a more general projection
of a range of connected social anxieties, then fear of crime should be closely
connected with feelings of social insecurity.” The authors find evidence that
European countries with high levels of social protection display low levels of
fear whilst low levels of social protection show high levels of insecurity feelings,
supporting the expected negative association between the extent of social protec-
tion and fear of crime.
Current anxieties are said to be generated by a lack of individuals’ embed-
ded biography with a plurality of social worlds, beliefs, and diversification of
lifestyles that can be accessed by mass media via ICT. Some of these feelings
relate to a lack of an individual’s sense of order and continuity in regard to
one’s experiences in life (Giddens, 1991), being experienced as threats that can
take different shapes. The perceived collective danger is a social construct fed
by the attention put on its existence, either real or not. The increasing com-
modification of security (by proliferation of a market for personal security
products and services), for instance, indicates that fear of crime is one of these
contemporary perceived “dangers.” Mass media coverage has an important
role to play in this context, where the notion of “stimulus similarity” is sug-
gested as important in explaining the reaction of fear (Winkel & Vrij, 1990).
When an individual reads a newspaper and identifies with the described victim
or feels that his/her own community is similar to the one described in the news,
then the image of risk may be taken up, personalized, and translated into per-
sonal safety concerns.
Commodification of security
Security as a public good in today’s society is now delivered by a set of actors
no longer limited to the police forces and relies on a broader project that depends
on the interplay of different actors (some public, other private or neither)
(Loader, 2000). Differential access to protection affects how risks are distributed
among individuals, social groups, and places. In practice, this “materialization of
fear does not only change the landscape for all, it reflects also a sharp unequal
distribution of fear, privilege and risk” (Pain, 2009). As with any other commod-
ity, the “safe feeling” cannot be purchased by all. Wilhelmsson and Ceccato
(2015) show that house buyers in a rural municipality, as in large cities, are
willing to pay more for dwellings that are less targeted by crime and disorder
than for those located in criminogenic parts of a village. In extreme cases, the
market for safety leads to the development of gated communities, even in rural
areas (Macari, 2009; Spocter, 2013). As suggested by Goold, Loader, and
Thumala (2010), although gated communities might be considered a failed good
in Western Europe, the security industry in general is growing (Zedner, 2009).
In countries such as South Africa and Brazil, the proliferation of rural gated
developments has been linked to a market for consumers able to pay for exclu-
sivity in an idyllic rural setting. These housing developments often offer other
130 Perceived safety in rural areas
commodities that allow easy transport to urban centers, resembling the tradi-
tional features of garden cities. Thus, these housing projects are the product of
wider processes of change in rural areas related to counter-urbanization and
extraction of amenity value from the rural landscape (Macari, 2009; Spocter,
2013).
Concluding remarks
Are individuals living in the countryside less worried about crime than those
living in urban areas? They might be, but in this chapter attempts were made to
illustrate that the safety perceived by people living in rural areas is a more
complex phenomenon than the one reflected in overall expressions of fear of
crime.
Poor perceived safety may be triggered by previous victimization. Thefts of
livestock from neighboring farms may mobilize local farmers to be proactive out
of the fear that something will happen with their own livestock. Foreign women
brought to rural Sweden may live in fear because they do not know their rights,
whether they can seek help and assistance if isolated in remote areas.
Given the multifaceted nature of perceived safety and the complexity of fear
of crime, a relevant question is: how can fear be informative to those living and
working with safety issues in rural communities?
At an individual level, it is important to differentiate between a dysfunc-
tional worry about crime that erodes quality of life and a functional worry that
motivates vigilance and routine precaution (Jackson & Gray, 2010). In Jackson
and Gray’s study, around one-quarter of research participants who said they
were worried about crime and took precautions that made them feel safer also
said they did not experience a reduction in quality of life as a result of their
worry or cautionary activity. Adopting measures that aim at reducing both risk
and worry about victimization by different groups of society seems to be
central.
Crime prevention measures are traditionally used to reduce crime risk and
consequently fear of crime. For instance, tackling crime through the situational
conditions of crime in some cases has had a proven impact on perceived safety
combined with long-term social crime prevention. Actions to improve safety
have to be inclusive and avoid stigmatizing those who are already in a disadvan-
taged position in society. For this to happen, actors must be aware of their roles
and the challenges involved when working with specific safety issues embedded
in particular contexts. They should strive to work toward practices that are inclu-
sive and fair (different target groups but also based on a coalition of different
actors) and, as much as possible, to work within participatory frameworks. The
process of discussing local fears and sources of anxiety demands an open and
communicative process, involving negotiation and mediation to work through
these fears with those directly affected.
In a neutral world, both crime and protection from victimization would be
evenly distributed in society. With the commodification of security, preventing
The nature of perceived safety in rural areas 131
crime implies costs for the individual and society in general. As with any
other commodity, security is not evenly obtained by all, which inevitably
generates inequalities in victimization and perceived safety. Perceived safety
as an individual right entails a dimension of reflexivity, which means that it
depends on those who observe and produce it. Not all people would agree that
the problem is worthy of attention, and most may disagree that particular
action is needed, but the process of bringing people together can itself make
parties talk through their concerns. Such an approach requires communicative
skills among those who take part in the process, a process that, in the best of
worlds, should be sensitive to gendered fear as well as a cross-cultural under-
standing of the fears. Thus, the main task for those working to improve per-
ceived safety is perhaps to identify the sources of anxiety and mediate
possible alternatives for action that can make those involved feel informed
and, finally, safer.
The implication of this is that there is no such thing as a remedy that can
solve the problems of crime and perceived safety, let alone a single actor (such
as the police) that can tackle problems. It is submitted here that perceived safety
is a collective project that requires constant assessment by those who produce it:
those who are in fear, the community itself, stakeholders. Perceived safety is
both the cause and the product of people’s everyday life practices and experi-
ences, embedded in a context that is not politically neutral, or limited to the
village, rural areas, or individual nations. At the same time, there is no doubt that
some tangible attributes of perceived safety stem from local rural conditions,
where daily anxieties arise from victimization, discrimination, economic change,
and many other root causes of fear.
The approach that would seem to make sense, given the discussion in the
previous section, is for local communities to organize themselves around prob-
lems of perceived safety that cause them concern. These actions can enhance
existing models of participation to develop culture- and gender-informed gov-
ernance structures that give voice to those who feel unsafe. The definition of
priorities to be dealt with must adhere to limits that take into account realistic
goals. An isolated and remote location can be an advantage and a motivation
for rural communities in searching for more appropriate solutions to local
problems, such as the sources of fear. Fear is not a problem to be solved or that
can be solved in the same way as crime. Given the multifaceted nature of fear,
some sources of anxiety cannot be tackled at the level of those who fear. Some
declared fears or anxieties are a tiny fraction of the old and new challenges
faced by groups in the community and by those who may spend some time
there, as in the case of temporary workers. Signs of relatively poor mobility
among certain groups, as shown in this chapter, can be used as a reference that
could guide future efforts to tackle the structural causes of fear and other
anxieties.
132 Perceived safety in rural areas
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7 Perceived safety in Swedish rural
areas
People fear crime less in rural areas than they do in urban areas. It is submitted
that this fact represents a partial picture of perceived safety, because people can
fear greatly even if they perceive a slim likelihood of crime actually occurring.
In this chapter, instead of reducing the issue of perceived safety to risk of vic-
timization, the discussion is placed in a broader context with particular attention
to rural areas in Sweden. As previously stated, “perceived safety” is a general
concept used in this book to characterize both fear of crime and other overall
anxieties captured by different indicators of fear and anxiety. The chapter looks
beyond actual statistics of perceived safety between rural and urban areas in
order to shed light on the nature of fear among people living in rural areas. The
chapter includes critical analysis of two examples of expression of fear in rela-
tion to the process of othering in the Swedish country side: Sami youth (the old
other), followed by the berry pickers (the new other). In order to illustrate in
more detail patterns of perceived safety, two non-metropolitan municipalities:
Jénképing and Sdéderk6ping are discussed in this chapter. The chapter closes
with suggestions for possible further research on fear of crime in rural contexts.
Rural perceptions of safety and fear of crime
Traditionally, fear of crime is an urban phenomenon and is claimed to be a func-
tion of community size: greater fear in larger towns and cities, less fear in
smaller towns and rural areas (Carcach, 2000; Ceccato & Dolmén, 2013; Chris-
tie, Andenaes, & Skirkbeckk, 1965; Hough, 1995). Higher rates of victimization
in large cities are likely the core explanation of lower perceptions of safety
(BRA, 2011; Donnermeyer & Kreps, 1986; Skogan, 1990). However, looking
more closely at this pattern, it is patchier than expected, heterogeneous across
space and time and among groups.
Chapter 6 reviews a vast number of studies indicating that measures of fear of
crime often capture other worries and anxieties than fear of crime itself. One reason
is that both rural and urban areas are in constant change and in some cases con-
verging, as new lifestyles are imposed by commuting patterns and wider access to
ICT, for instance. Some of these changes imply new risks to individuals, producing
new dynamics of fear and anxiety. Researchers have speculated that differences in
138 Perceived safety in rural areas
declared perceived safety in certain rural and urban areas may not be that great
(e.g., Ceccato & Dolmén, 2013; Lawtley & Deane, 2000; Pain, 2000).
In Sweden, if two individuals, one residing in Stockholm, the capital city, and
another in the most remote area of the country, chosen at random are asked
whether they have felt worry during the preceding 12 months, the chance of
selecting an individual who declares feelings of worry is surprisingly similar in
both places (Figure 7.1a). The same can be said about those who worry about
their family’s finances (Figure 7.1b).
However, where one lives seems to shape one’s worry about crime. This is
confirmed by different sources: Living conditions survey and Crime victims
survey (Figure 7.1c and 7.1d). The chances of selecting an individual who will
declare that he/she avoids going out in his/her own neighborhood because of a
(a) (b) Worry about household
Overall worry (%) economy (%)
30 30
25
2 20 & 20
£ c
c 15 ®
2 2
2 10 a 10
5
0 0
2008 2002
(c) Fear of being a victim of violent (d) Fear of being a victim of violent
crime outside the home (%) crime outside the home (%)
oO 0)
2 g
Cc Cc
®o o
2 2
® o
o o
2006 2008
B Stockholm H South rural areas
H Géteborg/Malmé =‘ B North accessible rural
Larger cities ONorth remote rural
Figure 7.1 Indicators of overall worry/fear of crime in Sweden (data sources: (a) Living con-
ditions survey, Statistics Sweden; (b) Victimization survey, Swedish National
Council for Crime Prevention; (c) Living conditions survey, Statistics Sweden;
(d) Victimization survey, Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention).
Perceived safety in Swedish rural areas 139
fear of becoming a victim of crime is at least four times greater in Stockholm
than in most remote rural areas of Sweden.
Why does overall anxiety not vary widely across the country though fear of
becoming a victim of crime does? This mismatch between overall fear and fear
of crime flags a number of unanswered questions.
1
Does perceived safety go beyond a deterministic link between fear and
victimization?
In the Swedish case, overall worry seems to encompass more than a declared
fear of crime as the pattern is quite uniform across the country (Figures 7.la
and 7.1b) and shows notably marginal differences between metropolitan and
rural areas.
This pattern is not unique for Sweden. It reflects “a condensation of
broader concerns about crime, stability and social change” (Gray, Jackson,
& Farrall, 2008, p. 377) found in many other studies elsewhere. For
instance, Furstenberg (1971) has long suggested that these constructs were
not significantly related to each other, that overall worry was more often
associated with resentment and attitudes to social change that a place might
be undergoing.
Interestingly, rural Sweden has become more criminogenic now than it was
10 years ago, and although crime rates remain lower in rural areas, the gap has
narrowed slightly: accessible rural areas are nowadays in many respects similar
to urban areas when police records are compared (Ceccato and Dolmén 2011).
Yet, declared overall worry is similar in remote rural areas and metropolitan
areas. Social changes are expected to affect lifestyles through access to
information technology that creates opportunities as well as new risks. More-
over, the homogeneous pattern of declared overall worry may also be related to
the fact that asking individuals about overall worry leads them to represent
future-oriented anxiety rather than a summary of past episodes or current feel-
ings of fear, as suggested by previous research (Sacco, 2005; Warr, 2000). The
mechanisms that are at work in this case are, however, not clear.
Do patterns of declared overall anxiety follow the ecology of household/
family financial insecurity?
At first sight, Figures 7.1a and 7.1b are similar, which reinforces the idea
that the ecology of overall worry has to do with patterns of individuals’ con-
cerns about their finances and perhaps future employment. Still, this is spec-
ulative as this potential link is based on an aggregated cross-sectional data
set. The data does not provide hints about individual mechanisms linking
current economic conditions and worry. For instance, concerns about one’s
health could also be part of the declared “overall fear” (Figure 7. 1a).
Even more interesting, there is no significant difference between indi-
viduals living in the most remote rural areas in Sweden and individuals in
the Swedish metropolitan areas with regards to worry about their household
finances (Figure 7.1b). One possible explanation for this could be that
overall fear is fed to a large extent by fear of crime in large cities, while in
140 Perceived safety in rural areas
rural areas overall fear is mostly determined by concerns about individuals’
and households’ economic conditions — but both are expressed as “overall
worry” as shown in Figure 7.1a. An alternative interpretation is that overall
worry in large cities is composed of a mix of concerns but mostly expressed
as fear of crime, as that is widely seen as a significant “social problem”
(Gray et al., 2008, p. 377) shared by all people who live in big cities. In
rural areas, overall worry is rather a result of unstable and limited employ-
ment opportunities and thus the vulnerability of the household economy.
Inequality in victimization may also explain this pattern. The poor are
victims of crime more often and reveal more anxieties than wealthier groups
in Sweden (Estrada, Nilsson, Jerre, & Wikman, 2010). The poor are over-
represented in some large Swedish cities, such as Stockholm, Malmé, and
Gothenburg, which would explain the urban-rural pattern in fear of crime
illustrated in Figures 7.1c and 7.1d. Educational level and ethnic back-
ground are also related to unequal victimization and thus fear. The 2013
Swedish Crime Survey (BRA, 2014b, p. 92) reports that people born in
Sweden with both parents born abroad are somewhat more concerned that
relatives will be victimized by crime (28 percent) than those with at least
one native-born parent (23 percent) and those who are foreign-born respond-
ents (24 percent). Respondents with secondary education or higher state that
they are concerned about relatives more often than those with no more than
lower secondary education. Altruist fear is at work when couples with chil-
dren are more worried than corresponding groups without children. In addi-
tion people living in rural areas are less worried about their family becoming
victims of crime than those living in larger cities and metropolitan areas.
All the same, we cannot discard the possibility that overall worry is
homogeneously distributed over the country, because that may reflect the
a-spatial dynamics of victimization, such as through cybercrime. As sug-
gested in Chapter 6, imposed daily commuting patterns from rural areas to
larger cities may also dilute the sources of worry, as fear can be affected by
the environments to which people are exposed.
3. Do patterns of declared fear of crime follow the hierarchy of the urban
structure?
The answer is certainly affirmative to this question if Figures 7.1c and 7.1d are
taken as reference. Also, the 2013 Swedish Crime Survey (BRA, 2014b)
reveals differences in insecurity among respondents living in metropolitan
regions (17 percent), those living in other major cities (14 percent), and people
residing in small towns or rural areas (11 percent). Moreover, respondents
from metropolitan regions indicate that fear has a greater impact on their
behavior and quality of life than residents of other rural areas. The pattern is
largely the same as in previous years.
Previous research indicates that high crime rates promote fear (Skogan,
1990) but that the physical and social environment affects levels of fear of
crime (Wilson & Kelling, 1982). Thus, it is not a surprise that respondents
living in apartments believe that fear has a greater influence on their behavior
Perceived safety in Swedish rural areas’ 141
and quality of life than those living in single-family homes (BRA, 2014b).
Urban areas provide a number of settings that trigger fear, some of which are
crime attractors or generators (Brantingham & Brantingham, 1995; Ceccato,
2013; Ceccato & Hanson, 2013). Moreover, larger urban areas concentrate
signs of physical deterioration, which is thought to be a more important deter-
minant of fear of crime than actual crime is (Lewis & Maxfield, 1980). As
previously stated in Chapter 6, social interactions that take place at certain
places may also lead to lack of perceived safety. Rural residents moving to
large urban centers, for instance, may feel unsafe because the environment
offers anonymity that may initially be perceived as a threat. Lack of familiar-
ity, assistance, and protection (Hofferth & Iceland, 1998; Milgram, 1974) may
trigger fear. In urban settings, fear of the unknown or of others (Sandercock,
2005) can, more often than in rural areas, take various forms including a
declared fear of crime.
Alternatively, urban areas concentrate groups of individuals who may be
more fearful because of the conditions they are exposed to and, con-
sequently, the risks they suffer (Box, Hale, & Andrews, 1988; Jackson &
Gray, 2010). If there is an unequal risk of victimization (Estrada et al.,
2010), and people who live in big cities are more at risk, then it is not sur-
prising that people in big cities declare being more fearful about crime than
those living in smaller and rural areas. This calls for a more detailed ana-
lysis of patterns of perceived safety by area and group. The next section
explores some of these unanswered issues.
The experience of crime according to Swedish National Crime
Surveys
In Sweden, the National Crime Surveys have been conducted since 2006 and
have shown an overall stable victimization structure. The proportion of people
who are very concerned about crime in the community has decreased, from 29
percent in 2006, to 19 percent in 2013. From 2006 to 2013, the tendency is clear:
large cities — particularly those in the metropolitan counties of Stockholm,
Skane, and Vastra Gotaland — have a higher proportion of victims, more
respondents declare feeling unsafe (for themselves or for their families), and
more respondents have less confidence in the criminal justice system than
respondents in the country as a whole. For 2013, the Swedish Crime Survey
reports that respondents in metropolitan regions indicate vulnerability as victims
of crime to a greater extent (4.9 percent) than those living in smaller cities or
rural areas (3.6—3.9 percent).
More interestingly, the proportion of respondents living in Stockholm County
who are concerned about crime has fallen steadily, from 30 percent in 2006, to
17 percent in 2013, while in the southern county of Skane, the share of those
worried about crime has remained relatively stable since the mid-2000s. These
southern parts of the country also show a higher proportion of respondents who
agree that fear affects their quality of life (BRA, 2014a).
142 Perceived safety in rural areas
Figure 7.2 illustrates differences in perceived safety by type of municipality.
Figure 7.2 matches at first glance the patterns shown in Figures 7.1c and 7.1d.
As expected, fear tends to be higher in urban areas (y?=57.1, df=4, p<0.00)
(Figure 7.2), where most people are victimized (y?=40.9, df=2, p<0.00), often
younger people (16-24 years old). Half of the respondents to the Swedish Crime
Victim Survey (2007-2008) living in urban municipalities declare being more
fearful in their own neighborhood than those living in rural and accessible rural
areas (the relationship is significant: v7? (4)=79.63, p<0.00). However, some pat-
terns in Figure 7.2 suggest a number of interesting possibilities.
1
Although measures of fear of crime and declared unsafety in the neighbor-
hood are on the decline, the proportion of respondents avoiding going out
because of fear is fairly constant over time (Figure 7.2a). This is an indica-
tion that there is always a group that is going to declare themselves to be
more fearful and that the fear will affect their mobility patterns and quality
of life regardless of their overall risk and society’s perceptions. This group
is composed of those who are less mobile and feel more vulnerable if vic-
timized (the elderly, the disabled).
The graphs illustrating fear of crime and avoiding going out because of fear
indicate that respondents living in large cities and towns declare slightly higher
levels of fear than those in metropolitan areas (Stockholm, Gothenburg, and
Malm6). A possible explanation for this is that cities and large towns have
become more criminogenic than urban neighborhoods in the metropolitan
areas in recent decades (Ceccato & Dolmen, 2011). Another possible explana-
tion is that whilst most fear measures are declining, the proportion of respond-
ents declaring fear of residential burglary has been fairly constant since 2006
(Figure 7.2b), perhaps a reflection of the percentage of households reporting
burglary (0.9 percent of vulnerable households in the country) and police sta-
tistics for burglary (see for instance, BRA, 2014b, pp. 58-59). Some of these
municipalities have had population inflows (at least temporarily) which can
affect crime risk and perceived safety of residents.
Fear of becoming a victim of a car-related theft has decreased since 2006 for
all types of municipality. The proportion of households reporting having been
exposed to car-related theft has declined, from 0.9 percent in 2006, to 0.4
percent in 2012. A significant reduction can also be observed in the register-
based statistics of reported car thefts during the same period: from approxi-
mately 27,000, to 12,000 between 2006 and 2012 (BRA, 2014b). According
to Ceccato and Dolmén (2011), technologies implemented in new cars after
the mid-1990s make these vehicles more difficult targets to steal from or to be
stolen (e.g., use of immobilizers). People are reporting fewer car-related thefts
also because insurance companies have increased their deductible amounts. If
the value of stolen goods does not exceed the minimum value at which reim-
bursement can be claimed, there is a strong chance that a victim of crime will
not bother to report the offense to the police. Finally, there may have been a
displacement from more traditional types of crimes (such as car thefts), to
(a) 35, r 35
30 5 + 30
25 | 25
& 201 + 20
x
o
o 154 15
®o
o
10 4 10
A
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Fear of crime Unsafe in neighborhood Avoid going out
== Metropolitan areas — Metropolitan area — Metropolitan area
Large cities --Large cities —Large cities
Towns and rural areas ---- Towns and rural areas Towns and rural areas
(b) 30) , 30
25 5
20 5
oO
Do
£
9 15}
o
o
10;
5 4
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Car-related thefts Residential burglary
= Metropolitan areas — Metropolitan area
Large cities --Large cities
CoTowns and rural areas ~~ ----- Towns and rural areas
Figure 7.2 (a) Percentage of respondents on perceived safety by type of municipality and
(b) fear of being victimized, car-related thefts, and residential burglary (%)
(data source: BRA, 2014b, pp. 106, 108, 110).
144 Perceived safety in rural areas
other types of offense, such as fraud. Still, this explains lower reporting rates
but not exactly lower declared fear levels for car-theft victimization.
Respondents living in small towns or rural areas worry that they will become the
victim of assault to a lesser degree than residents of urban areas do (7 percent
and 10-13 percent, respectively). The differences in concern about crime
between urban and rural areas mainly relate to assault and burglary when the
effects of other factors such as age, gender, family, and type of housing are con-
trolled for.
Note that figures from the Swedish Crime Victim Survey show that overall
worry does differ in remote rural and urban areas (Figure 7.2) — a difference not
much pronounced in Figure 7.la, based on a national living conditions survey.
Even greater differences are apparent between urban and remote rural areas con-
cerning the fear of being a victim of crime in the neighborhood, as previously
noted. Methodological differences and types of aggregation could also explain
differences in the patterns seen in Figure 7.1a and Figure 7.2.
The proportion of those feeling unsafe walking alone after dark in the neigh-
borhood is close to 7 percent of respondents in accessible rural areas and 2
percent in remote rural, compared to 12 percent in urban areas. Similar figures
are found by the British Crime Survey, reported by Marshall and Johnson
(2005), namely 8 percent for rural areas and 13 percent for urban areas (for the
inner city in urban areas, one-quarter of respondents declare feeling unsafe).
Following the findings of international research on fear, gender, and victimi-
zation (see Chapter 6), in Sweden previous victimization (of oneself or a family
member) strongly correlates with declared fear, different measures of fear, and
the experience of witnessing violence (BRA, 2014b). Unequal victimization and
fear appear when only rural areas are assessed. In rural areas, a strong correla-
tion was found between those who were victimized (or someone from the family
was victimized or witnessed violence) and those who feel unsafe where they live
or often avoid activities outdoors because of fear of being victimized (around
r=0.90-0.97 significant at 0.01 level, based on data for 2006-2008). Females
tend to be more fearful than men regardless of where they live, but those living
in urban areas in the south declare themselves to be more fearful than those
living elsewhere in the country.
Corroborating the hypothesis of fear and social change, the Swedish data
shows that half of respondents living in urban municipalities or in accessible
tural areas that have had a positive population increase state more frequent
worries about crime than those living in rural municipalities (The relationship is
significant: y? (4)=71.86, p<0.00.)
Fear of crime and the perceived seriousness of offenses
Fear induced by different crimes depends not only on the perceived risk but also on
the perceived seriousness. In reality, the relationship between the seriousness of
crime and fear is not well understood. Homicide ranked low on the list of fears,
Perceived safety in Swedish rural areas 145
while residential burglary outranked all other offenses. To generate strong fear, Warr
(2000, p. 458) suggests, an offense must be perceived as both serious and likely to
occur. The author exemplifies by reporting empirical evidence from Seattle, WA.
Residential burglary is the most feared crime in the United States because it is
viewed as both relatively serious and rather likely. Murder, on the other hand, is per-
ceived to be very serious but unlikely to occur (for a review, see Warr, 2000).
In Sweden, similar trends are found for property and violent crimes, at least in the
2013 National Crime Survey. For violence, the proportion anxious about becoming a
victim of assault decreased, from 15 percent in 2006, to 10 percent in 2013, while for
residential burglary the fear levels remained relatively stable throughout the survey
period, around 16 percent. Perceptions of crime seem also to follow crime trends.
The rate of exposure to residential burglary has remained relatively unchanged since
2006, while the proportion who stated that they had been the victim of assault
declined gradually, from 2.7 percent in 2006, to 1.9 percent in 2012 (BRA, 2014c).
In the United Kingdom, there seems to be little difference between the pro-
portion of those worried about becoming the victim of violence or theft. For
instance, in the mid-2000s 15 percent of respondents declared they were worried
about becoming a victim of either physical attack or residential burglary if they
lived in urban areas. However, if they lived in rural areas, about 10 percent of
respondents declared they were worried about becoming a victim of assault or
property crime (Marshall & Johnson, 2005). In the 2010/2011 British Crime
Survey, 10 percent of adults were worried about burglary and car crime, and 13
percent of adults were worried about violent crime — a measure for the whole
country. These proportions were the lowest recorded since the questions were
introduced in the 1990s (Chaplin, Flatley, & Smith, 2011).
Safety from the perspective of farmers, the elderly, and minorities
Victimization and perceived safety among Swedish farmers
As much as 57 percent of farmers in Sweden feel at least a bit worried about becom-
ing a victim of crime and 25 percent are worried about the future (Figure 7.3),
according to the Farmers’ Safety Survey (Lantbrukarnas Riksférbund, 2012).
Sweden
GNot worried a Neither or nor BA bit worried @ Worried m Very worried
Figure 7.3 Do you worry that you and/or your farm will be victimized? (“%) (data source:
Farmers’ Safety Survey (V=527), 2012).
146 Perceived safety in rural areas
2012). Although only three out of 10 farmers have been victims of crime in the past
two years, seven out of 10 farmers know at least one other person who has been vic-
timized. SAS is a postal questionnaire sent to 1,000 farmers who operate agricultural
properties with more than 10 hectares of field. In 2012, the survey had a 62 percent
response rate, considered enough to represent the group.
Victimization is more concentrated in the south than the rest of the country.
In southern Sweden, the proportion is larger (eight out of 10), especially among
those respondents who own farms with more than 50 hectares (they are often
more victimized than the rest). Thefts tend to dominate the victimization statis-
tics for farmers. Thefts of fuel and building equipment are common, but also
fraud by telephone and Internet as well as payment of false invoices. Farmers are
also victims of theft of livestock, burglary in the house or other farm property, as
well as vandalism (residential, on the property, and on roads). Half of those who
have been victims of crime were targeted two or more times. There is a clear
lack of confidence in local police forces to solve these crimes. One in four
respondents had had a case dismissed by the police. The same proportion of
farmers was worried that their properties or their family would be victimized in
the future. Those in northern Sweden feel less anxious than the national average
about the prospect of being victimized by crime, whether themselves, their
family, or their property. Chapter 8 discusses victimization and perceived safety
among farmers in more detail.
Victimization, fear, and the elderly
In Sweden, approximately 19 percent of the current population is older than
65 years of age, and by 2020 one-quarter of the population will be older than
65 (Schyllander & Rosenberg, 2010). A substantial portion of the elderly live
in smaller urban and rural areas, and the proportion of the elderly living in
rural and many smaller urban areas in much of the country is higher than the
national average (Karlsson, 2012). Those who want to have some degree of
independence are vulnerable to the way indoor and outdoor environment is
built. Although many elderly are afraid to go out because of possibly becom-
ing a victim of crime, they run a low risk of victimization. The biggest threat
to their safety is the risk of falling. The most dominant cause of elderly
people falling in Sweden is slipping, tripping, and stumbling, often at home
or nearby — and not crime (Bamzar & Ceccato, 2015). There is reason to
believe that the fear of being outdoors declared by many elderly people
reflects other types of risk (e.g., fear of falling) rather than the risk of becom-
ing a victim of crime.
Nationwide, victimization among the elderly is relatively low. The Swedish
Crime Survey shows that elderly victimization through assault, threats, sexual
offenses, robberies, fraud, and harassment has decreased during the past five
years, from 7 to 4.4 percent. For the oldest group, 75—79 years old, victimization
varied between 3.7 and 4.7 percent. The most common type of crime against the
elderly is theft, usually theft from the residence without a break-in. The results
Perceived safety in Swedish rural areas 147
of the national public health survey also show that older people declare being
victims of physical violence, threats, and other types of violence. In contrast,
three of every four women in all age groups declare that they refrain from going
out alone for fear of being attacked or robbed. There are probably many unre-
ported cases of domestic violence (Torstensson, Forslund, & Tegnell, 2011). In
2013, the lowest percentage of victimization was in the age groups 65—74 years
(0.3 percent) and 75—79 years (0.2 percent). As expected, the low risk of victimi-
zation does not translate into high perceived safety. According to BRA (2014b),
it is mainly older people who say they feel unsafe outdoors. From 2006 to 2013,
women aged 75-79 years were the group that felt least safe late at night out-
doors, especially those living in urban areas (26 percent, compared to 19 percent
in the youngest group).
In Jénk6ping, the town used as an example in this chapter, elderly people do
not express themselves as fearful beings, quite the opposite. Contrary to what is
commonly found in the international literature, in Jonk6ping the elderly (65
years and older) are not necessarily more anxious about their safety than other
respondents. They feel safer in relation to their risk of being victimized (7?(2,
N=454)= 13.0, p=0.00) and have not been victimized in the 12 months preced-
ing the survey (y?(2, N=452)=3.38, p=0.06). Together with mothers on mater-
nity leave and part-time employees, they show indications of having better
knowledge about what happens in the area. This group is more sensitive to litter-
ing and vandalism (7?(2, N=433)=3.60, p=0.06) and more critical about the
adequacy of the outdoor environment for young people (y?(2, N=453)=6.57,
p=0.01) than other groups of respondents are. The elderly also seem to be less
suspicious about people (77(2, N=455)=9.81, p=0.00) and think they can trust
them more than other respondents do (y?(2, N=455)=3.57, p=0.06). Previous
studies in urban areas highlighted the proportion of elderly as an indication of
strong social control. For instance, drawing on the work of Felson and Cohen
(1980), LaGrange (1999) points out that residents are likely to be absent from
their homes more frequently, so guardianship may be substantially reduced.
Spending time in the area improves individuals’ knowledge of it, making them
feel safer. This is true for the elderly and people with no full-time job.
Ethnic minorities and expressions of fear
Feeling unsafe is more common for foreign-born individuals than for those who
were born in Sweden (23 percent and 13 percent). In addition foreign-born indi-
viduals are more likely to declare that low perceived safety affects their quality of
life than are people born in Sweden (14 and 8 percent, respectively). Lower per-
ceived safety among ethnic minorities is linked to greater victimization. According
to BRA (2014b), foreign-born individuals (2.7 percent) are victims of assault more
often than residents with two parents born abroad (2.2 percent) or one parent born
abroad (1.7 percent). There are no significant differences in exposure to violence
based on where one lives (urban or rural areas), except for serious assault. People
living in big cities experience a slightly higher exposure to serious assault (0.6
148 Perceived safety in rural areas
percent) than those living in other major cities, small towns, or rural areas (0.3—0.4
percent). Foreign-born individuals are also over-represented among victims of
threat, robbery, and fraud, particularly those with a secondary education. For har-
assment, foreign-born individuals living in urban areas state that their vulnerability
to harassment is slightly higher than people living in large cities or in rural areas.
At a local level, the pattern is the same. In Jénképing, for example, residents
born outside the Nordic countries tend to be overrepresented among those who
fear most their neighborhood (7?(2, N=445)=3.78, p=0.05)). A total of 11
percent of respondents feel that there are people in their neighborhood who are
threatening, and 10 percent of respondents feel fear due to their ethnic affinity,
either Swedish or non-Swedish. Ceccato and Wilhelmsson (2014) also show that
the perception of discrimination where one lives has a direct effect on how
attractive an area is valued in the housing market.
Minorities and discrimination: fear of the other in rural
areas
This section takes two Swedish examples to illustrate fear of others, considering
the issue through the eyes of those who have a contradictory position: sometimes
viewed as suffering a number of anxieties themselves for not being the norm,
and sometimes as being the source of the local fears. Two groups were selected:
young Sami people living in northern areas of Sweden who have historically suf-
fered discrimination (the old others), and berry pickers who come temporarily to
Sweden in the summer to work (the new others). The Sami and berry pickers
were also chosen because they contrast with the current representations of
Swedish modernity. The nomadic Sami culture or underdeveloped berry picker
industry survive in parallel and contrast with, as indicated by Pred (2000), the
Swedish market image of a progressive, liberal, and modern society free from
racism, sexism, and other inequalities.
The Sami youth
Fear is an expression of the exclusion long experienced by young Sami. Sami are
the indigenous people (an estimated 40,000 inhabitants) of Sweden who have a long
history of discrimination, racism, and conflict that, according to Omma (2013), has
had a significant impact on Sami self-esteem and on their health, especially mental
health. They are not a homogeneous group and, in Sweden, they are geographically
spread from central Sweden to the north. Sami in Sweden are traditionally engaged
in reindeer husbandry, woodworking, hunting, and fishing (Skielta, 2014). As
Omma (2013) reports, poor health is one of the symptoms expressed by this group
of young people. She shows that unfair treatment because of their ethnic back-
ground was declared to be frequent among young adult Sami (about half of all
respondents reported this experience, and 70 percent of reindeer herders).
Young people continually develop their own understandings of their culture
in order to interpret their own lives. Omma (2013) suggests that feeling safe is
Perceived safety in Swedish rural areas 149
fundamental to developing a sense of feeling at home for the Sami. The author
reports that a majority of young adult Sami have declared themselves proud to
be Sami and expressed a wish to preserve their culture. However, the lack of
knowledge in mainstream society makes the Sami feels they must constantly
explain and defend the Sami way of life. Both young adult Sami and a reference
group of young Swedes from the same geographical area reported having sui-
cidal thoughts to a high degree, but it was more common among Sami. Sami
reindeer herders and those poorly treated because of their ethnicity reported a
higher degree of suicide attempts compared to Sami without this experience
(Omma, 2013).
Discrimination against old minorities in rural contexts is not an exclusively
Swedish phenomenon, of course, but is well documented in Australia (e.g.,
Babacan, 2012; Cunneen, 2007; Forrest & Dunn, 2013; Scott et al., 2012),
Canada (Jain, Singh, & Agocs, 2000), and the United States (Hartshorn, Whit-
beck, & Hoyt, 2012), to name a few. Young people in these groups are often
unable to participate as equals and benefit from the opportunities available to
other citizens. In Swedish society, this gives rise to long-term anxieties that
hamper young people’s opportunities in life. For society as a whole, these find-
ings have a number of implications. One is that the denial of racism can send a
message that racist behavior is allowed and not punished. Another implication is
that the situation requires in-depth knowledge about minorities in rural contexts,
their right to full citizenship, and the construction of fear.
Temporary summer workers: berry pickers
Every summer, the Swedish media is populated by articles reporting travelers’
whereabouts and temporary workers in rural areas. Most report the work and
living conditions of this temporary labor force. Fear and feelings of insecurity
characterize accounts of conflicts between the temporary workers and locals.
In times of intense mobility (Urry, 2002), the movement of temporary labor
in European countries is still regarded as problematic. An example of this is the
case of berry pickers. This flow of low-wage labor is characterized by a number
of fears, unsafe working conditions, and racism in a high-profit industry. Sweden
and Finland are the largest bilberry exporters among the Nordic countries (Eriks-
son & Tollefsen, 2013). Communities that host these temporary workers show
cases of poor tolerance for nomadic labor. These workers are perceived with sus-
picion and fear. Since 2010, the number of work permits granted for berry
pickers in Sweden has increased (Figure 7.4). After accusations of abusive
working conditions emerged, rules for employing berry pickers were recently
tightened (Axelsson, 2014), reducing their inflow in 2014.
The author also reports that all berry pickers came to Sweden voluntarily
from Bulgaria and other Eastern European countries, as the previous years’ good
berry crop had fueled rumors that it was possible to make money on berries in
Sweden. This specific case refers to the inflow of about 500 berry pickers in
2012, mainly from Bulgaria, into Mehedeby, a community in northern Sweden
150 Perceived safety in rural areas
7,000 +
6,000 +
5,000 +
4,000 -
3,000 +
Number of work permits
2,000 +
1,000 +
2010 2011 2012 2013
— Work permit application © —— Granted permission
Figure 7.4 Work permits for berry pickers, 2010-2013 (source: Axelsson, 2014).
with 450 inhabitants, as reported by Leander (2012). The mood in the camp
seemed friendly, but many workers wanted to talk about their living conditions,
as they did not have access to drinking water or toilets. They had to collect water
from a service station a few miles away. Still, a resident expressed concerns
about the “incomers.”
They must be removed. We cannot have 600-700 people here ... many
thefts have been committed since they arrived here.... They go into the
plots and look for food in the garbage.
(Leander, 2012)
Hollway and Jefferson (1997) indicate how the narrative of locals informs an
order in which some behaviors are perceived as extreme threats to the social
order and others are ignored or dismissed. This partial view is exemplified by the
case above, where workers’ living conditions are ignored in the discourse of the
local resident.
Although nomadic populations and travelers have long been associated with
crime and problems of social order in the media (e.g., Jansson, 2011), Halfacree
(2011, p. 124) points out how these groups in the United Kingdom “are routinely
constructed as a key public order problem (real or imagined).” As suggested by
Scott et al. (2012), concerns are rarely a reflection of objective risk that the new
Perceived safety in Swedish rural areas 151
impose, but are bound up in a wider context of meaning and significance, involv-
ing the use of metaphors and narratives about social change, as illustrated by the
following narrative. In the Swedish case, Leander (2012) reports the mismatch
between villagers’ perceptions of incomers and actual signs of crime and dis-
order as indicated by the local police chief:
The fear among the residents (of the village) is great, but we have not seen
any major increase in crime.
The case of berry pickers in Mehedeby exemplifies the challenges that rural
communities face when receiving a large number of foreign temporary workers in
the Swedish countryside. The police feel local pressure to keep an extra eye on the
temporary workers living in the forests. Still, Halfacree (2011) notes that an
important question is why this particular group of workers requires extra attention
from residents, the police, and all other local actors involved in policing work.
“Who are the offenders?” is also a relevant question, as alleged cases of slavery and
human trafficking have been associated with this temporary labor force. The berry
industry across Europe is pointed out by the media as failing to provide basic satis-
factory conditions for work, particularly to those workers coming from outside the
European Union: “The food industry today announces stricter demands on whole-
salers to improve conditions for berry pickers. ‘Control is inadequate,’ according to
the national coordinator against human trafficking in Sweden” (Fagerlind, 2013).
A better understanding of the role and the impact of these temporary workers on
the rural community is necessary, hopefully associated with a more extensive
debate on the need to improve their living and working conditions in the country-
side up to the level that a modern society, such as Sweden, is expected to have.
Perceived safety in the rural
Using Chapter 6 as a reference, this section reports perceived safety through the
eyes of those who live far from the metropolitan regions of Stockholm, Gothen-
burg, and Malmé. This section focuses primarily on an analysis of safety surveys
of Jonk6ping. As much as possible, findings from Jénképing are compared with
perceived safety in the town of Sdderképing, 170km away from Jénk6ping and
170km away from Stockholm.
The experience of crime according to the Jonképing crime survey
Jénk6ping is located in central-southern Sweden, a three-hour drive from Stock-
holm (320km). Jénképing has a population of about 130,000, which makes it Swe-
den’s ninth largest city. The urban area is a result of the conurbation process of
two localities: Jonképing and Huskvarna. The city unofficially has two “centers”
around Lake Vattern: Jonk6ping to the west and Huskvarna to the east. Jonképing
Municipality has shown a slight increase in total population, while several small
towns in the same county have experienced a decrease (Lanstyrelsen, 2012). The
152 Perceived safety in rural areas
average net income for families in Jonk6ping is less than for the nation as a whole.
So-called “vulnerable residential areas” are dominated by apartment buildings and
a population with high unemployment and low education levels. In these areas,
dependence on social allowance is high compared to the city as a whole. These
areas often have a large proportion of foreign-born persons (J6nk6ping city office,
2009) and are located on the outskirts of the municipality.
It is no surprise that Jonk6ping is perceived by its inhabitants as a safe place.
According to the 2013 victimization survey,' a large majority feels safe at home
and in the neighborhood where they live, more often in daytime (80 percent)
than nighttime (78 percent). Among those who do not feel safe all the time, it is
often in the dark hours of the day that they feel less safe (note that in winter in
Stockholm, the hours of daylight may be as few as six hours a day while in north
Sweden, the hours of daylight may be less than three hours a day). They are con-
cerned about loved ones, family, and friends if they are out (16 percent). Some
declare being suspicious about those they meet, or taking other roads than usual
when they are out at these times, or avoiding going out during these times (7
percent). A similar pattern of perceived safety is found in Sdderképing, a town
smaller than Jénk6ping. There, 90 percent declare feeling safe or very safe
(Lundin, 2006).? Table 7.1 summarizes some of the key indicators of perceived
safety in Jonk6ping and Sdéderk6ping.
In Jonképing as in Sdderk6ping, the perception of safety is not evenly distrib-
uted across groups and space (Figure 7.5). On the maps in Figure 7.4, those who
declare being fearful may run a slim risk of becoming a victim of crime, either
violent crime or residential burglary (Figure 7.5a and 7.5b, respectively. Fear of
being victimized by crime may be inversely correlated to average income in
other Swedish cities (City of Stockholm, 2011), but in Jonképing the pattern is
patchy (Figure 7.5c). Although personal victimization is a significant differentia-
tor between those who are fearful and those who are not, such a relationship is
difficult to identify for the whole sample (77(2, N=454)=34.7, p=0.00) on the
map (Figure 7.5d).
These findings of perceived safety in Jénképing do follow the patterns found
in international studies (see Chapter 6). For instance, the group that tends to
declare feeling more worried about places and people are those that have already
been a victim of crime or are unemployed (y?(2, N=456)=7,63, p=0.01).
Immigrants also tend to feel more vulnerable to crime as victims than native
Table 7.1 Victimization and safety in two Swedish towns
In the last 12 months (%) Jonképing N= 462 Séderképing N= 300
Victimization of crime 6 15 (urban core) 8 outside
Feel safe (or very safe) 80 90
Avoid going out because of fear 7 16
Fear for others 16 11
Data sources: Ceccato and Wilhelmsson (2013): Lundin (2006).
Perceived safety in Swedish rural areas 153
Violence Rate ata he into By ee (%)
vcord
r) Police records - 2011 e eran
29810855 Sarbir
054 102.98
0.13 10 0.54 @ 0091002
+ Vattorn Lake 0.01 100,13 Vatiom Lake 0.01 190.09
. Resident! Burglary Rates
arto be victimized by Residential B
S r BH 19710395
4 13110197
0 10 06510 131
y CENTR sate an CENTRE.
=! Om r
C@ect
Jy J
(a)
Victim of crime in the last 12 months
Vattorn Lake
e Fearto be vemzad by cme
Jenkopirg
to ; @ 02 w04
ad \ @ 0.091002
0 001 100.08
Ld CENTRE. 4 CENTRE.
ef Wa © (9) ®
| Vattern Lake
(c) (d)
Figure 7.5 Fear of being victimized by crime in relation to rates of (a) violence, (b) res-
idential burglary, (c) average income, and (d) personal victimization (data
source: Jonképing Safety Survey, 2013).
inhabitants do (y?(2, N=444)=9.10, p=0.01). Interestingly, those who live alone
are more fearful than those living in a household with two or more residents
(77 (2, N=451)=3.51, p=0.06).
In J6nk6ping, no significant gender differences are apparent for declared fear, as
was found in Sdderk6ping (Lundin, 2006). However, in Jonképing women more
often than men avoid going out at certain times of the day (y?(2, N=456)=6.01,
p=0.01). In Jonképing, women’s avoidance behaviors do not seem to be triggered
by the physical or social environment where they live (bad illumination, dark
tunnels or forests, the neighborhood layout, people asking for money, drunkards/
drug addicts in public places, or disturbing neighbors). However, women are more
sensitive to neighbors and other individuals, such as peepers (fonstertittare)
(7 (2, N=436)=2.76, p=0.09). Still, women are used to chatting and exchanging
favors with neighbors more often than men are (about two-thirds of women).
There are signs that altruistic fear is at work here, too. From those who
declare worry (sometimes or often), one-quarter are concerned for themselves,
their family, and friends. As suggested in Chapter 6, declared fear in the
154 Perceived safety in rural areas
neighborhood is also triggered by the conditions of physical and social
environment. Respondents complain about poor illumination (30 percent) and
littering (26 percent). Half of respondents were able to indicate one or more
places in their neighborhood that trigger “unsafety,” such as tunnels, bus
stops, parks, and parking lots. Signs of physical deterioration in these areas
seem to indicate that something else is happening. For instance, these areas
are also indicated as having problems with graffiti and vandalism (28 percent)
and theft (16 percent). One participant in the survey highlights the need for
both formal and informal social control in the area:
Burglary is not uncommon ... we need more police and to keep an eye on
what happens here.
(Survey participant, 2013)
More interesting is that 45 percent of the interviewed population declares
being a bit worried or worried about being victimized by crime in their own
home, in their neighborhood, or in Jonkdping as a whole, even if they have never
been a victim of crime. Wilhelmsson and Ceccato (2015) indicate that the
number of police-reported crimes per 1,000 inhabitants in Jonk6éping is lower
than the national average. This applies to both violence and thefts, but since
early 2000, rates of reported violence have increased faster than for the national
as a whole (about 33 percent in Jonk6éping and 28 percent in Sweden). For theft,
Jénképing follows the national trend of 30 percent reduction since 2000. In
Séderképing, for instance, the perception of future victimization is similar to the
one illustrated above for Jonk6ping. However, it depends on type of crime (40
percent for violence, 52 percent for residential burglary, 32 percent for theft, 23
percent for vandalism, and 18 percent for robbery).
Street violence and vandalism happen mostly in the inner-city areas, which
impacts on people’s perceived safety regardless of where they live. The center of
J6nk6ping (50 percent) and, to a lesser extent, the center of Huskvarna (20 percent)
were perceived as less safe than respondents’ own neighborhoods, even when most
respondents are familiar with central areas, going there at least twice a week. This
fact corroborates the theory that inner-city areas, even in small towns such as
Jonképing, have features that negatively affect the perceived safety of residents.
The following two participants highlighted features of inner city areas that, accord-
ing to them, decrease the safety of the area:
Our safety is compromised by what happens during the night. Close down
the strip club. It’s 50 meters from a secondary school and 20 meters from an
elderly-care home!
(Survey participant, 2013)
They turn off the lights at 11:00p.m. here. We need better illumination espe-
cially along pathways and in tunnels and parks.
(Survey participant, 2013)
Perceived safety in Swedish rural areas 155
Residents declare they feel safer in places they are more familiar with and
where they spend more time, except for inner city areas. For instance, most think
their neighborhood is safer than any other neighborhood (y?(2, N=450)=7.53,
p=0.06). However, 44 percent of respondents still feel some concern about
becoming a victim of crime in their own dwelling or nearby places (bus stop,
stairwell, basement, laundry room, convenience store).
The quality of the physical environment does contribute to poor perceived
safety: 60 percent of respondents think that pedestrian tunnels are the most
dangerous places, 55 percent think that Jonképing’s downtown area is danger-
ous, while parks are selected by 30 percent of respondents, followed by bus
stops, 22 percent. Better illumination is also associated with the quality of
walking and cycling routes; 15 percent believe these places are unsafe.
Perhaps it is not only the time spent in one place that matters to safety but
also what one does. Overall 65 percent believe that their neighborhood is safer
than any other place in Jénképing when they know people locally (7?(2,
N=451)=16.7, p=0.00)). Half of those who were interviewed rely on neighbors
to keep an eye on their property when they are away. The criminology literature
has long suggested the importance of social environment to safety. Bursik (1999)
suggests that much focus has been put on the effect of “supervisory” capacity of
communities to limit crime and contribute to safety. Yet within neighborhoods,
the ability of residents to exchange favors and develop mutual trust differs,
which results in variation in residents’ perceived safety, according to Cancino
(2005). Some respondents expressed willingness to act for the “common good”
as a sign of the collective efficacy of the group (Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls,
1997), such as by working on neighborhood watch schemes. As expected, those
who own their home (y?(2, N=449)=24.0, p=0.00) declare feeling safer than
those who rent. Owners also believe that the environment they live in is good for
their children (y7(2, N=459)=25.1, p=0.00), have often lived there for more
than five years, and have established contacts with neighbors.
But not everybody feels safe “at home.” Most of those who are fearful feel
unsettled where they live now (y?(2, N=458)=30.2, p=0.00)). According to
Jénk6ping’s safety survey, more than one-quarter of respondents are worried about
crime, either for themselves or close family members, which makes them extra
vigilant (9 percent), avoid going out at certain times (7 percent), choose taxis (6
percent), and avoid talking to people they do not know (5 percent). Foreign-born
respondents are more fearful than natives where they live (y?(2, N=445)=3.78,
p=0.05)). Some of these areas have a high proportion of rental units. As previously
suggested, these areas tend to have a less-permanent resident population than well-
established owner-occupied housing tracts. In the former areas, residents may be
unable or unwilling to participate in the social life of the area. It is important to note
that dynamics linking perceived safety to housing tenancy, social cohesion, and eth-
nicity are intertwined in the case of Jonképing and thus cannot be assessed in isola-
tion, because of the small sample and the way the survey was conducted. The next
section touches on the issue of fear of crime as it relates to the housing market in a
small town.
156 Perceived safety in rural areas
Perceived safety and the housing market in Jonképing
Most international evidence shows that crime and/or the fear of crime nega-
tively affect the quality of life of residents. As a consequence, housing prices
are discounted to compensate for the lack of safety. All other things being
equal, buyers are willing to pay more for a house that is located in a safe area.
The international literature is populated by examples of the effect of crime on
housing prices (Thaler, 1978; Buck, Hakim, & Spiegel, 1991; Bowes & Ihlan-
feldt, 2001; Lynch & Rasmussen, 2001; Gibbons, 2004; Tita, Petras, & Green-
baum, 2006; Munroe, 2007; Troy & Grove, 2008; Hwang & Thill, 2009;
Ceccato & Wilhelmsson, 2011, 2012). However, little has been published
about the effect of crime and perceived safety on property prices in small
towns and rural areas.
Two recent studies in a relatively small housing market but large enough to
allow the analysis (J6nk6ping) assess whether crime and fear of crime impact
property prices (Ceccato & Wilhelmsson, 2014; Wilhelmsson & Ceccato,
2015). Findings show that residential burglaries decrease house prices but
such an effect is slightly more significant for more expensive types of homes
than for cheaper ones. The authors also recognize the need to test the potential
effect of perceived safety in property prices. They show that low perceived
safety decreases property prices after controlling for attributes of the property
and neighborhood characteristics, including residential burglary. Also, prices
are discounted in areas where people, despite never having been victims of
crime, believe that their ethnic background makes them more vulnerable to
crime in the neighborhood.
Crime risk may be a driving force of housing security measures such as locks,
alarms, security doors, dogs, CCTVs, and many other measures. Studies elsewhere
have found that fear of crime led to increased adoption of housing security meas-
ures (Hirschfield, Bowers, & Johnson, 2004), while others have found no relation-
ship (May, Rader, & Goodrum, 2010). Lewakowski (2012), studying the adoption
of household security measures in Stockholm, finds that adoption of measures
increases with the perception of crime and altruistic fear but not with victimiza-
tion. In the case of Jonk6éping, one-quarter of all respondents had invested in
housing security measures, such as safety locks (22 percent) and housing alarms
(17 percent) in the preceding 12 months, either by themselves or through their
homeowners’ association. No significant difference was found between groups.
These results mean that, at least in the Swedish context, the mechanisms of
buyers’ willingness to pay in relatively small housing markets are similar to
the ones found in metropolitan areas, evidence that was so far lacking in the
international literature. This also means that investing in safety (either on
crime-reduction measures or perceived safety) is worthwhile if the goal is to
keep prices at current housing market levels, as poor safety is unquestionably
a factor that reduces housing prices. This is true even in relatively small muni-
cipalities, as was the case here. The analysis does not take into account the
rental market and assumes that individuals have the same willingness to pay
Perceived safety in Swedish rural areas 157
for a commodity, which is not realistic, of course. Housing is a commodity
that is not evenly attained, and so is safety, measured either as crime or per-
ceived safety.
Concluding remarks
This chapter reports on the perception of safety in Sweden focusing on the
urban-rural divide and drawing on the theoretical basis discussed in detail in
Chapter 6. According to the National Crime Victims survey, there are indica-
tions that measures of poor perceived safety have decreased in Sweden since
2006. Regardless of this trend, one group of individuals declares themselves to
be more fearful than others. For them, poor perceived safety affects their mobil-
ity patterns and quality of life. This group may be composed of those who are
more vulnerable to crime in the first place, for a number of reasons, and there-
fore more fearful. There is no clear urban—rural divide for this group.
As elsewhere in the international literature, fear of victimization in rural
Sweden does not only reflect the severity of the crime. Instead, findings show
that fear of crime reflects reductions in perceived crime risk, that is, changes in
the situational conditions for crime, especially for car-related crime. For
example, modern security systems have made it much more difficult to burgle a
car, so the fear of becoming a victim of this offense has also dropped. This sup-
ports what Warr (2000) once suggested, that the subjective probability of victim-
ization is a proximate cause of fear — not fear itself.
Regardless of this improvement in perceived safety, the trend is not homoge-
neously distributed geographically or among groups of individuals. In the
Swedish case, overall worry seems to encompass more than a declared fear of
crime and risk of victimization, as the pattern is quite uniform across the country
and shows notable differences between metropolitan and rural areas. This
reflects concerns about crime, stability, and social change. One possible explana-
tion for this pattern could be that to a large extent overall fear is fed by fear of
crime in large cities, while in rural areas overall fear is mostly determined by
concerns about individuals’ and households’ economic conditions, though both
are expressed as “overall worry.” Inequality in victimization may also explain
this pattern. The poor are victims of crime more often and reveal more anxieties
than wealthier groups in Sweden. The poor are overrepresented in some large
Swedish cities, such as Stockholm, Malm6, and Gothenburg, which would
explain the urban-rural pattern in fear of crime.
Perceived safety varies by group of individual and has an impact on the
quality of life of people. Among farmers in Sweden, almost 60 percent feel at
least a bit worried about becoming a victim of crime. They tend to be located in
the south and have little confidence that, if something happens, they can rely on
the police. Although only one-third of farmers have been victims of crime in the
past two years, two-thirds know at least one other person who has been victim-
ized. Farmers worry about their properties and about their families. As expected,
feeling unsafe is more common for foreign-born individuals than for those who
158 Perceived safety in rural areas
were born in Sweden. The same applies to the elderly and ethnic minorities.
Alienation, poverty, and poor assistance or protection of human rights is also a
fear generator, particularly among the itinerant population. See the case of Sami
population and berry pickers. However, there are exceptions. Young women
declare, to some extent as elderly women do, a fear of becoming the victim of
sexual assault. In the case of Jénképing municipality, the elderly do not feel
more worried than the rest of the population, perhaps because they seem to be
deeply involved in the local life and social control of their neighborhood.
Crime and fear impact housing markets in small towns and rural areas as they
do in urban areas. Again drawing on evidence from Jénk6ping, crime (residen-
tial burglary) and fear of crime had a significant negative effect on housing
prices. In the same municipality, “fear of other people” has also shown a direct
impact on how attractive an area is valued in the housing market.
Several lessons may be learned from these patterns of perceived safety in
Sweden. If crime would cease to exist tomorrow, fear of crime and other
anxieties would still be around. This indicates that perceived safety is fed by
factors other than perceived risk of victimization. Another lesson is that urban—
tural divides in perceived safety (with more people being fearful in urban
environments than in rural) represent a rough picture of reality, because there is
inequality in both victimization and perceived safety by groups. Some of the
factors affecting perceived safety are associated with individual, group, and/or
area characteristics. Moreover, some processes triggered by fear seem to have
the same impact on people’s lives regardless of where they take place. Note the
case of the impact of fear on housing prices, for instance.
Another lesson for policy is that it is dangerous to ignore indications of
fear. If individuals feel completely safe, they might fail to take the necessary
precautions for their own safety, the protection of their property, or the safety
of others, and thus increase the risk of victimization. In this case, fear is a
positive reaction because it leads to prevention. In another extreme, choosing
to boost feelings of fear and other anxieties is an equally poor decision to
being taken, as individuals may engage in needless precautions that may be
costly without knowing whether there are risks, and if they exist, to know their
nature. Individuals’ perceived safety may be the tip of the iceberg for a
number of triggers that go beyond individual and area-level features. As illus-
trated in Chapters 6 and 7, perceived safety entails a dimension of reflexivity,
which means that it depends on those who observe and produce it, as well as
on particular time and space contexts.
What is the role of the police in the reduction of fear in rural areas? The
nature and extent of proactive policing measures by police forces in rural com-
munities can help reduce fear. Such measures might include visibility, patrolling,
and constant checks. An important question to be answered is safety for whom?
As the next few chapters show, neither crime nor perceived safety is the respons-
ibility of a single actor in community policing. Some crime types require efforts
of other actors than the police both in crime prevention and/or fear reduction;
see Chapters 12 to 14 for examples.
Perceived safety in Swedish rural areas 159
Notes
1 The perceived safety variables are derived from the 2013 Safety Survey applied to a strat-
ified sample over urban districts of the municipality of Jonképing. The questionnaire was
distributed in spring 2013, with a response rate of 50 percent out of 992 questionnaires
(excluding old or incorrect addresses). The questionnaire is composed of 34 questions
about victimization, perceived safety in the home, proximity to one’s home (neighbor-
hood), and city overall, as well as questions about the respondent’s background (e.g., age,
gender, income, and education). Respondents were: 57 percent women, 43 percent men;
20 percent primary school education only, 40 percent university degree or equivalent; 28
percent single, 40 percent living in a household with two people; 44 percent rent their
home; 22 percent have children at home under 18 years old; 22 percent have household
income less than SEK20,000 after taxes, 40 percent SEK21,000—35,000, 28 percent
above SEK35,000, and 10 percent did not state their income; 12 percent were born
outside the Nordic countries; 51 percent are employed, 3 percent seeking employment,
33 percent retired, 9 percent at home (maternity leave, retired, or seeking employment);
50 percent have lived in the same place more than five years, 80 percent previously lived
elsewhere in Jonk6ping Municipality; 50 percent would be willing to move, but only 2.4
percentage points of those because of insecurity.
2 Séderképing, population approximately 7,000, is 170km from Stockholm, half way to
Stockholm from Jénképing. The survey team contacted 880 households for telephone
interviews in the municipality in 2005. A total of 300 people were interviewed, 220 in the
urban area and 80 in the outer areas of the municipality. The response rate was 38 percent
in Sdderk6ping and 27 percent outside the main urban area (see details in Lundin, 2006).
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Part IV
Crime in a rural context
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
http://taylorandfrancis.com
8 Farm crimes and environmental
and wildlife offenses
This chapter deals with two topics that are relatively neglected areas of research
in the criminological literature: farm crime, and environmental and wildlife
crime. The chapter has two sections, and both place Sweden in an international
context. These offenses involve from diesel theft to drug manufacture, but also
cases of crimes and harm against nature, such as illegal hunting. They present
trends over time using Swedish police statistics and, data permitting, alternative
data sources. Finally, geographical patterns of environmental and wildlife crimes
(EWC) are discussed focusing mostly on urban-rural differences.
Farm crime: framing Sweden in an international perspective
No book on crime in rural areas would be complete without a section that dis-
cusses farm crime (Barclay, Donnermeyer, Doyle, & Talary, 2001). But, why
should one care about farm crime? One important reason is that although such
crimes may not be numerous compared to the types of crime that happen in
urban areas, they may have an impact that goes beyond the locality where they
occur. Barclay et al. (2001) point out that at the local level farmers are affected
by loss in cases of theft, loss of work time, and higher insurance premiums.
When a crime happens, it creates a feeling of suspicion, some of which is dir-
ected at neighbors. Thus, farm crime has the potential to undermine the cohe-
siveness of rural communities. At the national level, crime jeopardizes
international trade in rural labeled products; for example, when a farmer’s
cattle are stolen, the guarantee of quality attached to the product’s origin is
lost.
There is no common definition of what farm crime is. Intuitively, farm crime
would be ordinary crimes that take place in rural contexts, such as theft of livestock
or tractors. Donnermeyer, Barclay, and Mears (2011, p. 193) define two broad cat-
egories for crimes taking place on farms: “‘Ordinary crimes’ ... such as the theft of
livestock, machinery and farm supplies, vandalism, rubbish dumping, and damage
from trespassers and hunters ... ‘extraordinary’ for their potential impacts ...
organized drug production, such as marijuana and methamphetamines.”
In the Swedish context, some extraordinary types of crime are classified as
crimes against nature, such as dumping garbage or illegal hunting, but these
166 Crime ina rural context
would also include theft of certain chemicals (e.g., fertilizers) that can be used in
the preparation of explosives or drugs. In Australia, Barclay and Donnermeyer
(2007, p. 57) suggest that crime on farms includes
theft of livestock and other farm produce, tools and machinery, chemicals
and fertilizers as well as vandalism, arson, trespassing and illegal hunting ...
also environmental crimes such as illegal dumping of rubbish and waste,
theft of water and timber or the growing of cannabis or other drug produc-
tion on farmland.
It is as if farm crimes are defined to include all crimes that happen in outdoor
places or on private property but exclude interpersonal violence, particularly
what happens in the private sphere, committed by people who know each other.
It may also involve violence, but in the European context, it is against nature and
wildlife, which may not be the case in other countries (e.g., in Brazil and South
Africa, robbery followed by lethal violence are not unusual events on farms, see
e.g., Rede Hoje, 2013; Kumwenda, 2012). This book considers EWC as any
offense that is more complex in nature and thus is discussed separately in the
second section of this chapter. Farm crimes have a more strict definition, involv-
ing a combination of property offenses and some less serious crimes.
Nevertheless farm crime is a relatively neglected area of research in the crim-
inological literature. Exceptions are the research done in the United States and in
Australia, in the United Kingdom (Donnermeyer et al., 2011; Jones & Phipps,
2012; Marshall & Johnson, 2005) and to a much lesser extent in Scandinavian
countries (e.g., Ceccato & Dolmén, 2013).
Donnermeyer et al. (2011) suggest that there have been two waves of farm
crime studies: the first was a small cluster of victimization studies in the United
States, and the second wave was more international, including research reports
from Australia and the United Kingdom. Some of the most important studies are
discussed below in detail, but for a short review, see Donnermeyer et al. (2011,
pp. 193-195).
As with most other crimes, farm crimes depend on the situational conditions.
Particularly important here are the notions of opportunity, guardianship, and
accessibility. Donnermeyer et al. (2011) suggest that if a farm is situated in close
proximity to main routes and/or urban centers, the result is an increased likeli-
hood of becoming a victim of crime. Studies by Barclay and Donnermeyer
(2007) and Mears, Scott, and Bhati (2007) provide evidence of these hypotheses.
An analysis of garbage dumping in a rural Swedish county corroborates the idea
that accessibility to a place makes it easy to dump cars and garbage but also
makes it easier for transients to detect and report these crimes (Ceccato & Uit-
tenbogaard, 2013).
Donnermeyer et al. (2011) also suggest that farms tend to experience higher
rates of theft when equipment and machinery are stored at isolated locations,
where there are few people, and some distance to the main operations. The
authors also point out that these conditions may vary by type of crime. For
Farm, environmental and wildlife 167
instance, those farms that were situated near a public road but were relatively
remote from urban settlements were more likely to experience trespassing, van-
dalism, and illegal dumping. They also suggest that farms encompassing difficult
terrain, such as in mountainous areas, were most likely to suffer trespassing,
poaching, and livestock theft, as reported by Barclay and Donnermeyer (2002).
Anecdotes are found in the media about farms at the end of roads being espe-
cially targeted (with the same effect as cul-de-sacs), particularly during vacation
periods.
Situational conditions of farm crime are affected by time. The winter season,
when fewer people are working on farms, may provide better opportunities for
theft than summer, when many people are needed to work. In other parts of the
country, garbage dumping by roads and on farms may become a problem in
municipalities with much tourism. As the temporary population does not estab-
lish long-term social ties to the permanent population, these rural communities
may become more at risk for these farm crimes. In Australia, Barclay et al.
(2001) suggest the number of transient people is increasing in some rural com-
munities, mostly composed of workers. The temporary inflow, the authors indi-
cate, means that local residents are no longer assured that they know everyone in
the community, which impacts their ability to exercise social control. Keeping
an eye on what happens in the community becomes crucial in rural areas, as
people may live further apart, and local law enforcement has limited resources to
effectively cover large areas.
Victimization is widespread in rural areas. Barclay et al. (2001) find that 69
percent of farmers declared that they had been a victim of crime in the preceding
two years, using a victimization survey sent to 1,100 farmers in one rural region
in Australia. The most common types of crime were illegal trespassers and
shooters and thefts of tools and equipment, livestock, and fuel. These findings
were confirmed by numbers from the Australia Crime Victims Survey in 2006.
Drug cultivation or production of synthetic drugs is often detected far from
large urban areas and often regarded as farm crime. As early as 2001, a report
in Australia indicated that 6 percent of the farms in that study had cannabis
growing illegally on their land according to the farmers interviewed. Also in
Australia, authors report that cannabis is cultivated in national parks. Due to
isolation, some rural areas are also the site of amphetamine production
(Barclay et al., 2001). About the same time, in the United States, synthetic
drug production facilities were also commonly found at sites in isolated areas.
These drugs include methamphetamines, crack cocaine, and cannabis
(Weisheit & Donnermeyer, 2000). Cannabis is nowadays the most widespread
illegal drug worldwide. Decorte, Potter, and Bouchard (2011) report on exam-
ples from different countries regarding demand, cultivation, and control of
cannabis in Australia, Belgium, the Caribbean, Denmark, Finland, Morocco,
and the Netherlands, to name a few. While drug production may be a rural
phenomenon, consumption among the young in Europe, for instance, is signif-
icantly more concentrated in metropolitan areas than in non-metropolitan ones
(United Nations, 2013).
168 Crime ina rural context
Drug production leads to other types of offenses. Drug-related thefts, that is,
theft of ingredients for the production of narcotics, have also being reported in
Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Also, Nutt, King, and
Phillips (2010) suggest that the use and production of a drug causes environ-
mental damage locally, such as through toxic waste from amphetamine factories
and needles discarded by users.
Patterns of farm crime in Sweden: from diesel theft to drug manufacture
As many as three of 10 farmers have been victims of crime themselves, or their
properties have been, in the preceding two years, with an aggregated loss value
of approximately SEK200 million. In each case, the value of the loss for a victim
can range from a few hundred to several hundred thousand Swedish crowns.
This was one finding from the Swedish Farmers’ postal survey, sent to 1,000
farmers in 2012 and commissioned by the Farmers’ Association (Lantbrukarnas
Riksférbund, 2012). The survey was sent to farmers who operate agricultural
properties with more than 10 hectares of cropland. In 2012, 61 percent of farmers
responded to the questionnaire, which contained questions about crime victimi-
zation and prevention, among other things.
Interestingly, half of those who have been victims of crimes have been tar-
geted two or more times, indicating that criminals may come back to steal what
was left the first time. Although relatively little is known about the types of
offenders that target farms in Sweden, there seems to be specialization: some
specialize in stealing vehicles and tools, others focus on diesel or other fuel,
while others target building sites for building materials. It is estimated that the
costs of diesel theft was around SEK200 million in Sweden in 2013, while theft
in the construction business reached SEK1.5 billion, including machinery, tools,
and built material (CrimeStoppers, 2014).
Not very different from research results elsewhere (Barclay et al., 2001; Don-
nermeyer et al., 2011) findings from the Farmers’ Safety Survey (Lantbrukarnas
Riksférbund, 2012) show that fuel, machinery, equipment, and other farm prop-
erty are common targets of theft on farms. Farmers in southern Sweden are
exposed to crime two or more times as much as the national average amongst
those who responded to the survey, but there are differences in certain types of
crime; for example, theft of fuel is slightly higher in the north than in the south.
This north-south pattern in victimization is confirmed by police records as well
as by data from Crimestoppers (see Figure 8.3 later in the chapter). As much as
seven out of 10 farmers in Sweden know one person (or more) who has been the
victim of a crime in the preceding two years. This figure is slightly higher in the
south, in the woodlands in Gotaland (eight of 10). Higher victimization among
farmers in the south follows the overall pattern of victimization in Sweden dis-
cussed by Ceccato and Dolmén (2011). The authors suggest that location (e.g.,
the south or north) and geography (e.g., closer to the European continent) are
relevant to determining an area’s vulnerability to crime, because of its differenti-
ated pattern of routine activity (Ceccato & Haining, 2004). For instance, rural
Farm, environmental and wildlife 169
municipalities located in southern areas of Sweden tend to be more criminogenic
than relatively isolated northern rural municipalities. They show higher popula-
tion density than elsewhere in the country. In southern Sweden, regardless of
size, municipalities are affected by their proximity to Denmark (potential inflow
of people), transport corridors from Sweden to the continent (and vice versa),
and consequently strong daily commuting flows. On top of that, southern areas
are relatively easy for law enforcement to cover because of the relatively high
population density, whilst in the north some of the police regions are extensive.
The survey also shows that younger farmers with properties containing more
than 50 hectares of cropland and who live in accessible rural areas are more
likely to know someone who has been a victim of crime than the average
respondent is. They might have been a victim themselves or know someone in
the community. As pointed out by previous research (Ceccato & Dolmén, 2011;
Donnermeyer et al., 2011; Jones & Phipps, 2012), the geography of farm crime
greatly reflects opportunities for crime, accessibility to targets, and poor guardi-
anship. Larger properties are more certain attractors as they often have more
locations to steal from and, if they are fairly accessible, they make good targets
if no one is around.
One in four farmers is worried that their properties or their family will
become victimized in the future. Those in northern Sweden feel less anxious
than the national average about the prospect of becoming a victim of a crime,
whether themselves, their family, or their property. Interestingly, as in the case
of Australia, half of the farmers believe that a police report has no effect or
somewhat or very little effect. One in five had no opinion. There is no significant
difference in the answers from farmers across the country, except that in north-
ern Sweden farmers answered “No opinion” more often than farmers elsewhere
in Sweden. The problem is that by not reporting crime, farmers are contributing
to a lack of knowledge about these crimes and their offenders, and therefore
compromising the work of the police.
The numbers of frauds that reach those living in rural areas through the Inter-
net and by telephone is increasing nationwide (BRA, 2011). Among farmers
interviewed, one-quarter had been victimized by a false invoice or, more often,
by Internet or telephone fraud, especially those living in southern Sweden
(Figure 8.1b). Crime has become less dependent on space. An individual living
in Stockholm, capital of Sweden, may run the same risk of being victimized by
computer fraud as someone living in the remote rural areas of Sweden (Ceccato,
2013). At the same time, new types of computer-based communication, for
instance “chat rooms,” may become facilitators for traditional crime as can be
seen in the physical world (e.g., drug production and dealing, purchase of illegal
medicine, dangerous products, or engendered animals).
The Internet also plays an increasingly important role in the manufacture and
distribution of narcotics. Information on manufacturing, new types of drugs,
ways to abuse, way to take drugs, for the exchange of knowledge, are examples
of how Internet-based communication is used in the drug context. The next
section presents the geography of police recorded data of drug production.
170 Crime in a rural context
Drug production in the countryside
Compared with other crimes reported to the police, drug production shows relat-
ively low levels, around 1 percent of all crimes (BRA, 2012). In Sweden, records
of drug production tend to be more concentrated in rural areas (Figure 8.1). In
reality, not much is documented about drug production in the countryside,
excepting recent media interest on the subject (e.g., Sveriges Radio, 2010).
Illegal drug production occurs to a lesser extent in Sweden than in many
Western European countries and when they are disclosed, they are relatively in
49
Yes, a few
——————-
31
Yes
36
20
No
28
0 40 20 30 40
South Sweden HiSweden
50
(a)
Fraud (by phone, Interne!) (Sc 2
ics ——«,
24
Other theft in enterprise |_—_ 24
3
Theft of livestock 6
iv —
heh foe on
Miike: ——_ 2
0008S
18
14
Residential burglary —a1
Other 6
South Sweden North Sweden @ Sweden
(b)
Figure 8.1 (a) Do you know anyone in the countryside near where you live who has been
the subject of some form of crime, either as a citizen or a business owner in
the past two years? (b) Farmers’ victimization by type and region (data
source: Swedish Farmers’ postal survey (V=527), 2012).
Farm, environmental and wildlife 171
30,000
IB Drug production
OO Diesel theft
IB Theft of other fuel x
Bl Tractor/scooter theft
25,000 5
20,000 5
Crime per 100,000 inhabitants
15,000 + Rf ser eet
|
B 27040
Biwi
10,000 5
‘yt
5,000-4 hy eee
\: i at
oo , E Ahn) f
Remote Accessible Urban oy
rural rural areas
(a) (b)
Figure 8.2 (a) Crime rates per 100,000 inhabitants by municipality type, 2013, (b) drug
production rates per municipality in Sweden, 2013 (data source: BRA, 2013).
limited to quantities. Most illegal laboratories found by the police were manu-
facturing amphetamine, but other synthetic drugs, such as methamphetamine.
The most common way to reveal an illegal laboratory is following a tip to police
indicating that there is an ongoing production. The source of such tips may vary.
They can be criminals, who are often themselves addicts. Tips can also come
from police or customs. Another source is the legal manufacturers or distributors
of chemicals (Rikspolisstyrelsen, 2007).
Recently, suspicion of production of synthetic cannabis has been reported by
the media in northern Sweden. The demand for acetone has increased for the
production of “Spice,” or synthetic cannabis. This drug has spread locally among
young people, and local stores have noticed increased demand among young
people. To prevent young people from accessing the product, supermarkets dras-
tically raised the price of the product or put the bottles behind the counter in
many places in the country (Sveriges Radio, 2013):
There have been teenagers who came in and bought a few bottles [of acetone]
... but when they come in a week later to buy again, you start to react.
(Manager, local store A, northern municipality)
Many young addicts purchased pure acetone. In the end, we raised the price
from SEK16.90 to SEKSO and put the bottles at the checkout.
(Manager, local store C, northern municipality)
172 Crime ina rural context
Drug production may lead to an increase in theft, either to get access to the
ingredients to produce the drug, as illustrated below, or to get “fast cash” to pur-
chase the drug in the market:
We have not noticed any increase in sales. However, we noticed that very
many of [the products] disappeared. Since the thefts, we moved acetone
bottles from the shelf to the checkout counter.
(Manager, local store B, northern municipality)
Theft of diesel and other fuels
Accessible rural municipalities are often targeted by thieves looking for diesel and
other types of fuels, such as gasoline (petrol). Figure 8.3 shows that, though police
statistics show the largest rates of diesel theft scattered around the country (such as
Vingaker, Arjeplog, Ockelbo, Markaryd, Ljusnarsberg, Laholm), the 2012
Swedish Farmers’ postal survey and Crimestoppers (2013) show a concentration
in central and northern municipalities. In northern Sweden alone, the cost of diesel
theft is estimated at SEK7 million per year (roughly US$1 million) (Figure 8.3a).
A possible explanation for this mismatch between police statistics and victim
surveys is that not all thefts are reported to the police. An expert who works on
preventing these crimes on a daily basis believes that the shadow figure of non-
reported crime is much larger. He believes that those cases that are registered
with the police are the ones that the value of theft reaches the basic insurance
premium, while minor ones are never reported.
If the theft is not up to the deductible, insurance companies will not cover
the loss (50-200 liters today). Some insurance companies do not accept
diesel thefts at all. I estimate that we may have an additional cost for diesel
theft of SEK3-—6 million for the whole country.... And we have not figured
out all the costs of vandalism, sabotage and theft of tools, etc., at each burg-
lary, that often goes along with diesel theft.
(Security network representative, northern Sweden)
Table 8.1 Thefts of diesel — estimates for northern Sweden
Northern Sweden Time Volume Costs
Jamtland January 2012 to May 2012 76m
Vasternorrland 2011 52m
Gavleborg May 2012 40m?
Vasterbotten Autumn 2011 112m
Norrbotten 2011 110m?
Dalarna May 2012 70m
Northern Sweden 2011-2012 460m? SEK6,900,000
Data source: CrimeStoppers (2013).
Stockholm
" (b) Theft of diesel
— 2013
Per 100,000 inhabitants
B 334 to 443
@ 225 to 334
® 116 to 225
7to 16
(a) Theft of diesel unrecorded by the police
(in cubic meters, 1 m* = 1,000 liters,
December 2011 to August 2012
M15to4
@0.8to 1.5
§0.4 to 0.8
0.1 to 0.4
Data missing (157)
(30)
(49)
(25)
(29)
“ (c) Theft — Fuel,
others — 2013
Per 100,000 inhabitants
@ 425 to 563
@ 286 to 425
© 147 to 286
8 to 147
Figure 8.3 (a) Crimestoppers’ estimate of theft of diesel in cubic meters; (b) Theft of
diesel; and (c) 2012 Theft of other fuels (data sources: BRA, 2013;
CrimeStoppers, 2013).
174 Crime in a rural context
It is not unusual for theft of diesel to happen in connection with vandalism or sabo-
tage of machinery. It is estimated that each diesel theft can cost a farmer on average
SEK15,000. Some thefts also involve the theft of machinery or tools, costs that
may reach SEK100,000 (CrimeStoppers, 2014). According to the Swedish
Farmers’ postal survey in 2012, an affected farmer may lose on average SEK47,000
in a two-year period. These findings were compared with previous surveys, and
according to the Farmers’ Association the number of victims of crime in rural areas
has increased, despite several efforts by farmers and the police.
Environmental and wildlife crimes
This section first frames environmental and wildlife crime (EWC) in Sweden in
an international perspective. Then it presents EWC trends over a period of 11
years using police-recorded statistics and media archives. Finally, geographical
patterns of EWC are discussed, focusing mostly on urban areas in comparison to
accessible rural and remote rural areas by type of EWC. This section makes use
of findings from Ceccato and Uittenbogaard (2013) and sheds light on new
issues that came up recently in the public debate and were covered by the
national media in Sweden.
Environmental and wildlife crime: Sweden in international context
EWC is defined in different ways. Some researchers use a strict legal definition
of environmental crime, such that crime only exists when it is regulated by law.
Others adopt the concept of environmental harm, in which environmental crime
happens as soon as harm is caused to nature (White, 2014, p. 448).
Sweden follows a more strict definition of environmental crime by law, and
therefore based less on the concept of environmental harm. Swedish environ-
mental legislation consists mainly of the Environmental Code, which came into
force in 1999. The role of the Swedish authorities is to monitor and ensure that
the law is followed. Municipalities are the main framers of the tasks of the
environmental inspector whose job is to give notice of cases that do not follow
the law and environmental requirements, though the county administration and
other state authorities may also be involved. Thus the crimes are detected mainly
through the control and supervision of the authorities, which means that
increased control by these authorities directly impacts the crime statistics.
EWCs can also be classified as primary crimes as they directly result from the
destruction and degradation of the Earth’s resources, through human actions, such
as pollution of air, water, or soil. Other, secondary crimes, may arise from the
flouting of rules that seek to regulate environmental disasters, for example, organ-
ized crimes and dumping of toxic waste (White, 2008). In Sweden, EWCs involve
both primary and secondary offenses, from illegal hunting of animals, to pollution
by emissions. An environmental crime can be said to be any activity that involves
air, soil, or water pollution or otherwise affects the environment such that the
health of animals, plants, or humans is damaged (BRA, 2014)
Farm, environmental and wildlife 175
EWCs are often regarded as victimless, as they do not always produce a
consequence (at least not a visible one). The harm may be diffused or go unde-
tected for a long period of time. The motivation behind EWC also varies, par-
ticularly by type of offense. There are various types of environmental crimes
where the aim is economic profit, whilst others are due to negligence or lack
of knowledge in dealing with waste. In rural areas, littering and dumping
waste reach the news and are often related to actions of local residents, not
companies. In rural Australia, for example, Barclay and Donnermeyer (2007)
found that other farmers were commonly pointed out as offenders in cases of
theft of water from river systems and dams, the pollution of water and wet-
lands, irrigated pastures or grazing livestock, the illegal damming of water-
ways which causes flooding or reduced water access to neighboring farms,
spray drift through aerial spraying of chemicals, and the illegal clearing of
native vegetation. A recent study by Barclay (2015) confirms these results.
The author examined incidents that occur on farms where individual farmers
are victims using data from a nationwide survey in Australia. Using three
cases the author assessed the social construction of environmental crime by
investigating the way farmers defined environmental harms as “crime.” While
participants found some harms difficult to associate with criminal intent, the
infestation of weeds and pest animals due to mismanagement on neighboring
properties was defined by participants as environmental crime. Interestingly,
all actions leading to harm were considered criminal if intentional, while acci-
dental acts were not. Negligence was also used to define some actions as
environmental crimes.
EWC statistics are often underestimated, either because the crimes may go
undetected or because these offenses fall between the responsibilities of different
authorities and are not reported. Even when detected, cases are dismissed
because of lack of evidence. In Australia, for example, Barclay and Donner-
meyer (2007) suggest that less than half of all declared crimes have been
reported to police. The reasons for this were that many farmers believed report-
ing thefts were a waste of time because it was difficult to convict offenders.
Other reasons to avoid going to the police were that they were unsure when the
crime occurred or they preferred to deal with the problem themselves. In Sweden
and Canada, companies and private groups are often overrepresented among sus-
pects and/or offenders (BRA, 2006; Skinnider, 2011).
Crimes may not get reported because the environmental damage may actually
have been legal in the past (at least during a certain period of time) and now,
although an offense, it takes place with the consent of society just because it may
not be regarded as a “big problem.” Barclay and Donnermeyer (2007) also indi-
cate that in certain cases conflicts between neighbors generate a code of conduct
and blaming. Some victims were declared to deserve being victims of crime
because they were not good managers, for instance. There was also a common
acceptance of a certain level of crime in rural communities, as part of daily busi-
ness. The authors conclude that these attitudes toward crime impacted on the
commission of the offense itself and consequently on reporting rates.
176 Crime ina rural context
Records of harm against nature depend on a legal basis that sometimes con-
flicts with other relevant interests and local traditional rural practices. This toler-
ance of these harming activities creates a lag in action, fed by a local culture of
acceptance or by economic interests that are equally important for the long-term
social sustainability of the area.
The question is: Why do certain activities become intolerable and are crimi-
nalized? Pendleton (1997) suggests that a number of violations and thresholds
have to be broken before criminalization and criminal sanctions take place. A
relevant issue is whether criminal sanctions enforce compliance. Research shows
evidence that criminal sanctions deter environmental crimes, which shows the
importance of environmental legislation (Almer & Goeschl, 2010). The issues
above exemplify the growing complexity and multidimensionality of this subject
area. As White (2003, p. 503) suggests, criminologists need to be able to unravel
“layers of ambiguity and contestation,” which often characterize cases of EWC.
Different interests play an important role in keeping environmental harm unno-
ticed or breaking through the acceptance and making it public as a criminal
offense.
The processes of finding out, recording, investigating, prosecuting, and sen-
tencing for EWCs are selective in Sweden, presumably as in other countries.
According to a survey conducted by the Swedish newspaper Svenska Daghbladet
(2012), there were 74 environmental inspectors in the police authority in
Sweden. The Prosecutor-General in Sweden reveals that environmental inspec-
tors do not have time to investigate all crimes. The investigation of most crimes
is the responsibility of prosecutors, who send out reminders to authorities and
investigators, which does not always advance the case. Of these inspectors, only
29 were working exclusively on environmental crime. Considering the 290
municipalities, environmental inspectors may face an excessive workload if each
is responsible for 10 municipalities.
Norinder and Karlsson (2013) show that there is a relationship between the
number of environmental inspectors and reported EWC in Sweden, in other
words, that the number of environmental inspectors has a positive and significant
impact on the number of EWCs reported. Interestingly, it is not only the inspec-
tors who play a role in the detection of EWC.
Ceccato and Uittenbogaard (2013) found that more EWC complaints and
more media attention to EWC are found in municipalities with larger popula-
tions. Similar results were obtained when testing rural municipalities only.
However, no correlation was found between the size of municipality (area) and
the number of reports and media articles.
In practice, the police play a minor role in EWC, which essentially consists of
investigating crimes that have already been discovered and reported by the environ-
mental inspectors. BRA (2006) shows that police officers do not always know what
environmental crime is. In Sweden, environmental crimes are punishable by fines
or imprisonment not exceeding two years, depending on whether they are carried
out with intent or by negligence. According to the government penal database,
serious environmental crimes refer to actions that cause or may cause serious
Farm, environmental and wildlife 177
long-term environmental damage by pollution of air, water, soil or subsoil, or
storage or disposal of waste or similar substances (Regeringskansliet, 2012).
Environmental inspectors have a key role to play in EWC detection. In
Sweden, the people who first detect EWCs are the individuals who cause the
damage, such as in cases of accidents. Next is the local environmental office,
chemical inspectors, the coast guard, the public, the police, the customs service,
and, last, general physicians. Environmental inspectors have a dual role, both to
be service-oriented and to report crimes. In practice, not all crimes are reported,
sometimes because the inspector “knows” from experience that their complaints
rarely lead to prosecution. There is also a tendency for the investigation to only
move forward in the cases where it is easier and less time-consuming to prove
the crime. Since no authority is actively looking for environmental crimes to any
appreciable extent, only the most obvious and visible ones come to the attention
of the authorities.
Checking for EWC is primarily performed by the supervisory authorities, local
environmental agencies and county governments. Lack of skills among those
involved is also an obstacle to investigating EWC. For instance, a prosecutor has to
have a good scientific background to be able to prove in court the damage the
offense has caused to the environment or what could have happened. EWCs that
are committed by organized crime or are more difficult to investigate are often
rejected by the prosecutor on the grounds that the offense cannot be proved. When
combined with other types of crimes, such as tax evasion or fraud, they may be
redirected to other prosecutors and are no longer classified as EWCs.
Crime against wildlife is often related to hunting and other illegal acts that harm
species and less on illegal trafficking. The term “poaching” describes a number of
illegal actions that directly harm animals and threaten the sustainability of their
populations, including killing and trapping animals (Fyfe & Reeves, 2011). In the
media, poaching is often associated with illegal hunting in Africa (e.g., Lemieux,
2011), South America (e.g., Wright et al., 2001), and Asia (e.g., Loeffler, 2013),
but this violence against nature can be found anywhere in the world: in Europe
(e.g., Caniglia, Fabbri, Greco, Galaverni, & Randi, 2010), Australia (e.g., Davis,
Russ, Williamson, & Evans, 2004), and North America (e.g., Saumure, Herman, &
Titman, 2007). In Sweden, Korsell and Hagstedt (2008) report that the country
imports and, to a lesser extent, exports animals and plants. As an importing
country, endangered species most trafficked from other parts of the world are used
as pets, in collections, or in the form of tourist objects, and as ingredients for health
foods. As an exporting country, there are cases of poaching large predators. It is
very difficult to obtain precise figures about wildlife crimes, and Sweden is no
exception. In Scotland, Fyfe and Reeves (2011) report claims that in 2006 more
than 600 calls were made about wildlife crime, mostly poisoning incidents, one of
the worst years so far in terms of records.
EWCs do not often make the news as they tend to be regarded as less
important. A low media interest in covering EWCs leads to public misunder-
standing and ignorance of such crimes (Jarell, 2009; Marsh, 1991). Activism and
the environmental movement often help to shed light on cases of EWC (Almer
178 Crime in a rural context
& Goeschl, 2010; Sazdovska, 2009). When crimes show up in the media, they
tend to give a distorted or partial picture of reality (Burns, 2009; Burns & Orrick,
2002; Jarell, 2009; Lynch, Stretesky, & Hammond, 2000; Marsh, 1991). Marsh
(1991) notes that the source is often cited as being the police, who clearly have a
voice in what information comes out and thereby regulate what is published in
the media. Jarell (2009) suggests that enterprises apply positive marketing to the
media, thereby influencing public perception of the problem. Furthermore, the
media often covers EWC cases in a narrow timeframe, with the discovery of the
crime often receiving the most attention (Burns & Orrick, 2002). Despite these
limitations, media coverage is of interest for EWC research because it represents
a data source independent of police records and victimization surveys.
Types and trends in EWC in Sweden
Each year there are about 5,000 EWCs reported to the police in Sweden. These
include the dumping of oil or other chemicals on land or in bodies of water,
illegal hunting and fishing, air pollution, illegal construction, deforestation, and
some petty crimes, such as the burning of furniture, noise from sawmills, and lit-
tering. In an interview in a national newspaper (Svenska Dagbladet, 2012), the
Prosecutor-General notes that there has been an increase in the number of
reported environmental crimes in recent years, mainly discharge and improper
handling of hazardous substances. This increase seems to reflect better
cooperation between regulators, police, and prosecutors.
To investigate the nature, trends, and geography of EWC, two data sources
were used: 11 years of police records and newspaper articles (printed media
archives). The number of EWC for the 290 Swedish municipalities was retrieved
from the homepage of the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention
(BRA) for the period 2000-2011. For this study, crimes in the 8000 series (codes
8001-8019) have been selected, as they represent all crimes against the environ-
ment and wildlife. A total of 2,026 newspaper articles on crimes against environ-
ment and wildlife were found in the Swedish national media archive. These
articles were accessed through the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm for
the period January 1, 2000 to May 12, 2012. A total of 1,332 articles remained
after 694 articles were excluded because they were not related to the subject or
were duplicates. For more details about the methodology employed in this study,
see Ceccato and Uittenbogaard (2013).
Serious EWCs are composed of intentional actions that cause serious environ-
mental damage through the pollution of the air, water, soil or subsoil, or the
storage or disposal of waste or similar substances. Chemical environmental
crimes constitute unlawful handling of chemicals, disruption of control, and
disregard of regulations and permits of use, while crimes related to nature and
wildlife refer to all crimes against the protection of nature, animal abuse,
and illegal animal possession as well as disregard of protected species. Minor
and other EWCs are composed of all minor EWC such as dumping of garbage or
illegal waste transportation.
250 ———— 7,000
GS Media coverage
— Reported crime cases + 6,000
200 5
8 ”
2 ¢5,000 &
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g 150) 4,000 8
jo °
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s
2 + 3,000 =
= 1004 : rs)
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Ee =|
2 504 =
| | | | L 4,000
0)
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2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
=
2
wm
>
°o
=)
=)
Serious EWC
© Nature destruction and wildlife
5,000- Minor EWC and others
B Unlawful handling of chemicals
4,000-
3,000- U fi |
2,000-
1,000-
il
2000 ‘2001 "2002 2003 "2004 "2005 2006 "2007 "2008 2009 2010 2011
Police recorded EWC — environmental and wildlife crimes
(b)
Figure 8.4 (a) Environmental and wildlife crimes in Sweden, according to police records
and newspaper articles (counts between 2000 and 2011), (b) environmental
and wildlife crimes recorded by the police by type (source: Ceccato and
Uittenbogaard, 2013).
180 Crime ina rural context
The two data sources indicate similar increasing trends. EWCs have increas-
ingly reached the media in the past 10 years in Sweden, with a 330 percent
increase between 2000 and 2011. One important reason for this increase is that
prior to 2007 data reported to the police involved only reported crimes in which
there was a reasonable suspect. From 2007 onwards, this restriction was elimin-
ated, and cases without a suspect have been recorded in police statistics.
Although EWC police records are problematic (as there are crimes that are
never reported) and a comparison with all newspaper articles is not feasible, it is
interesting to note that they follow a similar upward trend (Figure 8.4). After
2007, crimes that did not have a suspect were also reported, which explains some
of this increase. This rise in records may also reflect a real rise in EWC, as more
offenses of this type have reached the police statistics as a result of, for example,
new practices. The increase may also be a result of the public’s greater willing-
ness to report such crimes due to improved environmental awareness from
increased media coverage of EWCs.
In Sweden, the municipalities and county councils have an obligation to report
an infraction against nature as a crime, for instance during a control check. If these
authorities have been more active or have been targeting certain areas, that could
also have influenced the levels and patterns of EWC as well as the media coverage.
For instance, since February 2007 the European Union (EU) has applied an EU-
wide policy directing its member states to implement minimum legal sanctions for
environmental crimes, possibly increasing the number of cases going to trial. More-
over, after the mid-2000s changes in national and European laws meant that the
criminal justice system had improved possibilities to prosecute EWC. At the
national level, the strict requirement to prove that an injury or threat was caused by
EWC was alleviated; thus, more cases can potentially be prosecuted.
Compared with other countries, in Sweden an issue that may have an impact on
EWC levels is the “right of public access” (allemansrdtt) to nature. AllemansrGtt is
the right everyone has to use others’ property, land, and water, mainly by traveling
across them on foot or by residing there for a short time. This right is limited and
also implies that the public must respect rights that affect one’s domestic peace
and/or economic interests. The law is violated when a person unlawfully intrudes
or remains where another person has his residence (hem/fridsbrott), or when a
person accesses places using motorized vehicles. It is forbidden to drive vehicles
on bare ground or on private roads (Naturvardsverket, 2011). Although hemfrids-
brott is not an EWC, it indicates the uncertainties of interpreting an individual’s
right to use private property as a public good, including its natural resources.
Spatial patterns of EWC in Sweden
Some parts of the country report more EWCs than others, and the types of EWC
differ from place to place within municipalities. Although the majority of
recorded crimes took place outside the largest Swedish urban areas, a large pro-
portion of those crimes was registered in municipalities classified as accessible
rural. Different types of EWCs show different geographies (Figure 8.5).
Farm, environmental and wildlife 181
507 47 47
54 33 «34
3
3
24
254 24
2
,
20
0 19 18
Percentage of EWC
Urban Accessible rural Remote rural
@ Serious EWC O Minor EWC and others HJ Chemical EWC @ Nature and wildlife crimes
Figure 8.5 Percentage of EWCs in Sweden by type of municipality, 2000-2011 (data
source: police records, 2000-2011).
EWCs registered by the police increased when media coverage increased, or
vice versa. In fact, the focus of media coverage in certain cases led to thorough
investigations by the police. Municipalities with high-profile media coverage of
EWC have a medium to high level of police cases. Although the media rarely help
detection of EWCs, it still plays an important role in general public awareness of
the potential problem. In Sweden, the media focuses on describing the early stages
of crime detection (whether or not a crime has occurred) and on the outcome
(amount of fines). Little is reported by the media during the investigation and trial.
It is unknown whether certain cases never reach court because of external pressure
that those involved may be exposed to when investigating EWC.
Serious EWCs are often found in accessible rural municipalities within the
urban triangle of Malm6—Gothenburg-—Stockholm and in larger municipalities in
the north, while minor EWCs are recorded in smaller rural municipalities,
mainly in the central and northern regions of Sweden. This serious-to-minor
EWC geographical pattern is reflected, to some extent, in the print media. Media
coverage of wildlife crimes occurs only in rural areas, which is understandable
considering the type of crime, the greater possibility for hunting and accessing
nature, and local public interest in their immediate, natural surroundings. Details
of the geography of EWC are discussed later in this chapter.
The nature of EWCs covered by media and of EWCs reported to the police is
slightly different but reflects the same scenario. The category that has increased
the most in police records since 2000 is serious EWCs. Although official police
statistics of serious EWCs cannot be broken down by type (air, water, and soil
pollution), newspaper articles show a larger proportion of and increase in water
pollution cases compared to soil and air pollution cases. Newspaper articles
182. Crime ina rural context
dealing with water pollution are normally related to oil spills from ships in
harbors or from factories close to rivers or lakes, as well as intentional dumping
of materials, such as oil or other chemicals. Articles on soil pollution are related
to soil being polluted by leakage of chemicals or biohazardous materials.
According to the Naturvardsverket (2014), more than 1,000 areas in the country
have the highest environmental risk, including old factories, abandoned indus-
trial sites, and chemical cleaners.
Crimes against wildlife also involve trade in endangered species. Endangered
animals and plants are in demand for all sorts of purposes, both alive and dead.
Korsell and Hagstedt (2008) suggest that there are also local species that are endan-
gered and therefore protected by law. Such species include bears and all orchid
species and can be a target of this type of crime. Endangered species are sometimes
sold by legal businesses, and often those who buy them are not aware of the legal
protection of the species. Korsell and Hagstedt note that this type of crime is not
only about smuggling but also generates a number of collateral crimes and risks,
including animal cruelty, contamination, and invasive species that pose a threat to
Swedish animals and plants. The report also shows that this type of crime con-
tinues unnoticed, because agencies are not doing enough to detect these crimes. For
instance, in 2006, police and customs in Sweden carried out 38 seizures of endan-
gered species, compared to 163,000 seizures in the United Kingdom. The authors
also suggest that behind every case of illegal trade in endangered animals, there is
a hunting offense. For instance, there is great demand for bear bile and, to some
extent, lynx fur, two species found in Sweden. Such demand may give rise to
illegal hunting, though most hunting offenses, found in official records, are com-
mitted by an individual infringing hunting quotas.
In Sweden, as in the United Kingdom (e.g., Marshall & Johnson, 2005), some
animals have been hunted for centuries. In Sweden, the risk of overpopulation of
certain species makes hunting not only acceptable but also encouraged. These
animals include moose, certain types of foxes, hares, rabbits, beavers, magpies,
and other types of birds, such as geese and crows. Although a large majority of
hunters in Sweden are affiliated with the Swedish Association for Hunting and
Wildlife Management, which defines hunting standards (e.g., methods, territory,
weapons, proficiency, and hunting season), crime against wildlife does happen.
For example, the start and duration of the season for a particular species varies
geographically; moose hunting in southern and central Sweden is allowed for
two months, while in certain small geographic areas it is only allowed for a few
days. According to statistics from the National Crime Prevention Council
reported in a monthly journal for forestry and agriculture (Skogsaktuellt, 2012),
612 violations of the Hunting Act were recorded in 2012, compared with 473
reported crimes in 2007, when environmental legislation was amended. The
strongest growth was witnessed in S6dermanland and Skane counties, but viola-
tions decreased in northern Sweden, such as in Norrbotten County. The percent-
age of solved crimes during the same period was relatively stable at around 10
percent. The low risk of detection is the main cause of this development, accord-
ing to the National Police Board.
Farm, environmental and wildlife 183
Littering and other minor EWCs account for the second largest share of
offenses in the police statistics and media coverage. This category is dominated
by disposal of garbage in forests and on the outskirts of main urban areas; these
offenses tend to be registered close to roads, too. In police records, the category
“waste dumping and other minor crimes” includes burning of materials and
dumping of materials (e.g., batteries), waste, and old cars. As examples, Figure
8.6 shows the geography of waste and garbage dumping in V4sternorrland
County, and Figure 8.7a shows vehicles abandoned in a forest, one destroyed
by fire.
Levels of littering and garbage dumping are potentially associated with
garbage collection fees. Nationwide, the difference in garbage collection fees
among municipalities is SEK25,003 per year, according to the Swedish Home-
owners Association’s 2012 survey. Thus, it could be that individuals living in
municipalities with high fees for garbage collection would be more motivated to
burn furniture and dump waste than individuals living where garbage collection
is cheap. The difference between the cheapest municipal fee and the fee paid by
homeowners in the rural county of Vasternorrland, for example, is about
SEK800, whereas the fee in Vasternorrland is one-third less than the fee charged
in the most expensive Swedish municipalities (Swedish Homeowners Associ-
ation, 2012).
However, Ceccato and Uittenbogaard (2013) find no significant correlation
between high fees for garbage collection and high levels of waste dumping either
*
* A « Omskékdsvik
% \ *
ty biases ae
* Solleftea a
x a
Ng dy Ok
* * Rae ‘
*
* Os *Kramiors N
rs Sal ;
* Mo Harnosand
* *
Ange RS a LE * EWC
aoe. \, \ : A .
we AE as ee Sundsvall Waste/garbage dumping
x *
ere, * 4 om=15 km
Figure 8.6 Types of environmental and wildlife crimes in Vasternorrland County, Sweden
(data source: police records 2005—2008).
(b)
Figure 8.7 (a) Cars dumped in forest, (b) oil leak from an industrial area, (c) heavy metal
contamination, and (d) illegal hunting (photographs: Sundin, 2011; Eklund,
2014; Bjérkland, 2013; APU, 2012).
(d)
Figure 8.7 Continued.
186 Crime ina rural context
for the whole of Sweden or for the rural municipalities. This relationship is more
complex than expected: a bit more than one-third of rural municipalities show
high levels of waste dumping (including serious cases) and expensive garbage
fees. They are mainly in the south and on the west coast of the Skane region and
on the east coast close to Stockholm, with some located in central Sweden.
Those municipalities that show low garbage collection fees and low waste
dumping are often in smaller southern rural municipalities, with short commut-
ing distances between them. Coastal municipalities, especially those that receive
many summer tourists, tend to show high levels of waste dumping despite
having low garbage collection fees. At the same time, small municipalities in
northern Sweden tend to have high waste collection fees, though the fees do not
appear to influence the level of waste dumping or at least it is not detected.
The increase of vehicle dumping in nearby forests is said to be associated
with the lack of incentive for car owners to take their cars to a junkyard. Instead,
many vehicles end up in the woods or even out on the street. The government
incentive expired in the 2010s. In a case of abandonment, the owner is informed
about the car and is invited to collect it, but they rarely do. Taxpayers currently
cover the cost of vehicle salvage, and local authorities have to spend resources to
administer the process. For example, in Solleftea municipality alone, the police
take care of 30 to 40 cars a year, according to the local newspaper (Sundin,
2011).
People’s routine activities and spatial awareness of their environment are
important to EWC detection in rural areas. The detection of these crimes depends
on the accessibility of the area by road or river or through an urbanized area.
Figure 8.6 shows that in Vasternorrland county 75 percent of police-recorded
environmental and wildlife offenses were located less than 2km away from a
road. Garbage dumping is particularly noticeable due to its visibility from roads
and in the outskirts of urban areas, as indicated by triangles in Figure 8.6.
According to BRA (2006), it is often the general public or individual citizens
who detect crimes that are visible in nature, such as garbage dumping, old
vehicles, waste found in nature, or oil spills in water areas. Recorded cases
depend on detection, and detection is based on what people witness as they go
about their daily activities.
EWC records of unlawful handling of chemicals present a concentrated
pattern in rural areas spread out over the country that often include a medium-
size city, which indicates some relation to factories and/or industries working
with chemicals. The Coast Guard Authority has invested substantial resources in
detecting the discharge of oil, which could also lead to improved crime detection
and an increase in the number of police records. However, rarely does a com-
plaint lead to indictment and prosecution. The data from 2004 shows that, out of
3,509 reported crimes, only 267 resulted in indictments, 177 reached trial, and
107 resulted in a final judgment. Of these cases, no one went to prison; all sen-
tences were suspended or fines imposed (BRA, 2006).
During recent decades, new environmental laws have stipulated action against
crimes against nature that are contrary to the way natural resources have
Farm, environmental and wildlife 187
traditionally been exploited in certain areas. At the same time, as Jarell (2009)
suggests, EWCs are often put aside as a “cost of doing business.” Some cases
may even be covered up or minimally reported to defend the local economy.
However, in daily practice the dilemma of choosing between economic and
environmental sustainability of these areas makes the situation more difficult to
judge. For example, the economies of many municipalities in northern Sweden
depend on mining, an activity that has long been in conflict with other traditional
economic activities. Mining in particular affects the environment in two ways:
directly, when chemicals are spilled into the environment above the limits
allowed, and indirectly, when grazing land for reindeer, for instance, is restricted
by the expansion of mining activities. Current conflicts in northern Sweden
between locals and mining companies have reached the national news (Blume,
2013), revealing a fragile protection of wildlife and of traditional reindeer
grazing activities in this part of the country. For certain groups, reindeer hus-
bandry has been practiced for generations and is regarded as part of the social,
economic, and environmental sustainability of these municipalities.
In northern Sweden, the mining companies challenge the boundaries of
environmental crime laws and take advantage of a faulty criminal system that
does not provide evidence of EWC at early stages of the process. In Vasterbotten
County, for example, for some time environmentally hazardous emissions by the
majority of Swedish mining companies have been higher than permitted,
reported often by the media (Figure 8.7c). In several cases, the levels are far
above the limit deemed acutely harmful to animals and plants. Experts inter-
viewed by Swedish broadcasting (SVT Vasterbotten, quoted by Klefbom, 2010)
provide several examples that the companies continue doing business as usual.
A mining company in VAsterbotten dumped 1,700kg of zinc in rivers in
2010, three times more than allowed. Another mining company was charged
with high dust emissions in 2004 but was acquitted in the Court of Appeal.
The contract is too vague to have legal substance and win convictions.
In Maurliden outside Skelleftea, police reported a discharge in 2002, but the
investigation was closed because the police did not investigate it properly.
Another mine contaminated a pond near Gillivare, but the prosecutor found
no entity responsible for the spill.
Some municipalities try to deal with the problem as part of their daily challenges
but in a long-term perspective, as suggested by a representative of a crime pre-
vention group.
What we have here are “old sins.” We are fighting with an old paper mill
[here] but also with “old sins” at the harbor that we are trying to solve. We
had a huge flood here almost 10 years ago, and that is something everybody
remembers.
(Politician, Southern Sweden)
188 Crime ina rural context
Newspaper articles similarly focus on unlawful handling of chemicals in soil and
water.
In May 2008, employees leaked 200 liters of a solution with organic com-
pounds into the wild. The chemical spill could be detected and sanitized.
Only a small amount has reached outside the factory area, and no significant
damage was found.
(Local newspaper, northern Sweden, 2010)
Sweden has a long coast and many rivers and lakes. Environmental crimes
related to illegal construction and water-resource management close to these
bodies of water have been registered (see example in Figure 8.7b). Media reports
show that both individuals and construction companies are common offenders.
Some are multiple offenders, as in the case below.
In 2009, a man was convicted when contaminated water from a construction
site was pumped into a lake which is a source of drinking water. He has
done it again. He built his house by the lake without planning permission.
His punishment was limited to a fine of SEK90,000.
(Local newspaper, central Sweden, 2012)
According to BRA’s report, this is a common problem that causes serious
damage to Sweden’s coastal ecosystem (BRA, 2006, pp. 32-34). It is unclear
how municipalities deal with their double role, as they have a monopoly over the
decision to approve building permits for new construction at the same time that
they also constitute the most important authority in detecting EWC.
Another important issue identified when evaluating media articles on EWC
was the lack of skills among those involved in collecting and assessing evidence
during the investigation of environmental damage. This turns out to be an obs-
tacle to conviction. Lack of evidence at late stages of the process often lead to
the acquittal of the offender or, as described in the case below, to a conviction
on a minor offense.
An entrepreneur in X municipality was convicted of littering. His company
entered bankruptcy not long after the municipal environmental authorities
discovered the trash.... The accused entrepreneur was not convicted of
environmental crime, instead, he was convicted of littering, and his punish-
ment was limited to a fine of 80 dagsbéter.'
(Local newspaper, northern Sweden, 2010)
This is also the case of Swedish mining companies that exceed their emission
limits but are not sentenced for environmental crimes. According to an investi-
gation carried out in Vasterbotten County and reported by Klefbom (2010), the
evidence is not sufficient to win a conviction. Swedish Television in Vasterbotten
has examined legal cases of emissions from Swedish mining companies in the
Farm, environmental and wildlife 189
past decade. Since 2010, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Natur-
vardsverket) has worked with the environmental courts to tighten conditions so
that it is easier to bring these cases to trial.
Yet, mining companies are still freed from the charges. As late as June 2013,
a mining company was accused of having discharged far more heavy metals than
allowed by law. At its peak, the company discharged 18 times more arsenic than
the state allows, and zinc and nickel concentrations have been about 10 times
higher than the allowed quantities (see Bjorkland, 2013). Unfortunately, one
month later, the same newspaper reported that the mining company was acquit-
ted by a court of the suspected environmental crimes. According to the pro-
secutor, the damage would go far beyond the mining area. However, the district
court upheld that the discharge went to a clarification pond that belongs to the
mining concession area. The prosecutor asked the company to pay a corporate
fine, but the district court did not agree that mine employees were guilty of
environmental offenses and the company went free.
Concluding remarks
There is an overall lack of interest in the criminological literature for both farm
crime and crimes against the environment and wildlife as criminal offenses. There
are numerous reasons for this disinterest. Although they might have an impact that
affects society as a whole, these crimes are often considered minor or lacking a
victim (such as in a case of harm against nature). As they happen far from metro-
politan areas and large cities, they do not usually interest the mainstream media or,
if they do, they are often considered less important than big city crimes, such as
violent offenses. The academic disinterest in this topic is partially related to the
lack of systematic data and availability of knowledge on these offenses from offi-
cial sources. For instance, police records on thefts or narcotics cannot be broken
down by type. For environmental crime, the situation is even more complicated.
Even when they are detected, those responsible are rarely prosecuted. This chapter
has shown that there are major difficulties in detecting and prosecuting these
offenses. Farm crimes and crimes against nature are important aspects of safety in
rural communities and require further attention from academics as well as from
rural policy makers and practitioners devoted to rural development.
As many as three out of 10 farmers or their properties have been victims of
crime in the past two years. Farmers have been victimized mostly by theft of diesel
and other fuels, machinery, and tools as well as by different types of fraud. Half of
those who have been victims of crime were targeted two or more times, indicating
that in the case of theft, criminals may come back to steal what was left. Farmers in
the south have been exposed to crime two or more times more than the national
average, but there are differences by type of crime. According to several sources,
theft of fuel is slightly higher in northern Sweden than in the south. Some of these
crimes are never reported. Therefore in the future, victimization surveys should
incorporate questions that are more appropriate for rural areas, with samples that
allow meaningful analysis across rural municipalities and regions.
190 Crime ina rural context
As with most crimes, farm crimes depend on the circumstances. The geo-
graphy of farm crime greatly reflects the opportunities for crime, accessibility to
targets, and poor guardianship. Larger properties are more certain attractors than
smaller ones, as they often have more locations to steal from, and if they are
fairly accessible they make the right target if nobody is around, such as in remote
areas and accessible rural areas. A remaining question for future research is the
assessment of how seasons regulate the flow of people, activities, and con-
sequently crime. Hypothetically rural areas at border regions would be more
exposed to crime than elsewhere because of in- and outflow of people and goods.
The relative location of the municipalities in relation to big roads or railways is
expected to have an effect in farm and EWC crime.
International evidence based on urban environments suggests that the
majority of offenders commit a crime close to where they live (for a review see
Ceccato and Dolmén, 2011), which could for most crime types be an area
smaller than municipal boundaries. There has been a myth in rural areas that
most crimes are committed by individuals that do not live locally (the idea that
“naughty kids come always from neighboring communities” or media articles
showing plenty of examples when foreign temporary workers are blamed by acts
of crime). Future research should make use a combination of data on the location
of offenses, offenders, and victims (or targets) to assess whether farm crime is
committed by people living locally or by those traveling to such municipalities
for the purpose of crime or staying there temporarily.
Findings also show that despite community efforts to deal with farm crime,
victimization has not decreased. A systematic analysis of interventions targeting
crime in rural areas should allow identification of actions, technologies, and pre-
ventive programs that work. The use of technology, such as CCTV cameras
should be properly assessed, as well as the implementation of programs that can
use social media to prevent these crimes. Chapter 12 will illustrate such inter-
ventions in Swedish rural areas.
Compared with the United States or Australia, in Sweden drug production
attracts less attention than farm crime does. According to police records, drug
production in Sweden tends to be concentrated in rural areas. Media articles
report cases of cannabis cultivation in apartments and cellars but also on
farms in southern Sweden. Production of synthetic cannabis has also been
reported in northern Sweden. However it is unclear how these reports relate
to levels of drug addiction, and much less is known about the type of users
and potential dealers in the rural context. Future studies should investigate
the existence of a demand for drugs in rural contexts among youth that seem
to be both producers and users of popular synthetic drugs. The relationship
between alcohol and drug consumption should be further investigated in a
broad social and cultural context of rural communities. There are reasons to
believe that, in certain rural contexts, there is an acceptance of both alcohol
and narcotic use.
The Swedish case reveals that regardless of long distances, ICT surmounts
the physical barriers of communication and increases the risk for crime, at
Farm, environmental and wildlife 191
least for some types of crime. Fraud over the Internet and telephone are
common types of crimes that farmers often fall as victims. Further investiga-
tion based on the profile of victims of fraud in rural areas may shed light on
why farmers often become vulnerable to this type of crime. Note that many
Swedish rural communities have an overrepresentation of elderly, a group
that are often targeted by telephone calls from strangers, some leading to
fraud.
This chapter also provides a glimpse of EWC in Sweden. Police records
and newspaper articles indicate an increase in EWC recorded by the police as
well as by media coverage in the past decade. It is important to note that
before 2007 only crimes with a suspect were recorded by the police. This
explains in part the rise between 2006 and 2007, for example. Although
crimes against the environment and wildlife are rural phenomena, the geo-
graphy of EWC varies by crime type. The proportion of serious EWC, unlaw-
ful use of chemicals, and crimes related to nature and wildlife is similar in
both urban and accessible rural municipalities. Urban and accessible rural
municipalities also show high numbers of minor EWC reported, such as litter-
ing, garbage dumping, and illegal waste transportation. Remote rural muni-
cipalities have a significantly high percentage of chemical environmental
crimes, comprising unlawful handling of chemicals, disruption of control, and
disregard of regulations and permits for the use of chemical components. A
slightly higher percentage of crimes against the protection of nature and wild-
life (animal abuse and illegal animal possession as well as disregard of pro-
tected species) is also recorded in remote rural municipalities than in
accessible and urban municipalities. It is essential to investigate how much
each municipality, county, and state authority spends on detecting EWC.
Previous research has shown that the number of inspectors plays an important
role in EWC detection. Environmental inspectors are a factor of interest,
because they are the main actors in the detection of the crime. Future studies
should also assess how inspectors’ professional profiles, skills, and experi-
ence in the field impact EWC detection.
This chapter shows only what has happened within national boundaries.
There seems to be consensus that future research should focus on cross-border
trafficking of waste as well as of endangered species of plants and animals, an
apparently lucrative business. As previously mentioned, this type of crime con-
tinues unnoticed, because agencies are not doing enough to detect the crime.
Environmental inspectors are overloaded by domestic cases. Little is known
about their nature and whether they may generate a number of other crimes and
risks, including animal cruelty, or pose a threat to native animals and plants.
There is little empirical evidence on this from Sweden or elsewhere in the liter-
ature. What exists is still based on received knowledge and anecdotes in the
media that do not hold up under the scrutiny of a systematic analysis. Thus, more
research is needed.
192 Crime ina rural context
Note
1 Dagsbéter is a fine based on the income of a person found guilty of a crime. The fine is
expressed as a particular number of days, depending on the penalty for the crime, based
on severity or culpability, and an estimate of the person’s daily income. Thus two
people can be convicted of the same crime and be fined for the same number of “days”
but pay different fines because they have different incomes. Dagshéter differs from
fines of a fixed monetary amount. The number of depends on the severity of the crime,
from a low of 30, to a maximum of 150 dagsbdter. These fines are common in coun-
tries such as Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Germany (Wikipedia, 2014).
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9 Youth in rural areas
Young people are vital for any type of society — but certainly more important for
rural communities as their future depends on them. If young people cannot con-
tinue living in these communities, the demand for services and other types of
consumption decreases, and consequently the community breaks down. Para-
doxically, young people are far too often seen as a source of local problems.
This chapter attempts to characterize both sides of this coin using available offi-
cial statistics. It starts with demographic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle differ-
ences among young individuals in Sweden as background for understanding
regional differences in offending and victimization among youth. This is fol-
lowed by a discussion of factors associated with youth crime and victimization
in rural areas; apparently they are similar to those in urban areas. As much as
possible, the Swedish case is compared with the international literature, often
from examples coming from British and North American research. The systemic
nature of criminogenic conditions that is relevant for small municipalities in
Sweden is exemplified here by two phenomena.
i The south is home to domestic criminal motorcycle groups that have con-
firmed links to a number of criminal activities. The impact of these organ-
izations and their networks of influence in rural areas opens up for
controversy as younger members may belong to the community.
iit Young people flow into Sweden after being recruited in their home towns,
outside Sweden. The rural-urban link is illustrated by tracing individuals’
journeys from regions in the Baltic countries to urban Sweden. Thus, young
people become cross-border commodities and are often forced to engage in
activities orchestrated by grounds that look like criminal networks.
The chapter concludes with a summary of the specificities of the Swedish case.
Youth in Swedish rural areas
In Sweden, the exodus of young people from rural areas to larger urban centers
is nothing new, but after decades of relative population stability, the 1990s and
particularly 2000s saw new waves of population concentration in Sweden. The
Youth-related crimes 197
country has the strongest trend of urbanization since 2005 in Europe, and young
individuals have historically made up a significant share of this inflow to urban
centers. Urbanization means that mid-sized and big cities are growing not prim-
arily because people are coming from the countryside, but because the cities are
receiving higher immigration from abroad and, for some, have a positive net
birth rate (Orstadius, 2014). This development is not geographically homogen-
eous. Nowadays 141 of the 290 municipalities are experiencing a decline in
population. The city regions and their hinterlands are growing, while rural and
peripheral areas end up generally losing population (Amcoff & Westholm, 2007;
Magnusson & Turner, 2000).
Youth concentrates in big cities: only 22 percent of the rural population is
composed of children and adolescents (Karlsson, 2012). The population struc-
ture in municipalities outside Sweden’s major cities can be described as fairly
representative of the entire country. During the past 40 years, the proportion of
children and adolescents has decreased, while the proportion aged 65 and over
(especially women) has increased (Karlsson, 2012). If current trends persist, in
the future several local rural municipalities will fail to offer citizens the vital ser-
vices the community needs, including basic services.
Population shifts, particularly of young people, affect density of acquaintance-
ship, that is, the degree to which members of the community know each other
(Weisheit & Donnermeyer, 2000). If people move out, such social ties are broken
and may generate socioeconomic instability and “normlessness” (e.g., Kaylen &
Pridemore, 2011; Kim & Pridemore, 2005). Changes in residence also mean that
young people’s daily routines are altered (e.g., longer commutes between residence
and workplace), hypothetically putting them at a higher risk of becoming a crime
victim than they may have been previously. The situation becomes particularly
problematic for young people living in rural areas that have long distances to major
labor market areas. Without access to private motor vehicles, public transportation
may also be a limiting factor, as buses or trains may not operate frequently on
limited geographical routes (Ceccato & Dolmén, 2011).
Other effects on community life may occur when emigration is selective (age,
gender, and education related), often leaving behind the poorly educated elderly
— and males. In countries like Sweden and Australia, women more often are the
ones that leave for study and work. Barclay, Hogg, and Scott (2007) suggest that
instead of being a matter of choice, the decision to leave reflects limited eco-
nomic and cultural opportunities available to young women in many rural com-
munities. Nilsson (2013) shows that in 2012, 44 percent of people aged 24 years
old started a college education, but there are large differences between urban and
tural municipalities. More than three-quarters of youth in the metropolitan area
go to university, while less than one-fifth does in the sparsely populated rural
municipalities. There are also gender differences by type of municipality. The
greatest difference between the sexes is found in rural municipalities: 21 per-
centage points between the proportion of men and women who go to university.
In municipalities in sparsely populated regions and manufacturing municipal-
ities, too, the differences are relatively large. The smallest difference between
198 Crime ina rural context
females and males that go to university is found in big cities, such as Stockholm
and Gothenburg, with 13 percentage points. In the tourism-intensive municipal-
ities close to major cities, the differences are also relatively small. Attainment of
college education strongly correlates with the educational level of the parents
and the likelihood of further study.
Not only women but young people in general may feel alienated from main-
stream values in rural areas, undervalued and under supported (Barclay et al.,
2007). In Sweden, not all young people want to move to the cities but many still
“jump ship” for big cities. Knape and Strémback (2012) report young people’s
expectations about the future in Sweden. Using the text of 500 letters from sec-
ondary school students from north to south municipalities in Sweden, the
material was later published by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities
and Regions (SKL). The message is clear: many youngsters would prefer to stay
where they live now. Knape and Strémback (2012) exemplify the motivation of
a youngster in northern Sweden.
Norrland is an obvious option for me because I would like to see children grow
up without the stress in the South. They should have the forest and nature
around the corner. The fantastic air in Norrland is not harmful to anyone.
(Notes from a student from Arjeplog)
So why are so many leaving? Young people describe their lack of choices by
raising a number of issues that flag for the root for the problems. Young people
from rural municipalities were invited to point out what was needed for them to
stay and, for those who had already left, to return to their home villages. Box 9.1
summarizes the list (Knape & Strémbiack, 2012).
Box 9.1 Youth’s wish list for remaining in rural areas
1 More jobs for young people. A good job is the most common dream for the
future.
2 Housing that fills the needs of young people at reasonable rents. This is
important to those who have already moved away and face problems finding
affordable housing in larger cities.
3 Better schools. Young people want a choice of secondary schools in their
locality.
4 Opportunity of living an environmentally friendly life. These include con-
venient public transport, safe bike lanes, electric cars, local food, and altern-
ative energy sources.
5 Having an attractive community. Creating features that can become a
tourist attraction and that they can be proud of, such as a “cool building,”
sculptures, or a park.
6 More meeting places for young people. Creating a culture of acceptance of
young people and their leisure needs.
7 Good and accessible healthcare.
Youth-related crimes 199
This “wish list” contains an explicit call for the basics of a rural community
(e.g., school, housing, healthcare) as well as an implicit request for better under-
standing of youth’s needs and lifestyle (e.g., meeting places, environmentally
friendly lifestyle, attractive landscape). In small municipalities, many services
have already been closed down or merged with other community functions. As
young people move out, schools may be obliged to close, too. In other cases,
secondary education cannot be offered in the local community because there are
too few students. Moreover, some mid-sized cities receive a net influx of young
people, who may face a housing deficit or rental prices not affordable by the
young because of high demand. Similar expectations are found elsewhere
(Barclay et al., 2007; Donnermeyer, Jobes, & Barclay, 2006; Woods, 2011).
Meeting places, such as community centers or local youth associations for the
young in rural areas may be the only adult-free zones in the community. When
they are not open, or when social belonging is denied in certain places, the local
pizzeria or gas station may become the gathering place. Harsh winters impose a
number of limitations on “just hanging around” with friends in public places.
Still, public places such as in interstitial spaces between commercial areas,
parks, and school grounds are places where young people are visible. What is an
inoffensive youth gathering to most locals can be a source of discontentment to
others. In worse cases, they are labeled “the source of the problem” and a symbol
of disorder in the local community. Barclay et al. (2007, p. 107) provide exam-
ples of when youth are considered trouble in rural Australia, as they may be
noisy and have high visibility in public places. The authors point out that young
people’s visibility and behavior (running, yelling, skateboarding, or bicycling)
make them an unwelcome group whether or not they break the law. This puts
them in the spotlight but not always in a positive way. Many young people may
feel they do not belong, as they are not supported and valued as a group. Youth
may perceive safety walks and other safety interventions as intrusive (for details
see Chapter 13).
Rye (2006) suggests that although young people’s vocabulary for describing
their rural environments (in Norway) echoes that of adults, the literature sug-
gests that young people are less likely to subscribe to the idyllic version of rural-
ity. In particular, they seem to emphasize the narrower range of opportunities in
rural areas, particularly those related to the limited range of public and private
services, especially with respect to leisure and entertainment. In Sweden, Pet-
tersson (2013) indicates a “love-hate relationship” between youth and their rural
community, even for those who have already left. The author shows examples of
how rural areas can exert a pull effect on young people and, at the same time,
how they push them away, lacking attractive qualities.
Life opportunities for those who remain in rural areas are shaped by overall
societal contexts that, despite variation over time and space, still reproduce
known patterns of choices for family and friends. For some, the prospect of not
being able to break out of their parents’ patterns is a motivation to leave the
countryside. In an ethnographic study, Jonsson (2010) attempted to interpret
the everyday lives of some young people and their notions about the future when
200 Crime ina rural context
the survival of rural communities is at risk as a result of the shift from a welfare
model to a market-oriented one. The author found that despite differences such
as gender and resources, in most cases, youth who remain tend to follow their
parents’ paths in terms of jobs and lifestyle. This is not to say that the values of
young people in rural areas are not constantly changing, quite the opposite.
Woods (2011) shows through examples that youth identify formation in rural
areas is a complex process that involves in some cases behavior conformity but
also testing the boundaries of expected behaviors.
Some changes in values favor rural living, while other changes challenge
the rural community. With the emergence of information and communication
technology (ICT), for instance, new ways of communication and socialization
provide a range of new opportunities in jobs and leisure but at the same time
impose challenges to the traditional schemes of social life in rural areas. Some
examples are sports and leisure associations. Sandberg (2012) shows, for
instance, how Swedish sports associations in rural areas are affected by recent
changes in society and struggle to remain alive. Sports associations are experi-
encing severe problems in the recruitment of new members, volunteer train-
ers, and board members. According to the author, the shift in societal values
has affected people’s attitudes toward local associations, forcing the associ-
ations to become more market-oriented and adapt their activities to the short-
term demands of certain target groups. The study also shows an ongoing
conflict between urban and rural associations which in particular concerns the
allocation of resources and other political priorities, where rural areas are
often the losers.
Youth health and mortality in rural and urban areas
Children’s and young people’s health and socioeconomic conditions in Sweden
are good, even compared to other welfare countries. Sweden — with the other
Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands — is among the countries where eco-
nomic vulnerability of families with children is least extensive (Biterman, 2013).
In an era of remote communication, Swedish kids and teenagers have no problem
accessing the Internet and the like regardless of where they reside in the country.
How is Sweden doing in other dimensions of quality of life?
Sweden is not as much in the forefront in terms of the older kids as it is for chil-
dren. Symptoms on reduced mental wellbeing are more common among Swedish
15-year-olds than in other European countries. Drug use is less common among
Swedish youngsters, while alcohol consumption is at an average European level
(Biterman, 2013). There are regional differences in consumption of alcohol,
tobacco, and drugs, and trends in consumption vary also by drug type (CAN,
2013). There has been a decrease in youth offending and victimization in recent
decades but not homogeneously across the country, and it is rarely related to poor
socioeconomic conditions alone (Backman, Estrada, Nilsson, & Shannon, 2013).
Symptoms of worry and anxiety among young people have increased since the
1980s regardless of their origins, family circumstances, socioeconomic situation,
Youth-related crimes 201
employment, or social status. The larger the city, the higher the proportion of
young people suffering from symptoms of anxiety and worry (Figure 9.1).
Young women in rural areas have fewer psychological problems than those
living in larger cities. However, for young people who live in small towns the
risk of dying in a car accident is several times higher than the risk for young
people who live in the three metropolitan areas of Stockholm, Gothenburg, or
Malm.
It is unknown whether mental health affects the mortality of young people in
rural areas. What is known is that, between the ages of 15 and 24, young men
are more than twice as likely to die as young women are. Although not broken
down into rural and urban, data show that in 2011, 136 women and 316 men
died aged 15-24 years. The reason for this was that accidents and suicides are
more common among young men. Since the early 1990s, suicides have declined
in all age groups except 15-24, where suicide has become somewhat more
common. Death by alcohol consumption, which in this age usually involves
acute alcohol poisoning, has been higher among young men in the 2000s than in
the 1990s (Socialstyrelsen, 2013). International literature suggests that in many
cases the suicide of a young adult living in a rural setting can be attributed to
drug and alcohol use (see e.g., Barclay et al., 2007).
355
Female 1980s
30. HH Male 1980s
Female 2000s
254 WB Male 2000s
se
n
ZS 204
(eo)
G
3
q 155
T
2
10+
54
0 a
Metropolitan areas Middle size Rural municipalities
and big cities municipalities
Figure 9.1 Percentage of people who reported mild or severe symptoms of anxiety or
anxiety by gender, aged 16-24 (data source: Socialstyrelsen, 2009, p. 83).
Notes
Averages for the years 1988/1989 and 2004/2005. Metropolitan areas=big cities, suburban municipal-
ities, larger cities, and commute municipalities; middle size municipalities=manufacturing municipalities
and other municipalities, more than 25,000 inhabitants; rural municipalities=sparsely populated municip-
alities (less than 7 residents/km* and fewer than 20,000 inhabitants) and other smaller municipalities.
202 Crime in a rural context
Youth jobs, unemployment, and “no-job-no-education”
Counties in Sweden with large portions of rural population tend to have a
slightly larger share of youth without employment, education, or in training
(around 13 percent) than those with large urban areas (around 9 percent), such as
Stockholm. Sweden tends to have higher youth unemployment than the average
for European countries among younger adolescents: the unemployment rate was
34.3 percent among persons aged 15-19, while it was 18.0 percent among 20-24
year olds. Note that unemployment rates include those in education or seeking
jobs (Broman & Samuelsson, 2013).
A relatively large proportion of young people in the labor force commute to
neighboring countries such as Denmark or Norway to work. Men commute more
often than women, but up to 24 years, women make up the majority. In 10 years,
the number of cross-border commuters from Sweden to Denmark and Norway
more than doubled. Above all, Norway attracts young Swedes, and cross-border
commuting is especially prevalent among young people aged 16-29 (Hanaeus &
Wahlstrém, 2014). For many young people, this is an opportunity to have a
break after high school studies and to earn money to travel abroad before pursu-
ing higher education. In both Norway and Denmark, the wage levels are higher
than in Sweden, which also attracts workers.
Youth leisure and ICT use in rural areas
Recreational activities play important functions in people’s lives. This is particu-
larly true for those who live in rural communities where activities are limited in
comparison with urban areas. For young people, leisure and sport centers may be
the only parent-free zones available to them. The local pub, news agent, and pizze-
ria as well as the local hotel or gas station are also meeting places for youth.
Leisure in rural areas fills another important role. Leisure activities demand profes-
sionals in the local community, either paid employees or volunteers, such as sports
coaches, trainers, temporary staff, and field workers. Although controversial, rec-
reational activity centers are also said to have a preventative effect against crime.
In Sweden, leisure for young people is closely associated with various sports
activities as well as the use of computers (e.g., playing games) and the Internet
(e.g., social media). For young women, book reading is also a relatively common
activity (SCB, 2009). Regional differences are apparent in recreational activities.
Fishing and hunting are common leisure activities in rural Sweden, as would be
expected. Recreational fishing is a distinctly male activity, and differences between
men and women increase with exercise frequency. Among young women, the
lower percentage of women fishing (19 percent) can partially be explained by
factors related to family formation, which may also apply to many other recrea-
tional activities (SCB, 2009).
Regardless of location in the country, the Internet is the most important news
source among young people, according to Findahl (2013). Based on a national
Internet users’ survey, the author also reports that one-third of young people’s
Youth-related crimes 203
Internet time is spent on social networks in Sweden. More people in the city than
in the countryside use a tablet. Among the overall population, the city and the
countryside show no significant difference when it comes to the use of the Inter-
net (89 and 88 percent, respectively) and mobile phone (95 percent). On the
other hand, more people have smartphones in cities (71 percent) than in rural
areas (61 percent), and use it for a longer time (6.8 hours a week versus 5.7
hours). Most have access to broadband in both the city and countryside, but, as
might be expected, more people are without broadband in rural than in urban
areas: 6 and 4 percent, respectively.
In a study about young people’s activities in two rural areas in Sweden, Berg
and Holm (2004) found gender differences regarding computer game use, in par-
ticular, and in areas such as movies (thrillers for boys and comedies for girls)
differences between boys and girls in the city and in the countryside. Young
people at risk are extra vulnerable to media exposure in rural areas, as they may
be isolated from mainstream community activities. As the authors suggest, the
risk in excessive use of media is that it can encourage escapism or abnormal
consumption of computer games, for example, and surfing the Internet. There
are already groups for users addicted to computer/games and pornographic and
sex webpages.
Young homeless in rural areas
Homeless youth can be found both in urban and rural areas and, as shown in the
research below, they are often associated with big cities. Young homeless people
face specific challenges in rural areas where basic support services may not be
available to the same extent as in large cities. There are no generally accepted
definitions of homelessness. Homeless youth are individuals who are not more
than 21 years of age (often regarded as under 18) for whom it is not possible to
live in a safe environment with a relative and who have no other safe alternative
living arrangement. Implicit in this definition is the notion that homeless youth
are not accompanied by a parent or guardian (Haber & Toro, 2004).
Regardless of country, the young homeless show numerous examples of vic-
timization of different types before becoming homeless and later in their lives.
In the United States, for instance, the histories of boys typically include physical
abuse during childhood and physical assault on the street, while the experiences
of girls are more often marked by sexual abuse during childhood and on the
street (Cauce et al., 2000). In Sweden, boys and girls may express higher inci-
dences of depression and various behavioral problems after the period of home-
lessness compared to people with fixed residences (Sward, 2001, 2010). There
are no good estimates of the number of juveniles or young adults who become
homeless after being in jail. In the United States, Toro, Dworsky, and Fowler
(2007) follow a number of cases. A shelter for homeless youth in New York City
reported that approximately 30 percent of youth they serve have been detained
or incarcerated. Interestingly, 49 percent also had a history of out-of-home care
placement before incarceration.
204 Crime ina rural context
In the United States, young homeless people are concentrated in urban
areas, while rural areas have more unsheltered persons in families compared to
urban areas. Few differences have been found when urban, suburban, and rural
homeless youth have been compared (Cauce et al., 2000). Most reports indi-
cate that people who are homeless in rural areas are somewhat younger than
those in urban areas (Robertson, Harris, Frit, Noftsinger, & Fischer, 2007).
Ethnic minorities are overrepresented among homeless regardless of age. In
both rural and urban areas, the majority of people who are chronically home-
less are unsheltered, which means living on the streets, in cars, abandoned
buildings, and other places not meant for human habitation (Sermons & Henry,
2010). In the United States, about 50,000 youth sleep on the streets for six
months or more. Urban areas have a higher total rate of homelessness than
rural areas, approximately 29 homeless people per 10,000, while rural areas
have a rate of 14 per 10,000, this figure including all ages. There are 13,000 who
experience repeated incidences of homelessness (9 percent) and 15,000
who remain homeless over long periods of time (10 percent) (Nationa | Alliance
to End Homelessness, 2014).
In Australia, it is estimated that there are 100,000 homeless, half are under 24
years old and 10,000 are children. The largest single cause of homelessness in
Australia is domestic and family violence, which overwhelmingly affects women
and children. Homelessness is also an issue for indigenous people living in both
urban and remote environments. In 2003, indigenous people comprised 10
percent of clients in social services in urban areas, 21 percent in regional areas,
and 71 percent in remote areas. For this group, eviction was a more common
reason for accessing a service in urban and rural areas than those living in remote
areas. The issue for indigenous people is simply that the existing housing stock
does not have the capacity to house the indigenous population at reasonable
household occupation levels (Australian Government, 2008).
The prevalence rates for homelessness among young people vary regionally
in the United Kingdom. In England, Scotland, and Wales only “statutory home-
less” people are entitled to housing. Most statistics are based on this group. The
percentages are highest in Scotland, including Orkney and Shetland. Rural areas
of Northern Ireland tend to mirror rural England, with lower numbers of young
people being accepted as homeless. While this almost certainly reflects the wider
definitions of prioritized need in Scotland, it may also reflect higher levels of
need, though this cannot be established for certain. In England, authorities with
the highest rates included 12 of the 32 London boroughs and several authorities
in a few coastal towns; Wales, Swansea, Cardiff, much of the south coast were
all prominent. The highest rates of homelessness in Northern Ireland were in
Belfast and other regional centers. Lower rates of prevalence of homelessness
among youth are found in the rural areas of the north of England and the south-
west of England, for instance. Authorities in Scotland and Wales tended to report
higher numbers of homeless young people than in England. Particularly in rural
areas, homelessness can be associated with fracturing of young people’s social
networks, as they often have to move away from their previous home area to
Youth-related crimes 205
access housing and support services. Homeless people are unlikely to be from
minority ethnic backgrounds in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland but they
make up the majority of homeless people in England, particularly in London
(Quilgars, Johnsen, & Pleace, 2008).
In Sweden, headlines that youth homelessness is increasing have become fre-
quent lately,' at least for the larger cities. Homeless rates in Stockholm, Gothen-
burg, and Malmé are slightly higher but do not differ much from the rates of
other Nordic capitals (Benjaminsen & Dyb, 2008). Little is known about the
phenomenon across the country. In Stockholm, young homeless constituted 17
percent of the total homeless (2,892) in 2010, but that number was on the rise.
Youth homeless often consist of males who have some sort of psychiatric dis-
order and/or addiction problems, but there are young women, too. Some are tem-
porarily homeless (Stockholms stad, 2010). The truth is that, for several reasons,
it is difficult to get reliable data on children and young people 0-21 years living
in unsafe housing conditions (Sward, 2004, 2010). The picture of youth home-
lessness is patchy, composed of different types of statistics and qualitative
accounts based on case studies, often focusing on big cities. What is known is
that around 2,500 youngsters were affected by eviction notices between 2008
and 2010. That figure does not include rentals in the “black” market.
Another group overrepresented among the homeless in Sweden is composed
of undocumented migrants, and those figures are particularly uncertain for chil-
dren and youth. Estimates range between 10,000 and 50,000 people and between
2,000 and 3,000 children in this group. Another group of “potentials” are teen-
agers living in overcrowded conditions. Interviews by Andersson and Sward
(2008) with children in Sweden show that overcrowding was particularly stress-
ful for the teenagers, who would consider living somewhere else as an altern-
ative. Again, this was based on youth living in big Swedish cities.
Another report shows that about 11 percent of youth in secondary school who
leave home prematurely do so to escape a parent or partner or because they are
thrown out by a parent or partner. Threats of violence, mental and physical abuse
and assault are a few crucial factors. Nearly half of young people were 15 or
younger when they left home. The majority was girls and left home several
times. The report also mentions a survey of Swedish municipalities in 2010, in
which half indicated that they had a “roof-over-head guarantee” for individuals
who were homeless. Many municipalities do their own surveys of the number of
individuals living in homelessness, and every sixth municipality, or about 17
percent, reports an increase in the proportion of young people under 21 years old
who are homeless. One-quarter of municipalities have also noticed an increase in
families at risk of homelessness. They are both small and large municipalities
spread all over the country (Stockholms stadsmission. 2011). These figures,
despite being general, are indicators of the existence of youth homeless across
the country, at least for some time. It is however unsure how this vulnerability
put these young people at risk for addiction, offending, and victimization. What
is known is those that are already homeless tend to have problems of addiction
of alcohol and drugs (Stockholms stad, 2010).
206 Crime in a rural context
Alcohol and drug abuse among youth
Youth living in the smallest communities are not immune from substance abuse
problems (Edwards, 1995). In the United States, despite popular notions that
substance abuse is essentially an urban phenomenon, recent data demonstrates
that it is also a significant problem in rural America. Rural youth now abuse
most substances, including alcohol and tobacco, at higher rates and at younger
ages than their urban peers (Pruitt, 2009). Edwards (1995) finds that community
risk for youth substance abuse is not simply a matter of population density or
proximity to urban areas. Rural and urban youth differ in many ways, such as
economic conditions, ethnic representation, and proximity to drug sources.
Pruitt (2009) also suggests that limited social services and healthcare infrastruc-
tures undermine the efficacy of programs toward youth dependency of drugs
and alcohol in rural areas. The engagement of school in young people’s lives
after school hours may be fundamental to keep them away from trouble. For
instance, Shears, Edwards, and Stanley (2006) found a strong negative correla-
tion between school bonding and substance use, no matter the level of rurality.
Results also suggest that school bonding might act as a preventative to drunken-
ness and marijuana use in the most remote communities.
In the 1990s, Edwards (1995) compared substance use by youth by com-
munity size and found that there is little difference in the percentage of youth
using alcohol by community size, but the use of alcohol causes more problems
for rural youth than for youth living elsewhere. The author suggests that this may
be in part because fewer alternative leisure activities are available to rural youth
and drinking becomes one of the primary purposes for congregating, which may
lead to more consumption at any given time. Less surprisingly, the author found
a lower level of drug use among youth in very small, rural communities than
among those in larger rural and metropolitan communities. In the 2000s, adoles-
cent substance use in rural communities was equal to or greater than urban use
for many substances. Rural teens abuse virtually all drugs at rates greater than
their urban counterparts, whether cocaine (associated more with urban areas) or
methamphetamine (associated more with rural areas). Differences are noticeable
between different ethnic groups. Moreover, non-metropolitan youth and young
adults are significantly more likely to engage in binge drinking. Rural youth also
abuse hallucinogens at higher rates than their urban counterparts (Pruitt, 2009;
Shears et al., 2006). The contrast between the rural communities illustrates that
even communities similar in size and geographic location can have very different
youth drug-use profiles.
In the United Kingdom, rates of illicit drug use among young people
(15-16 years old) in England and Wales are high but have been decreasing
since the 1990s. According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and
Drug Addiction (EMCDDA, 201220/13), two in five 15-year-olds in the
United Kingdom have tried cannabis. This number is higher than anywhere
else in Europe. Along with Spain, the United Kingdom also has the highest
number of young cocaine users. The European School Survey Project on
Youth-related crimes 207
Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD, 2012) found that 26 percent of boys and
29 percent of girls in the United Kingdom had indulged in binge drinking at
least three times in the previous month. As many as 42 percent of boys and 35
percent of girls admitted they had tried illegal drugs at least once. According
to a report published by the Home Office (2012-2013), frequent drug users
compose 3.1 percent of the total young population in urban areas and 1.8
percent in rural areas. However, statistics from British Crime Survey reveal
the proportion of 16—24 year olds reporting use of drugs in the preceding year
was practically the same in rural and urban areas, 23 percent and 22.4 percent,
respectively (Hoare, 2009). Although “illegal drug use may not only be seen
as part of many young people’s lifestyles but, significantly, part of the life-
styles of young living in rural areas,” little is known about drug use in rural
areas (Barton, Storey, & Palmer, 2011, p. 149).
Compared with youth in other European countries, fewer Swedish adoles-
cents consume alcohol, but those who drink do it in greater quantity. This is
clear from the 2012 ESPAD survey. In Sweden, less than 40 percent of 15-16
year olds drank alcohol in the 30 days preceding the time of the survey, while in
countries such as Denmark, Germany, and Greece more than 70 percent of
15-16 year olds consumed alcohol. Although alcohol consumption is on the
decrease throughout Europe, the trend is clear in Sweden. The decrease in
alcohol consumption has also been confirmed by Ring (2013) (Table 9.1).
The estimated average annual consumption of alcohol by ninth graders is
almost 3 liters for boys and just less than 2 liters for girls (CAN, 2013). This
compares with a total population average annual consumption of about 9 liters of
pure alcohol. This downward trend in alcohol consumption among ninth graders
has many different potential causes, and the fact that young people start to drink
later in life is one. They start drinking when they are about 13 years old, and in
2012 one in three ninth graders had alcohol-related problems after consumption,
including fights, accidents, injuries, relationship problems, financial loss or theft,
poorer school performance, and unwanted or unprotected sex.
Young people in Swedish rural areas consume on average 1.6 liters less than
youth living in large cities, Stockholm being the leader (Guttormsson, Anders-
son, & Hibell, 2004), but there are regional differences in consumption of
alcohol. Urban counties and high-density counties such as Skane, Stockholm,
and Vastra Gotaland tend to have higher rates of consumption among youth than
rural and more remote areas of northern Sweden. Southern Sweden reports high
numbers for several related indicators of alcohol consumption, while Stockholm
County is high in terms of experience with drugs and daily tobacco use.
The threat of the Internet as a source of drugs has been said to be overesti-
mated, at least for young people. As many as 2 percent of girls and 3 percent of
boys in ninth grade, and 2 percent of girls and 5 percent of boys in the second
year of upper secondary school have used a drug bought over the Internet. Spice
and its variants are the most common group of substances available. Friends or
acquaintances are commonly the main source of the drug. A little more than 1
percent of young people have themselves bought a drug online (CAN, 2013).
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210 Crime ina rural context
Chapter 8 shows that drug production is at a relatively low level, around 1
percent of all crimes (BRA, 2012). It is unknown how much production affects
use, but people who produce drugs are believed to be addicts themselves. In
Sweden, most illegal laboratories found by the police in 2006 manufactured
amphetamines, but other synthetic drugs, such as methamphetamine, were also
produced (Rikspolisstyrelsen, 2007). Smuggling of drugs and alcohol contributes
to overall consumption, but the statistics are not broken down by age. Local
newspapers have also reported a few cases of the use of acetone by young people
in rural areas for drug production. Karlsson (2013) indicates that only a few
percent of the population use anabolic androgenic steroids and they are mostly
young males (20-30 years old), individuals who have an interest in working out
and competition, or members of criminal gangs, and use the drug to improve
their performance.
Youth offending in rural areas
Poverty and deprivation alone are rarely the sole cause of youth-related problems
in rural areas but are clearly important predictors of youth offending (Barton et al.,
2011; Backman et al., 2013; Estrada & Nilsson, 2012; Ford, 2008; Osgood &
Chambers, 2003). Many of the potential wellsprings of youth crime are similar in
many ways to those in urban areas: socioeconomic deprivation, family breakdown,
abuse and neglect, and drug and alcohol abuse (Barclay et al., 2007; Donnermeyer,
1995). Donnermeyer (1995) posed the following question: Why do rural young
people commit crime? For the author, the answer relates to economic, social, and
cultural forces. Institutions that reinforce law-abiding behavior have become
weaker, while peer and other groups that encourage law-breaking behavior have
gained in influence. These factors create conditions in which some rural com-
munities are more likely to exhibit weaker social control and/or stronger influences
from deviance-reinforcing peer and other groups. These are certainly the necessary
conditions but still do not explain relationships between an individual’s circum-
stances, addiction, and offending. Some of these young people receive little atten-
tion from society until they become “trouble” and attract disproportionate attention
from the criminal justice system afterwards.
The truth is that young people grow and interact simultaneously in different
social contexts in which family, school, peers, and the community are central.
Many of the risk factors for addiction and/or crime may be at work in different
ways depending on the environment in which they are exposed (e.g., Wikstrém,
Ceccato, Hardie, & Treiber, 2010), either rural or urban. Barclay et al. (2007)
mention studies that point out aspects of contemporary rural life that impose
additional pressures on young people. For instance, small populations and the
fact that everybody knows everybody in rural communities also mean that any-
thing young people do, suffers more social control by the community than in big
cities. In this section, a brief discussion of factors related to criminal involve-
ment are discussed taking into account as much as possible the rural—urban dif-
ferences in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Sweden.
Youth-related crimes 211
The criminological literature has long shown that being male is by far the
most common risk factor for offending. Crime-prone youth come from poor
socioeconomic conditions, which affect family relationships and health, more
often than others. Adolescents who come from a family with long-term social
allowance assistance or who have a parent who was sentenced to prison are more
likely than others to commit repeat offenses. Having a single parent also
increases the chances of a child’s criminal activity. School-related factors, such
as grades, truancy, and dropping out, have been previously shown to have clear
connections with juvenile delinquency. Ethnic minorities are often associated
with greater engagement in youth offending, which has partly been explained by
cultural differences, social exclusion, and the discriminatory exercise of author-
ity by the police and judiciary (for a summary of these factors, see Backman et
al., 2013; Payne & Welch, 2013). Do rural youth differ from those living in large
urban areas in relation to offending risk factors?
Rural per capita rates of juvenile arrest for violent offenses are significantly
and consistently associated with residential instability, ethnic diversity, and
family disruption in non-metropolitan communities in Florida, Georgia,
Nebraska, and South Carolina (Osgood & Chambers, 2003). Family disruption,
in particular, appears to be a critical element of social disorganization in non-
metropolitan communities. The study results diverged from the standard findings
for urban areas in that they indicated no association between poverty and delin-
quency. These findings support Shaw and McKay’s contention that it is not
poverty per se but an association of poverty with other factors that weakens
systems of social relationships in a community, thereby producing social disor-
ganization (Osgood & Chambers, 2003).
Kaylen and Pridemore (2011) contest the degree of generalizability of social dis-
organization as an explanation of the distribution of youth violence to rural areas.
The nature of social structure and its impact on social relations in rural communities
may be different from that in urban communities. As examples, the authors refer to
findings that collective efficacy (Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls, 1997) or social
capital (Bourdieu, 2000) moderates the effects of social structure on crime.
When social capital is put to the test, its effect on crime is not as neat as might
be expected. Deller and Deller (2010) suggest that, although the impact of social
capital on crime is significant (that certain elements of social capital have a
strong negative association with rural crime rates), this effect is not the same for
all types of crime. Moreover, while the results of this study suggest that higher
levels of social capital have a dampening effect on rural crime, these findings are
highly dependent on the measures used as “social capital.”
On a small scale, social capital may have an effect on the wellbeing of young
people living in rural areas or in isolated communities. Bjérnberg (2010) shows
an example of children and young people living in communities waiting to be
granted residency in Sweden. In a period of uncertainty for asylum seekers and
other immigrant families, contact with relatives in their home country, friends,
as well as persons in official contexts, the schools, and healthcare are all funda-
mental to wellbeing and future achievement.
212 Crime ina rural context
Trends and geographical patterns of youth offending
Crime rates among young people declined between 1995 and 2011, but a recent
study from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare shows that the
group that engages in criminal activities as teenagers and young adults suffers
consequences that may last their whole lives. The report shows that youngsters
who have been convicted of crimes have significantly worse health in young
adulthood compared to those without a criminal record, especially when it comes
to alcohol and drug abuse. Young people who are prosecuted as teenagers or
young adults are also at a significantly higher risk to remain outside the labor
market in middle age (Backman et al., 2013). The good news is that, as previ-
ously mentioned, criminal involvement at young ages has decreased.
National surveys show that the proportion of students in ninth grade (15
years old) who report they committed any theft-related action, such as burg-
lary, receiving stolen goods, shoplifting, or bicycle theft, has declined, from 66
to 45 percent, a decline evident throughout Sweden (Ring, 2013). Theft and
criminal damage decreased most. The author suggests that attitudes toward
committing crime have become less permissive. For example, the percentage
of students indicating that they would think it was “okay” or “pretty okay” if
their buddies shoplifted in a store decreased, from 27 percent in 1997, to 17
percent in 2011. Strong family ties and better social control by adults seem to
be related to less crime involvement. Those who commit crime hang out with
friends who are more often crime prone and they have overall a more permis-
sive attitude toward crime.
The pattern of youth violent crime is more fragmented when assessed in three
different cohorts (from 1965 to 1985). The proportion of young people prosec-
uted for assault increased for these cohorts, while there is no evidence that young
people’s use of violence and exposure to violence has increased, as victims and
self-assessment studies show. For serious violence requiring medical attention or
resulting in the victim’s death, both hospital data and mortality statistics indicate
levels have been stable in recent decades (Backman et al., 2013).
The decrease in offending among youth in Sweden is not geographically
homogeneous. A report from BRA (2007) shows that for Skane County, in
south Sweden, for example, where the third largest city of the country is
located (Malm6), levels are significantly higher for two of the three types of
crime studied (vandalism and violent crime). Another source shows a similar
trend in the arrest of minors. Skane is also the county where young minors are
most often put in jail in Sweden, followed by the Stockholm metropolitan
areas. A police district in the municipality of Malm6 alone accounts for two-
thirds of nearly 600 arrests in 2011 (Bubenko, 2013). For Vastmanland and
Stockholm counties the situation is similar, whilst for the remote Vasternorr-
land County and the inland county of Jénképing the situation is reversed. In
the two latter counties, the proportion of adolescents who report involvement
in crime is consistently low for all types of crime. Figures 9.2 and 9.3 illus-
trate the change in percentage of youth involvement in thefts and violence in
Youth-related crimes 213
Significantly lower rate
than the national average
No significant difference compared
with the national average
Significantly higher rate
than the national average
Figure 9.2 Change in percentage of youth (15 years old) who reported that they commit-
ted theft, 1995-2005 (source: BRA, 2007).
1995 and 2005. Violence clearly shows a more urban pattern than thefts do.
Note that all percentage changes are significantly higher in two metropolitan
areas: Stockholm and Malmé.
Despite this decrease in youth offending, Hellgren (2010) shows that all
metropolitan counties — Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malm6é — as well as
Sweden as a whole have experienced an increase since 2000 in the number of
15-20 year olds suspected of assault. The increase is said to be associated the
so-called “enforcement waves” targeting particular crimes. The author sug-
gests that this is not an indicator that youth violence is increasing. Vulner-
ability to violence or the threat of young people has not increased during the
214 Crime ina rural context
dogs
nan
Significantly lower rate
than the national average
No significant difference compared
with the national average
Significantly higher rate
than the national average
Figure 9.3 Change in percentage of youth (15 years old) who reported that they commit-
ted violence, 1995-2005 (source: BRA, 2007).
same period. Victimization surveys and life-conditions surveys as well as
school surveys indicate no increase in victimization among 16—24 year olds
and 16-19 year olds. In the worst case, levels can be interpreted as relatively
stable, and in the best case we can speak of a slight decrease in the number of
young people exposed to any violence or abuse. The link between alcohol con-
sumption and violence is not clear among those under 18 years old. The
amount of alcohol consumed by ninth graders has increased since 1995, but
violence has not. These findings apply to all counties and for Sweden as a
whole. The author suggests that it is possible that alcohol becomes more rel-
evant and shows a clear correlation with violent crime when young people
turn 18 and therefore become more mobile.
Youth-related crimes 215
Youth and organized crime
Southern Sweden, particularly the Skane region, is known for its organized
crime. In a brief study of youth organized crime groups in Skane, Cruce (2004)
finds that they are composed of young members (15-17 years old) with an over-
representation of foreign-born adolescents. About 90 percent of these criminal
organizations are composed of boys. The gangs are mostly in large urban areas
in western Skane. These areas are disadvantaged, characterized by segregation
and a high proportion of unemployed persons. The crimes committed by the
groups are mainly theft and vandalism, violent crimes, and drug offenses. Some
offenses are preceded by active planning, while others are spur of the moment.
Working in crime prevention with these groups is a challenge, and at best only
temporal effects are achieved as the group moves to another location. The author
suggests that these organized criminal groups demand enhanced cooperation
with society’s other actors (more than the police) who have to work with a long-
term form of intervention based on in-depth relationships with these youngsters.
Another type of organization criminals use is the motorcycle gang. These
gangs recruit young people but are not seen as youngsters’ organizations. The
two most influential criminal motorcycle gangs (Hells Angels and Bandidos)
were initially based in the southern cities of Malm6 and Helsingborg and in
Stockholm. After the mid-1990s, the number of these mobile criminal organiza-
tions expanded significantly, and, in the mid-2000s, they were represented in 24
municipalities in Sweden. Geographically, they are mainly in southern Sweden
and have expanded into smaller rural communities.
The business of criminal motorcycle gangs includes financial crime, drugs, extor-
tion, and theft crimes. The local police often know who the members are and focus
on disrupting their activities in different ways. It is more difficult to intervene when
members come from the local community. One way to obstruct them has been to
prevent these groups from buying or renting premises in a community. Surveillance
on certain points where they meet is said to have helped to hamper their business.
Although raids against the club premises and members’ homes are common, it is
unclear how much these disturbances affect local crime in these communities. To
answer this question, Hilldén (2006) examined whether municipalities’ crime rates
were affected by the existence of criminal motorcycle gangs. The author used a
panel of municipal data for the years 1996-2003 as a basis for the analysis. Findings
show that the number of reported crimes actually decreased as criminal motorcycle
gangs were established in the municipality. Interestingly, Hilldén (2006) finds
similar results in an examination of the long-term effects of these criminal organiza-
tions on crime reporting rates. The author suggests that this decrease may be the
result of a deterrent effect developed because of gang presence and/or by intimida-
tion and other methods used by the gangs that lead to fewer reported crimes.
In 2007, the Police in southeast Sweden (Ostergétland County) started tack-
ling the problem of criminal motorcycle gangs, and the effect on reported crime
was the opposite. Nissle (2009) found an increase in reported crime from year to
year for most categories of crime associated with organized crime (assault,
216 Crime ina rural context
extortion, drug trafficking, and financial crimes). This was also confirmed when
the author broke down the statistics at the municipality level, where biker gangs
have been active. Drug offenses are mostly driven by criminal motorcycle gangs.
There was a fairly significant increase in drug reported offenses in Norrképing
and Linképing when the police started targeting these criminal motorcycle gangs
(as these crimes were more targeted by the police). In one of the municipalities,
the motorcycle gang left and a declining trend in crime records was observed.
Youth as victims of crime: regional differences
The proportions of young people who say they are victims of violence have not
increased in recent years. The proportion of victims of serious violence is about the
same level as in the 1980s. Since the 1970s, around 15 individuals aged 10-24
years have died as a result of violence each year. Boys are more vulnerable to
abuse than girls. Girls are in turn considerably more exposed to sexual violence
than boys. Furthermore, there is a clear pattern in which young men are more often
a victim of violence in public places, while violence against young women occurs
more often indoors. BRA (2007) shows that between 1995 and 2005 an annual
average of nearly one-third of ninth-grade pupils in Sweden were victimized by
crime: theft of bicycles, wallets, or other valuable property in the 12 months pre-
ceding the survey. Rural counties, especially in northern Sweden, often have the
lowest level of reported victimization by theft among young people: Vasternorr-
land, Jamtland, Norrbotten, and Dalarna. Vastmanland exhibits higher levels than
the national average but not greater than Orebro County, in the center inland of the
country, where 37 percent of youth have been victimized.
The urban-rural divide is clearer for declared victimization by violence
among youth. The lowest proportions of adolescents (around 10-12 percent)
who report exposure to or the threat of serious violence are found in the counties
of northern Sweden. The highest levels are found in Stockholm and Skane coun-
ties, where the average is around 17 percent. Figures 9.4 and 9.5 show the geo-
graphy of victimization among youth by county.
Local demand, global supply: when young people become cross-border
commodities
Much has been in the news about human trafficking and its consequences for those
involved and for society in general. In Sweden, human trafficking is thought to be
the tip of the iceberg of other crimes, often organized by criminal networks that
connect rural areas (in the country of origin) with urban areas (in the host country)
across multiple borders. Since the Swedish crime code (human trafficking for
sexual purposes) came into force in 2003, records indicate a doubling: 22 to 40
cases in 2013 (BRA, 2014). As much as 65 percent of the cases were recorded in
the most urban counties of Stockholm and Malm alone, one-third of these cases
referring to children under 18 years old. As with any other type of organized crime,
these numbers reveal only a small part of the problem.
Youth-related crimes 217
Significantly lower rate
than the national average
No significant difference compared
with the national average
Significantly higher rate
than the national average
Figure 9.4 Change in percentage of youth (15 years old) who were victimized by theft,
1995-2005 (source: BRA, 2007).
Wennerholm (2002) suggests that the causes of trafficking are complex, inter-
twined, and context-specific, with poverty and unequal gender relations the key
underlying root causes. The situation of women and children in countries of
origin, the profit motive, the ease with which trafficking occurs, and the demand
for women and children for different exploitative purposes are principal supply
and demand factors.
About 10 years ago, the Youth Shelter in Stockholm was put in touch with 71
young people with unclear identities who were apprehended committing crimes. As
suggested by the report from the Administrative Board of Stockholm County
(2007), one-third of these individuals were younger than 18 years old, coming from
218 Crime ina rural context
X
ep enostarid
Significantly lower rate
than the national average
No significant difference compared
with the national average
Significantly higher rate
than the national average
Figure 9.5 Change in percentage of youth (15 years old) who were victimized by viol-
ence, 1995-2005 (source: BRA, 2007).
central Europe, northern Africa, and former Soviet states, particularly Baltic coun-
tries. They were brought to steal, rob, and/or engage in prostitution. The link
between rural and urban is clear in some of the cases in the report. They leave the
small villages in which they are recruited to go to big cities where they find a lucra-
tive market. One example is the case of “Maria,” a young woman who was recruited
in a small town in a Baltic country. In her early teens, Maria began working at
nightclubs in the small town where she was born. She wanted so badly to be inde-
pendent, that she was thrilled when some men asked her, “Do you want to come
with us to Sweden?” But what she perhaps hoped was the road to financial inde-
pendence became something completely different. Her stay in Sweden meant
instead serving men in Stockholm under the control of pimps. As the report reveals,
Youth-related crimes 219
a day in Maria’s life could progress in a mental vacuum created by the use of
alcohol and drugs, sexual abuse, and violence of all types. It has been 10 years since
this group became a symbol of the local effects of organized crime, and the problem
remains. Vulnerable young people come from poor backgrounds, some having
grown up in an orphanage or as street children, others perhaps sold into a criminal
network by their parents. They are reluctant to cooperate with the Swedish authori-
ties because they are terrorized by stories made up by the criminals who brought
them to Sweden. “It is a fact that they do not perceive that they have something to
gain by telling the truth. The threat from the adult criminal who ‘owns’ them is
greater than the help we can offer,” says a representative of the Youth Division.
Sweden is part of the northern market for prostitution. Wennerholm (2002,
p. 14) states that young women from Russia and Estonia cross the border into
Finland, Sweden, and Norway every weekend, sometimes encouraged by hus-
bands or other relatives. In small villages in the country of origin, where social
ties are strong, threats and harassment can have a tremendous impact on women
and children, keeping them in compliance with the traffickers. Bus drivers, hotel
and campsite owners, and pimps all make money on this. These informal crimi-
nal networks may be as dangerous as mafia groups. Stockholm is not the only
destination in Sweden. Wennerholm (2002, p. 10) refers to other cases elsewhere
in the country: “A 16-year-old Lithuanian girl found dead on a highway outside
Malm in southern Sweden. She committed suicide after escaping from an apart-
ment where she earned her living selling sexual services.”
In Sweden, prostitution is officially acknowledged as a form of male sexual
violence against women and children and, since a 1999 law, sex buyers, if
caught, go to jail. Just after the law took effect, the presence of foreign women
in street prostitution was reported to have vanished, as the number of buyers
reportedly decreased 75—90 percent (Gripenléf, 1991—2002). Nowadays the lack
of a presence of women in certain streets could be seen as an indicator that pros-
titution is winding down, as many contacts are made remotely and through
dealers. Still, pimps, traffickers, and customers of sexual services knowingly
exploit the vulnerability of young women who often come from the continent.
It is difficult to obtain precise statistics for the problem of young victims of
human trafficking and sexual exploitation, especially outside big city centers.
However, it is clear that this type of organized crime is often expressed at the local
level, so it is important to quickly identify it when it happens. Local authorities in
the host country must cooperate to identify the cases, but also authorities in the
countries of origin — local and regional as well as national levels — must cooperate
to fight organized crime and, in this case, the exploitation of young people.
Ekberg (2004) indicates that Sweden recognizes that, to succeed in the cam-
paign against sexual exploitation, the political, social, and economic conditions
under which women live must be improved through economic and social
development action, such as poverty reduction and social programs focusing
specifically on women. This political goal is legitimate but is hindered by a
number of challenges, as the sources of these problems are beyond Swedish
borders. Programs in countries of origin have been put in place together with
220 Crime ina rural context
nongovernmental organizations to prepare local actors to fight trafficking. These
programs are shown to be fundamental to protecting young girls through
information, creating national networks against trafficking in each of the origin
countries (see e.g., Wennerholm, 2002). Chapters 13 and 14 discuss suggestions
for preventing crime against youth and women in more detail.
Concluding remarks
Youth are a major concern for those living in rural areas. Young people need
schooling, healthcare, affordable housing, and leisure activities that are not always
attainable locally. The need to provide the “basics” to young people is seen as
fundamental, as it keeps alive hopes for survival of the rural community. There are
also other concerns associated with young people that are not primarily related to
young people (drinking, drug use, acts of delinquency, and crime) but do start to
appear early in life and feed the image of young people as “troublemakers.” These
two facets of rural youth are present in Swedish rural areas and, as shown in this
chapter, elsewhere. It is suggested here that a more nuanced view of young people
as a group is needed, going beyond the received dichotomy of young people as
either “community saviors” or “troublemakers.” This current view, it is argued here,
creates unreal expectations on young people and puts them under unnecessary pres-
sure. Chapter 13 will illustrate some actions targeting young people, which could
well become intrusive in the name of the “common good” of the community.
Another conclusion that can be drawn from this chapter is that one should
avoid trying to generalize about rural youth’s conditions in Sweden, even in
tural areas. For example, youth in sparsely populated areas in northern Sweden
enjoy a number of advantages that may not be found in the south, and the
opposite is also true, for those living in accessible areas. These advantages and
disadvantages in terms of life opportunities are shaped by the specific dynamics
of local contexts (family, school, community). The example of alcohol and drug
addiction is typical. There is a need for better understanding of the community
factors affecting differences in alcohol and drug use. In other words, why do
communities with similar conditions end up with different outcomes in terms of
drug and alcohol addiction? The same question can be posed concerning levels
of offending and victimization among youth. Drug production, alcohol smug-
gling, and overconsumption of legal drugs among youngsters are topics that have
to be included on a future research agenda.
That is not to say that we cannot find any trends that characterize both
urban and rural environments. In an exploratory way, Table 9.3 shows 10
items — put side-by-side — that characterize rural youth’s conditions, levels of
offending, and victimization in Sweden. The patterns that emerge suggest that
for six items, rural areas are better off (better mental health, less housing
shortage, less alcohol and drug addiction, offending, and victimization), while
for five items urban areas are better off (large share of young people, wide
range of entertainment, education, job opportunities, and access to ICT).
Without claiming any causal relationship between areas and conditions,
Youth-related crimes 221
Table 9.3 Summary of the characteristics of life conditions for youth in Sweden
Rural areas Urban areas
Share of young people Low — High +
Leisure/youth lifestyle Low — High +
Educational attainment Low — High +
Job opportunities Low — High +
ICT infrastructure and access Similar + Similar +
Housing shortage/homelessness Low + High —
Alcohol and drug addiction Low + High —
Victimization Low + High —
Offending Low + High —
Mental health conditions High + Low —
Table 9.3 illustrates potential starting points for future research. For instance,
is the attractiveness of urban areas overstated by young people? Is there a
mismatch between what rural areas can offer and what youth need and
expect? Or can a place be at the same time both attractive and unattractive
(this ambivalence has long being indicated by the push-pull effect, as sug-
gested by Ravenstein, 1885)? Addressing these issues requires an extension
of the research that goes beyond urban-rural comparisons.
Another way of seeing the problem beyond the urban-trural divide is consid-
ering young people influenced by (very) different regional contexts. This chapter
also shows that there is a north-south divide in drug and alcohol consumption,
offending, and victimization among young people. Youngsters living in muni-
cipalities within the triangle enclosed by Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmé
counties — the most urbanized area of Sweden — are often more exposed to
alcohol and drugs, tend to suffer poorer mental health, and are more often
involved in criminal activities and become victims of crime. It is also in this area
where signs of organized crime involving young people are visible. The latter
stretches beyond national borders, linking young women in the Baltic countries
to large cities in Sweden, and between rural and urban areas, with recruitment of
young males from suburbs to motorcycle gangs in the rural south.
The Swedish cases shown in this chapter illustrate that even the smallest com-
munities are not immune to problems of substance use and crime. However, var-
iability across communities makes it imperative that each individual community
assesses its particular problems so that resources can be allocated appropriately.
Chapter 13 takes these issues forward.
Note
1 Dagens Nyheter, November 19, 2007, Allt fler 80-talister bland Stockholms hemlésa
[Ever more young people among Stockholm’s homeless]; Dagens Nyheter, August 21,
2009, Lotsar ska hjalpa unga heml6ésa att andra sitt liv [“Pilots” to help direct young
homeless to new lives]; SVT rapport February 1, 2011, Fattiga barn far ett utanforskap
[Children in poverty made outsiders].
222 Crime ina rural context
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10 Violence against women in rural
communities
Place is a predictor of victimization. Crime more often happens in places other than
in the private sphere. For women, however, the home tends to be more dangerous
than any other place. Women are threatened and assaulted most often where they
reside, by someone they know, in acts often classified as “violence against
women.” In rural areas, women are less likely to report this kind of violence, for
numerous reasons. For instance, long distances create isolation to a greater degree
than in urban areas. This chapter points out the barriers women living in rural areas
face when reporting violence, particularly when the perpetrator is known to the
victim. This is followed by a brief discussion of international urban—rural trends in
rates of violence against women. Then, the chapter provides a basis for the analysis
of the Swedish case by presenting a list of individual and structural factors that are
determinants of violence against women in rural areas.
Silence and negligence: underreporting of violence against
women
She was beaten on several occasions by her ex-boyfriend, with whom she
still lives. She has bruises and cuts on her face. She decided not to report the
aggression to the police because that would upset the abuser.
(Weigl & Edblom, 2013)
These are the notes published in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet on a mother
of three, 40 years old, from Gusum, Valdemarsvik municipality, killed by her ex-
boyfriend a day before her planned escape in 2009. This case illustrates one of the
reasons women in violent relationships avoid reporting such violence to the police
and are afraid to seek help. In Sweden, underreporting of violence against women
cannot be broken down into urban and rural areas, but researchers believe that
more than one-quarter of all violence goes unreported (Lundgren, Heimer, Wester-
strand, & Kalliokoski, 2002). Abroad, the situation is no different. According to
DeKeseredy, Rogness, and Schwartz (2004), it is difficult to quantify the amount
of female abuse in rural communities based on official data, and many believe that
official data for rural areas is significantly problematic in this area. For instance,
the distances between houses in rural villages are often greater than in urban
Violence against women 227
centers. This fact makes it difficult for neighbors to discover violence that occurs.
Also, if the woman decides to seek help, it is not always easy to get away from the
house. The nearest women’s shelter may be many miles away, and the distance
may be exacerbated by poor or no public transportation (Lewis, 2003), limited
access (DeKeseredy & Joseph, 2006), or sporadic access to the Internet or mobile
phones. Websdale (1998) suggests that certain actions by the abuser, such as disa-
bling vehicles and unplugging and removing phones, have even greater implica-
tions, isolating women in rural environments, increasing their vulnerability to
violence in ways that do not happen in urban areas where public transportation and
help are available. This is exemplified well by the following case described by a
representative of a women’s shelter in Northern Sweden.
She was from abroad, and the man was from a village, a bit outside the
urban area. He met her overseas and invited her to come to Sweden and get
married. She got a tourist visa, for three months, and everything went as
planned until they arrived at the airport. Then, the man said that she should
not expect any wedding. She was taken to his place and lived in a cottage
located two kilometers away from the public road. She was abused in
various ways, psychologically and physically assaulted, raped. The man
threatened her, saying that she should not leave the house or else he would
call the police. One day she found a bicycle in a basement, while he went to
the forest where he worked. She decided to get away despite the cold
weather. Without knowing where she was heading, she took the bike and
found the road. Fortunately that led her to a small village outside of our
town. Some local girls could speak a bit of English and talked to her and
then called us at the women’s shelter. She was about to freeze to death by
then. She had no winter clothes. How could she cope cycling eight kilo-
meters in that cold? She stayed at the local hotel, got food and some clothes.
She was instructed by us not to call him because he would discover at once
where she was, but she did. He brought some friends here and started
walking around and climbing the fire escape of the hotel to check where she
was. We saw him. The hotel staff called the police, but the men disappeared.
When we met her again, she sat with her little bag and took out a set of
papers that turned out to be her plane ticket and visa, expiring within three
days. With a bit of English and sign language, she told us she had a relative
in another Swedish city in the south. Then I thought, what do we do now?
The solution was to take her to her relative. This turned out to be a scary
situation, as when I got home, I saw that there was a car parked five feet
from our garden ... I saw that it was him. Next day I managed to borrow a
car and, in the middle of the night and together with a colleague of the
women’s shelter, we took her to her relative. “We did it!” I said loudly, but
when we got on the main road, I saw in the rear-view mirror that a car was
approaching fast. Then I thought, “Is it him?” Fortunately, it wasn’t, but we
were scared. The woman went to her relative, who took her to the airport. A
few months ago, she called the shelter. Although she could not speak much
228 Crime ina rural context
English, she thanked us, said names, and told us that she now had a job in
her home country. We were happy with how things turned out.
(Women’s shelter representative, northern municipality)
Not all cases have a happy ending. Burman (2012) shows that immigrant women
are doubly victimized, as the Swedish immigration laws lack an understanding
of gender power relations. Women, as in the case presented above, suffer from
insecure rights of residence and the processes of “othering.” They may be per-
ceived as “unwanted” in Swedish society when they no longer fulfill their func-
tion as men’s partners. Many enter the country with the promise of marriage.
This process of exclusion of rights as citizens is far from being a Swedish
problem or a problem of women living in rural areas. It is a recurrent problem in
other European countries and elsewhere (Ingram et al., 2010; Orloff & Saranga-
pani, 2007; Raj & Silverman, 2002; Sundari, 2011).
Violence against women is a problem that affects not only ethnic minorities.
In Sweden, Weigl and Edblom (2013) highlighted in a national newspaper 153
cases of women killed by their partners, the great majority native Swedes, and
many living outside big cities at the time of their death.
She was careful not to show the kids any fear.... She told police about death
threats, asked in vain for security alarms, and sought protection hiding in
women’s shelters.... They had five children, several of whom were at home
when he took out a gun and shot her.
(38-year-old woman, Halland)
These two cases share common features. The women were assaulted when they
were leaving the relationship and received help from women’s shelters and
police. Still, their outcomes were different. What are the underlying factors
behind lethal violence against women? Among the societal factors that influence
rates of violence are those that create a tolerant climate for violence (WHO,
2002). Social isolation is part of the dynamic of domestic violence that also
affects one’s decision to avoid contact with the police. In rural areas, women
fear being ostracized if they speak out about male violence. Cohesive community
values strengthen rural communities but may also have the unintended effect of
“enabling” domestic violence to occur. In places where collective informal social
control is strong (DeKeseredy & Schwartz, 2008) and may be dominated by tra-
ditional gender values of rural patriarchy (Websdale, 1998), violence against
women may be acceptable at certain levels.
The underreporting of violence against women is the result not only of
victims’ silence but also of the silence, tolerance, and negligence of the social
circles surrounding the victims (Gracia, 2004). Neighbors in rural areas may
have a higher tolerance of certain acts than in urban areas (Anderson, 1999), and
privacy norms dictate that they “keep their mouths shut” or “keep out of other
people’s business.” The local culture may reflect differences in “gender contracts
or regimes” (Amcoff, 2001; Townsend, 1991), which result in different
Violence against women 229
conditions for women and men in various dimensions of life. Websdale (1998)
provides examples of women who were afraid to call the police because they
knew that their abuser was socially networked with police personnel and that
little or no action would be taken in their defense. In other cases, other local
women do not help because they themselves are experiencing similar problems
and their own struggles prevent them from helping others (DeKeseredy &
Schwartz, 2008, p. 112). In yet other cases, people may believe that a woman’s
“provocative behavior” causes the violence, which indicates a high prevalence
of victim-blaming attitudes (European Commission, 1999).
In addition, there are issues of personal and familial dependency on the
offender. Children refrain from reporting violence, because they cannot afford
other familial conflicts (such as with their mother, who is also emotionally and
economically dependent on the offender) or run the risk of being physically, psy-
chologically, or economically punished by their father. In Sweden, despite the
fact that youngsters often move out of their parents’ home after reaching 18
years of age, for young girls, particularly those from ethnic minorities, such a
move might be difficult because of cultural barriers. In rural areas, women from
ethnic minorities brought to Sweden by marriage may face particular challenges
(Burman, 2012; Westman, 2010). Thus, some women would tolerate violence
and would not seek help or report to the police because they do not consider
moving out or reporting violence as viable options.
However, in the case of Sweden, a long-standing tradition of gender equality
policy and legislation, as well as an established women’s movement, has greatly
influenced the reporting of violence against women. According to police statis-
tics, levels of violence appear to be related to genuine changes in levels of crimi-
nal acts, as well as various other factors such as a rise in a population’s
willingness to report crime to the police (Estrada, 2005), a decrease in tolerance
levels as a consequence of society’s increased sensitivity to violence (Jerre,
2008), and changes in the law. The Violence Against Women Act (Kvinnofrid)'
adopted in 1999 is an important example. This legislation criminalized the pur-
chase of prostitution services, provided measures to combat sexual harassment
in the workplace, and successively broadened the definition of sexual violence.
Although it has been argued that these legal and other factors have maximized
the reporting of violence against women in Sweden, it is an open question
whether these changes are sufficient to explain the disparity in reporting rates
within Sweden and between Sweden and other countries.
Urban-rural trends of violence against women
In the United Kingdom, domestic violence against women appears to be concen-
trated in inner-city areas — indeed more than twice as prevalent as in rural areas
(for violence against males, this difference is not as pronounced). Walby and
Allen (2004) suggest that the higher rate of domestic violence associated with
urban areas runs parallel with the finding that inter-personal violence is also
higher in these areas, a trend also found in Sweden (Ceccato & Dolmén, 2009).
230 Crime in a rural context
Domestic violence and sexual assault are crimes that are known to be under-
reported (Walby & Allen, 2004). Marshall and Johnson (2005) estimate in the
United Kingdom that only 21 percent of female domestic violence victims (7
percent of male victims) come to the attention of the police. For sexual assault,
the reporting rate is even less: 15 percent for rape, 12 percent for serious sexual
assault, and 13 percent for less serious sexual assault. Table 10.1 shows differ-
ences in victimization by area type in the United Kingdom.
In the United States, violence against women has historically been higher in
urban areas than rural, but there are differences among ethnic groups. What is
more interesting is that since the mid-1980s the percentage of homicides com-
mitted by an intimate (spouse, ex-spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, same-sex
partner) has been higher in rural areas than in suburban or urban areas (Figure
10.1) (BJS, 2011).
When violence happens at home, it not only affects women but also children.
According to Moore, Probst, Tompkins, Cuffe, and Martin (2005), in the United
States 10.3 percent of children lived in homes where disputes resulted, at least
occasionally, in hitting and throwing. The prevalence of violent disputes varied
slightly across different degrees of “rurality” but was lower in homes located in
rural counties than in urban counties (10.7 and 9.9). About one-third of children
lived in homes where disputes were expressed through heated argument and
shouting. The prevalence of heated disagreement showed no clear pattern across
levels of rurality or between urban and rural areas.
In the United States, ethnic minority women living in rural areas are not more
likely to be assaulted by their current and former intimate partners than are their
urban and suburban counterparts. A recent study by DeKeseredy, Dragiewicz,
and Rennisson (2012) finds no difference in the rates at which urban, suburban,
and rural racial/ethnic minority females are victims of intimate violence using
the 1992—2009 National Crime Victimization Survey.
In Sweden, assaults against women have increased since the mid-1990s, par-
ticularly in rural areas (Table 10.2).? These increases are likely to be a result of a
rise in the reporting rate of mainly single mothers and of women who are victims
of abuse in the workplace (Nilsson, 2002; Selin & Westlund, 2008). The
majority of women assaulted are involved in an intimate relationship with the
assailant, often cohabiting with that person. Most of these women are exposed to
Table 10.1 Cases of domestic violence and sexual assault in the United Kingdom (%)
Rural Urban Inner-city
Females
Domestic violence 3.3 4.1 7.0
Sexual assault 1.2 2,2 3.0
Males
Domestic violence 1.8 2.4 26]
Source: Walby and Allen, 2004, quoted by Marshall and Johnson (2005, p. 18).
Violence against women 231
30
20
fd)
oO 2
& KS
iS ae ose /
a Sa MS
5 . Hai Fn wade 8 .
2 igs aoe # we
10 #-——Ss
Rural areas
— Suburban areas
Small cities
---- Large cities
0 J CL_C___LL CCLCCCCCCC§CC__t_=#H#he
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008
Figure 10.1 Percentage of all homicides involving intimates by urban, suburban, and
rural area, 1980-2008 (source: BJS, 2011, p. 30).
violence repeatedly. This indicates that both victims and offenders differ from
the population in general with respect to previous crime involvement and mar-
ginalization. Those who are foreign-born are often overrepresented, both as
victims and offenders (Nilsson, 2002). It is estimated that 75,000 women are
victims of violence in intimate relationships each year in the country, costing
society SEK2,695—3,300 million (Socialstyrelsen, 2014).
Statistics on the geographic distribution of this type of crime are uncertain,
because the “shadow figure” is high in this offense category. Even when a crime
is reported to the police, it may not go to trial. According to Nilsson (2002),
police reports indicate that, in about one-quarter of incidents reported to the
police, the woman is unwilling to continue to assist with the investigation. The
victim’s refusal to cooperate makes it very difficult for the police and prosecutor
to continue the investigation. One reason a woman may refuse to assist in the
criminal investigation is that she is afraid of further violence from the man who
has already acted violently towards her. Another obstacle may be that the woman
and the man have been involved in an intimate and emotional relationship and
may also have had children together.
Although legislation has recently been amended to ensure a higher degree of
safety for abused women and children — by defining children exposed to viol-
ence as “crime victims” — there are still clear challenges ahead (Eriksson, 2011).
Leander (2007) estimates that about 17 women are killed as victims of
domestic violence each year in Sweden. This figure is half of what it was in the
1990s. Rying (2001) suggests that about 30 women were killed in intimate rela-
tionships between 1990 and 1999. Rying (2001, p. 45) indicates that
232 Crime ina rural context
Table 10.2 Rates and change (%) in violence against women per 100,000 females aged
15 years and older, according to police and health statistics
Urban areas — Accessible rural Remote rural Sweden
Recorded violence against women, indoors, known offender — police crime statistics
1996-2001 (8.7%) (18.3%) (60.0%) (11.5%)
2002-2006 (3.4%) (13.2%) (46.9%) (6.2%)
1996-2006 (15.2%) (35.6%) (115.6%) (20.9%)
2009-2013* (11.5%) (5.6%) (2.1%) (7.3%)
Rate 1996 342.8 208.5 135.9 296.1
Rate 2006 394.4 282.7 291.6 358.0
Rate 2013* 582.1 567.2 478.3 470.3
Women hospitalized** as a result of violence, known offender (% increase)
1998-2002 (21.4%) (24.4%) (412.1%) (19.6%)
2003-2007 (4.7%) (19.3%) (-32.6%) (1.26%)
2008-2012 (-2.6%) (10.6%) (74.0%) (1.42%)
1998-2012 (-3.9%) (62.2%) (443.7%) (31.1%)
Rate 1998 7.0 4.5 1.6 6.1
Rate 2007 8.1 74 3:3 8.0
Rate 2012 74 13 8.7 TA
Source: Police statistics, 1996 and 2006, and National Board of Health and Welfare (2014).
Notes
* Change in crime codes from 2009, rates based on 18 years and older female population.
** Hospitals attend patients from a widespread area, but the municipality where the hospital is
located records the data.
social change and an increase in the level of attention focused on violence
against women may have had an impact on these figures, as may certain law
changes. Medical advances dealing with the victims ... as well as the emer-
gence of women’s help-lines and shelters and the media attention.
The Swedish National Crime Victimization Surveys (SNCVS) (2006-2013) are
an important data source to assess the profile of victims of crime, but they do not
allow breakdown by municipality. More than one-third of women declare that
they have been assaulted by an acquaintance and about one-half by someone
they know. The SNCVS show that the prevalence of physical violence against
women (at least one act of physical violence during the 12 months prior to the
survey) was slightly higher in urban areas than in rural ones.
Healthcare statistics show a clear urban-rural disparity in rates of hospitalized
women victims of violence (Figure 10.2). They confirm an increase between 1998
and 2012 in violence against women (aged 15 years and older) caused by a known
offender. Although rates of hospitalization for assault were on average higher in
urban areas than in rural ones, those injuries caused by a partner, husband, or other
aggressor (not a friend or acquaintance) increased more in rural areas than in the
countryside, particularly in accessible rural municipalities, than in urban areas. The
rates of hospitalization have drastically increased in remote rural areas while in
accessible rural and urban areas, rates showed minor variations.
Violence against women 233
=
[o)
o
women 15 years and older
onpAFA NM WF A DN C
Hospitalization per 100,000
NG & bb © © A © GO NY
SS OG GP YX FX DY LH RN
SPL SL LS LS
©
a i a
— Sweden ---- Remote rural —— Accessible rural ---- Urban areas
=
o
wm
600, 2a
and older 1996-2007 and 18 years
old 2009-2013
Police recorded violence against women
per 100,000 female population 15 year
— Sweden- ----Remote rural Accessible rural Urban areas
(b)
Figure 10.2 (a) Rates of women hospitalized as a result of violence, known offender
1998-2007, and (b) rates of women violence against women, 1996-2007
and 2009-2013 (data source: (a) police statistics, 1996-2006, 2009-2013
(2009 change of crime codes); (b) national patient records, National Board
of Health and Welfare, 2014).
Another important difference between rural and urban areas is the increase
between 1998 and 2007 of cases in which the aggressor is not revealed by the
victim or recorded by the doctor in hospitals located in rural municipalities (Table
10.3). Internationally, rates of detection of this type of violence in hospitals and
emergency rooms are still low, though a high percentage of women visit emer-
gency rooms for treatment (Abbott, Johnson, Koziol-McLain, & Lowenstein,
234 Crime ina rural context
1995). Lindblom, Castrén, and Kurland (2010) discuss the difficulties of recording
cases of violence in hospitals, as most women victims of violence do not seek
help for obvious physical injuries but for other, less specific symptoms such as
pain or deterioration in health due to illness. They also suggest that women who
die as a result of being beaten have previously sought emergency medical treat-
ment several times.
The reasons behind these differences between urban and rural areas are difficult
to ascertain, but the differences are confirmed by official police statistics. Statistics
show that although remote rural areas have rates that are half the rates found in
urban areas, rural municipalities show the highest increase in rates in recent
decades (Table 10.2). The rise of police-reported cases of violence against women
at home (by a known offender) follows the national trend of assault against women
by unknown perpetrators in public places. Statistics on violence against women at
home show that rates in rural Sweden are approaching those in urban areas, that is,
they are increasing. It is important to note that from 2009 onwards a stricter defini-
tion of crime codes has been put in place which, although minor, can affect levels
and the way violence against women is reported to local authorities.
According to Ceccato and Dolmén (2011), this trend was also found in other
types of crime in rural areas, indicating that rural areas are becoming more crim-
inogenic, particularly accessible rural areas. Note that although urban areas show
higher rates of violence against women than rural municipalities do, the capital
of Sweden — Stockholm — shows a lower rate on average than the adjacent
southern municipalities of the metropolitan region (e.g., Botkyrka, Sédertilje,
and Haninge). Alcohol abuse may also be behind these differences in levels and
geography of violence against women.
Outside large city regions, the geography of violence against women is far
from being homogeneous (Figure 10.3), as it reflects individual and structural
differences in the population as well as the local and regional abilities of crimi-
nal justice institutions and society overall to tackle the problem.
For instance, according to Ahacic (2010) alcohol consumption increased in
Stockholm County between 1998 and 2008, as did the rate of men treated for
addiction problems. The rise coincided with an increase in the number of
licensed restaurants, while the real price of alcohol fell. More liquor stores were
opened in the county as well, and sales at liquor stores increased. In the municip-
alities in Stockholm County, as shown in the international literature, women
belonging to ethnic minorities may run a higher risk for violence than native
born. In municipal-owned housing, hosts may call for help if there are signs of
domestic violence in progress in the building. Moreover, some of these municip-
alities have police family units that are trained to deal with family violence,
which in part explains their relatively high rates of reporting to the police. These
municipalities are also closer to one of the main hospitals in the metropolitan
area (Sédersjukhuset), which has a unit specializing in gendered violence.
It is important to note that low reported rates in southern municipalities and
high rates in urban areas must be interpreted with caution. Whilst they may
reflect real differences in gendered violence between the regions, the reporting
Female domestic
violence 1996
per 10,000 aged
16 to 64 years
m>=75
m 50 to 75
@ 25 to 50
(1 0 to 25
Female domestic violence 2007
per 10,000 aged 16 to 64 years
m>=75
m 50 to 75
25 to 50
0 to 25
Female domestic
violence 2007
per 10,000 aged
16 to 64 years
m>=75
m 50 to 75
@ 25 to 50
0 to 25
Figure 10.3 Assault against women indoors, known offender, 1996 and 2007 by total
women aged 16 to 74 years old: in detail, Stockholm’s metropolitan area
(source: police statistics, 1996 and 2007).
236 Crime ina rural context
rate depends on local differences in support services aimed at violence against
women and on features embedded in the regional gender contracts that, in turn,
affect reporting rates. Little is known about what is behind low rates in municip-
alities that are part of the so-called “church belt.” It may be that religious values
lead to less violence against women, but it may also be that women are not pre-
pared to publicly reveal partner assault or that they fear that if they reveal it, they
will be ostracized by the community. Even if they reveal it to friends and family,
they may never report these events to the police.
Victims of violence by partners have a number of factors in common. An
important line of research on violence against women has focused on identifying
these factors. Most of this literature is based on North American and British cir-
cumstances, focusing on women living in urban areas. What this literature
misses is that, although rates of violence against women in rural areas may be
lower, its causes may be different from urban areas and its effects on the victims
may be greater. Aspects such as limited access to services, isolation, poverty,
and rural cultural values make rural women more vulnerable to domestic viol-
ence than women living in urban areas. The next section highlights individual
and structural factors that relate to women’s abuse and violence.
Violence against women: the role of individual and structural
factors in rural areas
The international literature sheds little light on geographical differences in rates of
violence against women. Greenfeld (1998), for instance, suggests that in the United
States women in urban environments are more likely to be victims of violence than
those living in suburban and rural areas. Evidence from Australia and the United
Kingdom indicates different, sometimes conflicting, findings. Rural areas show a
higher reported incidence and prevalence of domestic violence than in metropolitan
areas (WESNET, 2000), whilst Grossman, Hinkley, Kawalski, and Margrave
(2005) show that the difference between rural and urban settings is small.
Table 10.3 Hospitalization rates* of victims of violence in 2007 per 100,000 females,
and change, 1998-2007 (%)
Urban areas Accessible rural Remote rural
Partners/husbands 2.8 (9.7%) 2.8 (47.4%) 1.7 (6.2%)
Friend or acquaintance _—_0..5 (25.0%) 0.7 (-22.2%) 0.0 (0.0%)
Other** 4.8 (41.2%) 3.7 (105.5%) 1.7 (6.2%)
Total 8.1 (15.7%) 7.2 (64.4%) 3.4 (106.2%)
Data source: national patient records, National Board of Health and Welfare (2009).
Notes
* Hospitals attend patients from a widespread area. Women’s addresses are recorded by municipality.
** Other=aggression might be caused by an ex-partner or a stranger. This category includes cases
in which the doctor or the victim is not able to (or has chosen not to) declare who was the
aggressor.
Violence against women 237
A problem in comparing these statistics on geography relates to the way these
studies define the concept of domestic violence (such as differences in crime defi-
nitions or health statistics). Another issue relates to the way “rural” and “urban” are
defined in different countries and even within single countries (see Marshall and
Johnson, 2005, p. 10), which makes it difficult to compare rural and urban rates.
We take the view that having a lower rate of domestic violence does not mean that
the problem in rural areas is less serious. On the contrary, women in rural areas
may have specific service needs and face special obstacles that are not present in
urban settings (Websdale and Johnson 1998).
Table 10.4 illustrates examples of individual and structural factors behind
violence against women in rural areas in different countries. As stated above,
direct comparisons between studies are difficult, because studies may be based
on different definitions, methods, and datasets. The purpose of this summary is
to focus, when possible, on the importance of these factors in the context of
urban and rural differences. This summary also provides a basis for comparison
with the Swedish case study.
Geographical isolation
Geographical and social isolation characterize the lives of many rural battered
women. This is the case of those interviewed in Kentucky by Websdale (1995,
p. 333), who indicates that women experience a considerable amount of phys-
ical, sexual, and emotional abuse by their husbands or partners. Shepherd (2001,
p. 496) also found that native women in rural Alaska suffer the consequences of
domestic violence more because of the isolation of the communities where they
reside, severe weather, lack of adequate law enforcement, prevalence of alcohol
and other drugs, prevalence of weapons, absence of many basic public services
(such as low-income housing and transportation), lack of jobs, dependence on
public assistance, infrequent visits by mental health professionals, and lack of
treatment programs for abusers. In a case study of remote Australian mining
towns, Sharma and Rees (2007, p. 1) show signs of how sociocultural processes
affect women’s mental health, a finding that can be generalized to many remote
areas elsewhere, where the geographic isolation of the community is a determin-
ing factor in women’s victimization.
Geographical isolation also affects the legal support that women have in the
countryside. Logan, Shannon, and Walker (2005) show that the process of
obtaining civil protective orders varies depending on community context and
that although there are barriers to obtaining and enforcing protective orders
regardless of geographic region, rural women appear to face more barriers than
those in urban areas. The authors show that differences exist in victimization
experiences, protective orders’ stipulations, violations, and perceived effective-
ness among rural and urban women. Schafer and Giblin (2010, p. 283) show in
the United States how intimate partner violence is perceived and policed in rural
areas and small towns while highlighting some of the challenges agencies
encounter in addressing these offenses within their jurisdictions.
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240 Crime in a rural context
Rural culture and traditional gender roles
Isolation perpetuates gender inequalities because rural communities continue to
define the role of men and women more narrowly than urban communities do
(DeKeseredy, Donnermeyer, Schwartz, Tunnell, & Hall, 2007). As suggested by
Olsson (2011), they may create unreal gender-related expectations (such as the
“superwoman”). Although much has changed in rural areas, traditional gender
roles still exist, in which men are the main “breadwinners” and women are
limited to the domestic sphere (childrearing and housekeeping). In places where
these gender roles have been affected by rural social and economic changes
(such as loss of farms or other sources of income, women seeking employment
or getting jobs when their husbands are unemployed or when their farms become
less profitable, increases in the number of women’s associations), social prob-
lems may arise, including domestic violence. DeKeseredy et al. (2007) suggest
that many unemployed men deal with such challenges by spending much time
with other men in similar situations, which in turn is one reason some wives
leave or try to leave them. Fram, Miller-Cribbs, and Farber (2006, p. 268) also
show that domestic violence is just one element in “the much larger game of
maintaining the existing social order” in rural South Carolina, facilitated by reli-
gious conservatism. Similar findings were found in a rural Australian study by
Wendt (2008) and in South Africa by Boonzaier and van Schalkwyk (2011).
However, traditional gender roles alone are not sufficient to explain women’s
victimization or stereotyped assumptions of sexual violence in rural environ-
ments. Drawing on deprivation and gender inequality perspectives, Lee and Ste-
venson (2006, p. 55) analyzed gender-disaggregated homicide offending rates in
rural US counties. They found that “measures of both absolute and relative
gender inequality had no association with female or male homicide offending in
the rural context.” Similar results were found by King and Roberts (2011) when
they investigated stereotyped assumptions of rape (“rape myths”) and traditional
gender roles in a sample of university students in the United States. Contrary to
previous literature on the rural culture milieu, the degree of rurality of one’s
hometown was not found to be statistically significant in relation to the accept-
ance of traditional gender roles and rape myths.
Poverty
In Sweden, the highest rates of violence caused by men are found among high-
and low-income earners, according to Lundgren et al. (2002). A recent study
(Trygged, Hedlund, & Kareholt, 2014) shows, however, that women exposed to
severe violence had a poorer financial situation compared to non-exposed
women. Assaulted women had slower increases in income, lower odds for being
in employment, and higher odds for having low incomes and means-tested social
assistance in the 10-year follow-up, whether or not they had children.
Internationally many studies confirm the findings that domestic viole nce is
characteristic of lower socioeconomic groups. Morley and Mullander (1994, p. 6)
Violence against women 241
argue that these groups are more visible, because they lack economic resources
to deal privately with their problems and are more likely to seek help from
formal agencies like the police and social services from which research samples
are frequently drawn. They also suggest that underrepresentation of cases among
middle class and white people can be related to the fact they are less willing to
admit to violence. Although not all studies have found socioeconomic differ-
ences in domestic violence (for a review see Morley and Mullander, 1994), we
will discuss studies that have found links.
The nature of the links between poverty and risk of interpersonal violence is
not always clear. It may be that poverty is associated with the onset of domestic
violence, or it may be that in fleeing domestic violence, women are reduced to
poverty (Walby & Allen, 2004). Logan et al. (2005, p. 895) show that more rural
women than urban women reported that their partners denied them access to
money, stopped them from seeing friends or family, interfered in relationships
with others, kept them from doing things for themselves, did something to spite
them, threatened or actually harmed their pets, threatened to harm their children,
stalked them, threatened to kill them, or threatened them with a weapon. Walby
and Allen (2004) show that in Britain women in households with an annual
income less than GBP 10,000 were three-and-a-half times more likely to suffer
domestic violence than those living in households with an annual income more
than GBP 20,000, while men were one-and-a-half times more likely.
In the United States, domestic violence and economic hardship are correlated,
as indicated in a report on the incidence of domestic violence in rural America
(Grama, 2000). As it is suggested, “economic worries, plus other factors such as
stress, boredom, and alcohol and drug use, may contribute to the overall stresses on
the family; creating conditions ripe for domestic violence.” This is also confirmed
by Persily and Abdulla (2000, p. 14) in their study on violence against pregnant
women in West Virginia. The majority of pregnant women were unemployed;
nearly half of the partners of the pregnant women had mostly low-paying, full-time
jobs. Abused women and their partners were more likely to be unemployed than
non-abused women and their partners. Murdaugh, Hunt, Sowell, and Santana
(2004, p. 110) also show that half of the abused women had economic concerns at
the time of abuse. In China, Tang and Lai (2008) review 20 years of empirical
literature and show that women who reported incidents of violence were more
likely to have grown up in rural villages and tended to have low socioeconomic
status. Krantz and Vung (2009) also show that women whose husbands have
limited educations and are low skilled tend to be more exposed to violence in rural
Vietnam, where violence perpetrated by husbands is fairly common.
In a study that assesses the rural—urban dimension of domestic violence in US
counties, Pruitt (2008) shows that rural women are more at risk because they
typically earn about half of what rural men earn, which puts them in a disadvan-
taged position. Some of the obstacles for women’s economic self-sufficiency are
rooted in the structural conditions of rural areas, such as a limited labor market
and job-training services as well as housing and childcare options. Yet, these
disadvantages may not affect women’s risk to be exposed to violence. Lee and
242 Crime ina rural context
Stevenson (2006) analyze gender-disaggregated homicide-offending rates in
rural counties in the United States and find that gender-specific measures of
unemployment and poverty and a measure of female-headed households exhibit
no relationship with female homicide offending, whereas all three measures are
associated with elevated levels of male homicide offending.
Age
Young women are more at risk of becoming a victim of domestic violence than
older women are. In Sweden, a national survey on men’s violence against women
by Lundgren et al. (2002) shows that violence decreases with the age of the victim,
but no significant difference is found between 18 and 54 years old. A later study
based on cases of violence between 1995 and 2002 by Del Castillo, Heimer,
Kalliokoski, and Stenson (2004) indicates that the majority of the cases are between
21 and 39 years of age. A recent study by Abramsky et al. (2011), using a WHO
multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence, also shows that
younger women are more at risk for violence than older ones. This is confirmed by
Lanier and Maume (2009) in the United States. In Australia and Canada, young
women (aged 18-24) were more at risk from all forms of violence than were older
women (Bunge & Levett, 1998; WESNET, 2000). Domestic violence tends to
decrease with age according to the British Crime Survey 2004/2005 (Finney, 2006).
The age span may vary. In Australia, for example, data reporting domestic violence
in the late 1990s shows that 40 percent of the victims were between 25 and 35 years
old for both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, while Murdaugh et al. (2004,
p. 110) show that domestic violence among Hispanics in the southeastern United
States tends to happen more often among younger groups with a somewhat lower
level of education. Slovak and Singer (2002, p. 53) analyze types and levels of chil-
dren’s exposure to violence in a rural setting. Their results indicate that “males were
more likely to witness violence compared to females, and older students were more
likely to witness violence compared to younger students.”
Although in many countries it is not possible to disaggregate national data to
compare victimization rates by age across urban and rural locations, it is inter-
esting to note there is evidence from case studies showing that the ages of
victims and offenders may vary geographically. For instance, Grossman et al.
(2005, p. 75) examine individuals who were victims of domestic violence in Illi-
nois between 1990 and 1995 in both urban and rural counties. Their findings
show that victims were younger on average in rural areas than in urban ones,
regardless of their ethnic background. Persily and Abdulla (2000, p. 14), in a
study of violence against pregnant patients in a rural area of West Virginia,
found that abused women were older than age 19 (range 19-32) and often
abused by partners under the age of 30. Urban-rural differences are also found
in developing countries. Using data from Bangladesh, Naved, Azim, Bhuiyaa,
and Persson (2006) show a slightly higher prevalence of lifetime physical
spousal violence against women in urban (40 percent) than in rural (42 percent)
areas, from a large study conducted in 2000-2004.
Violence against women 243
Ethnic background
Women from minorities seem to be at higher risk for violence than other groups.
A report in Australia from the Women’s Services Network (2000, p. 8) indicates
that indigenous women are much more likely to be victims of domestic violence
than non-indigenous women are. This conclusion is based on reviews of a set of
studies that look at regional differences in domestic violence.
In the United States, Grama (2000, p. 181) discusses special difficulties of
rural women of color and immigrant women in rural areas. The author reminds
readers that the situation of immigrant women may be more complicated by the
fact that often “the domestic violence victim is dependent upon her batterer for
her continued residence in the country via a conditional visa.” Rural immigrant
women may also be hampered by a limited knowledge of the language as well as
strong cultural influences in which women are taught to obey their husbands.
Pruitt (2008, p. 407) suggests that abuse within immigrant families creates a
variety of challenges, particularly in rural settings. For example, the Latino
population has nearly doubled in rural and small-town America in the past 30
years. The author also refers to two other groups that have long been associated
with rurality: Native Americans and native Alaskans. They are high-risk groups
for all forms of violence against women, with the highest average annual rates of
rape and physical assault between 1993 and 2004. Also in the United States,
Grossman et al. (2005, p. 71) show that, apart from demographic differences
related to race (whites and Afro-Americans), there is little difference in the cir-
cumstances of abuse when victims in the urban region are compared to rural
victims of violence. Lanier and Maume (2009) show that black women in both
non-metropolitan and metropolitan areas are significantly more likely to experi-
ence partner violence compared to white and other non-white women. However,
the vulnerability of blacks in relation to whites was not confirmed by Fram et al.
(2006, p. 256), who studied domestic violence experiences of poor women in
South Carolina. Findings show that being “white, rather than black, was associ-
ated with a 0.2 standard-deviation increase in experiences of domestic violence,
and never-married status was associated with a 0.17 standard-deviation decrease
in such experiences.” Naved et al. (2006, p. 2922) show that in Bangladesh phys-
ical abuse among the sample of non-Muslim women was higher in rural areas
than in urban ones; they were exclusively Hindu, indicating a clear ethnic dimen-
sion of violence caused by the partner.
Pregnancy
In a victimization survey by Lundgren et al. (2002), 17 percent of women in
Sweden declared they were victims of violence by their previous partner while
pregnant and 3 percent their current partner. Prevalence figures for abuse during
pregnancy are difficult to compare between countries because of differences in
definitions, methods, and data used. What is common is that women who are
victims of violence when pregnant have often been abused prior to pregnancy as
244 Crime ina rural context
well (for a review, see Stenson, 2004). Several studies of rural women only
contain contrasting findings. Van Hightower, Gorton, and DeMoss (2000,
p. 150) show that in the United States migrant and seasonal farmworker women
who were pregnant were less likely to be victims of domestic violence than those
who were not pregnant. Despite a negative correlation between pregnancy and
abuse, nearly half of the abused respondents were pregnant in the sample.
Authors suggest that this could occur “if abusers have internalized pro-natalist
values that mediate against victimizing women who are pregnant.” Moreover,
women who have experienced abuse might choose to avoid pregnancy. In other
words, “being free from abuse might have a positive influence on the decision of
farmworker women to become pregnant, while experiencing abuse would have
the opposite effect.”
However, the protective effects of pregnancy are not confirmed elsewhere
in the literature. Naved et al. (2006, p. 2922) show that although physical viol-
ence by husbands did not escalate during pregnancy, 10 percent of women in
urban areas and 12 percent in rural areas reported being physically abused
during pregnancy in Bangladesh. Bhandari et al. (2008) evaluate stressors
experienced by rural low-income pregnant women experiencing intimate
partner violence. They found that all rural pregnant women faced many stres-
sors commonly not felt by urban pregnant women, such as when in labor
having to go great distances to reach a hospital and running the risk of poor
road conditions. Rural women also lacked many of the resources enjoyed by
urban women, such as public transportation, access to public housing or shel-
ters, opportunities for employment, and access to neighbors who live close
enough to provide support when needed, as well as having limited possibilities
of obtaining help with basic needs during financially hard times. The authors
concluded that, for women experiencing intimate partner violence in rural
areas, this lack of available resources may have further trapped them into
staying in abusive relationships. Similar findings were found by Persily and
Abdulla (2000, p. 15) in pregnant women in rural West Virginia. They also
found a correlation between a history of sexually transmitted diseases and
abuse, tobacco use, and abuse in pregnant women.
Alcohol and drug abuse
Although not a causal factor, alcohol and other drugs are common situational
and background antecedents to the occurrence of domestic violence. In the
United Kingdom, Morley and Mullander (1994) review a number of studies that,
on the one hand, show an association between alcohol and domestic violence
and, on the other, are inconclusive. Few differences are found between urban
and rural drinkers, but substance abuse treatment services are generally less
available in rural areas. Alcohol use during an assault has also been linked to an
increased severity of victims’ injuries. A recent study of 13 countries shows that
“severity ratings were significantly higher for incidents in which one or both
partners had been drinking, compared to incidents in which neither partner had
Violence against women 245
been drinking. The relationship did not differ significantly for men and women
or by country.” The authors conclude that alcohol consumption may serve to
potentiate violence when it occurs, and this pattern holds across a diverse set of
cultures (Graham, Bernards, Wilsnack, & Gmel, 2011, p. 1503). The most
common suggestion is that, rather than being a direct cause of violence, alcohol
is better viewed as a means of gaining courage to carry out the act and/or as a
convenient rationale to be excused. Kantor and Straus (1987, p. 224) suggest that
“men who were classified as high or binge drinkers had two-to-three times
greater rate of assaulting their wives than did husbands who abstained.”
The link between substance abuse and domestic violence is corroborated by
several studies from the 1980s and 1990s discussed by Logan, Walker, and
Leukefeld (2001) for the North American case. More recently, Murdaugh et al.
(2004, p. 110) find that nearly two-thirds of the Latino women who reported
abuse declared that it frequently occurred when the abuser was drinking or, in
about one-fifth of the cases, when he was using drugs, based on a sample from
the rural southeastern United States. In a study of domestic violence and fear of
intimate partners among migrant and seasonal farmworker women in the United
States, Van Hightower et al. (2000, p. 148) show that one of the strongest pre-
dictors of domestic violence was drug/alcohol use by the respondent’s partner.
The factors that most influenced respondents’ fear of their intimate partners were
abuse, frequency of abuse, and partners’ use of drugs or alcohol. Mechanisms
linking alcohol/drug abuse and violence are not well understood. In interviews
with women who wanted to break up a relationship, were in the process of
leaving, or who had left a relationship, DeKeseredy and Joseph (2006, p. 238)
find that two-thirds of the women declared that their former partners frequently
drank alcohol. Shepherd (2001) reports similar findings when analyzing domestic
violence among rural native Alaskan women. Lanier and Maume (2009) show
an increased likelihood of violence among couples with male heavy drinking
regardless of place.
In a study that examines the protective order process, barriers and outcomes
in rural and urban areas in the United States, Logan et al. (2005, p. 896) report
that about one-quarter of women interviewed mention that their partner was
using alcohol or drugs during the incident that led to them filing the protective
order. Alcohol abuse is also a predictor of domestic violence elsewhere. Tang
and Lai (2007, p. 10) show that this is particularly true in China of men who
lived in rural areas and had a low level of education.
One way of obtaining a less patchy picture of violence against women is to
make use of all available data in the country — police statistics, health statistics,
and victimization surveys — as is done in the following section for Sweden.
Together, these sets of data, if not complete at least provide a complementary
image of regional differences in violence against women. For example, health
statistics (patient records gathered by the National Board of Health and Welfare)
register the levels of hospitalization. If more female victims have to be hospital-
ized, then an increase in recorded health statistics should reflect a genuine rise in
violence. If the violence does not require medical care, the victim might reveal
246 Crime ina rural context
her abuse in victimization surveys when she seeks help in a women’s shelter,
when she feels motivated to report it to the police (police records), or through
victimization surveys.
The ecology of violence against women in rural Sweden
More than two-thirds of the variation in rates of violence for the whole country
is associated with alcohol purchase, foreign-born population, and divorce rates.
These results and the detailed methodology of this study are reported in a paper
by Ceccato and Dolmén (2009). In an attempt to identify structural covariates of
the geography of violence against women in rural Sweden, the authors disaggre-
gated police-recorded data for 1996-2007 by municipalities and regressed them
on demographic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle indicators, as suggested by the
international literature in the previous section. A novelty of this analysis was the
inclusion of JémIndex (Statistics Sweden, 2014), a gender index that indicates
how municipalities perform in terms of gender equality. JamIndex consists of
time series for each municipality and county for 15 individual variables such as
education, average income, and use of parental leave days. The higher the index,
the greater the gender equality. For instance, a municipality with a low index has
few women in leading political positions in the community, a segregated labor
market, large gender differences in income, and, at least hypothetically, is
expected to show higher rates of violence against women. There were two model
sets: one for the whole country and one applied only to rural municipalities.
Results from these models were presented in Chapter 5, “The geography of prop-
erty and violent crime in Sweden,” Table 5.4.
Findings for the whole country show that some of the covariates were the
same both for rural and urban municipalities, but they indicate that violence
affects people living in these areas differently. Belonging to an ethnic minority
in an urban area seems to put a woman at higher risk for partner violence than in
a rural area. Moreover, the link between alcohol and rates of violence against
women is dubious in rural areas and not easily interpreted. Whilst violence is
weakly associated with less alcohol consumption, the proportion of outlets for
purchasing alcohol has the expected (strong) effect on violence rates. Surpris-
ingly, although the model included the JamIndex, the results did not show that
municipalities with higher gender equality had a “protective effect” against viol-
ence against women.
The model for rural municipalities explains only one-third of the variation in
rates of violence, compared to two-thirds for the model for the whole country.
More interestingly, some indicators affect rates of violence in rural areas differ-
ently from how they do in urban areas. For instance, the ratio of the police force
to inhabitants is associated with violence against women in rural municipalities
but it is not in urban ones. This may indicate that the role of police in rural areas
differs from those living in large cities: whilst the police are one of many pos-
sible actors to whom an assault may be reported in urban areas, in rural areas the
police may be the only support to which women can turn.
Violence against women 247
Individual causal mechanisms between rates of violence against women and
the use of alcohol, for instance, cannot be drawn from this study, because it is an
ecological analysis by municipality. However, what is striking is that despite
being an aggregated analysis (by administrative units), it predicts equally viol-
ence against women using factors that are also found in the current literature
based on individual-level data (Table 10.4). For instance, studies based on
individual-level data point out that the “typical” victims of violence in rural
areas do not belong to the native group, are women in the process of leaving
their partners, face lower socioeconomic conditions, and either they or the per-
petrator make use of drugs and/or alcohol. In the Swedish case, rural municipal-
ities with high rates of violence tend also to be characterized by a high
proportion of female population with a foreign background. The link between
victimization and foreign background was already pointed out by Rying (2001)
when analyzing individual data of victims of homicides in intimate relationships
in the 1990s. The author suggested that a large proportion of both the perpet-
rators and the victims were born outside Sweden, but it is common for the victim
and the perpetrator to come from the same country.
Ceccato and Dolmén (2009) show that in Sweden rural rates of violence
against women often go together with divorce rates (Figure 10.4). It is unclear
whether broken relationships and subsequent contact with their former partners
lead to more violent conflicts or if it is the other way around: greater rates of
violence between partners lead to higher divorce rates. What is certain is that
o Female violence rate
1996 vs proportion of
divorced population
1995
; Female violence rate
° 2007 vs proportion of
divorced population
80- 2 2007
° ae — Female violence rate
“Oo” 1996 vs proportion of
divorced population
1995
Female violence rate
2007 vs proportion of
divorced population
2007
120-
100-
60-
40-4
Female violence rates
20-
R Sq linear = 0.271
R Sq linear = 0.16
Divorce rates
Figure 10.4 Scatter plot of female violence rates (y-axis) and divorce rates per muni-
cipality (x-axis), 1995 and 2007.
248 Crime ina rural context
women may decide to report violence only when they have already decided to
leave their partner, which explains the strong links between police-recorded viol-
ence against women and rates of divorce. Rying (2001, p. 46) indicates that in
Sweden 60 percent of all cases of homicide (stemming from domestic conflicts)
is motivated by jealousy or problems in connection with a separation. “The per-
petrators, who are often individuals with a pronounced need to control, have
killed the woman when they felt this need to be under threat.” If there is plenty
of evidence that some relationships lead to violence and, in extreme cases, death,
why is the system not identifying these cases at an early stage? The answer, of
course, is not simple, because it depends on a victim’s willingness to admit the
violence in the first place, which in turn depends on how culturally acceptable
her admission is to the community. The answer also depends on a social network
composed of friends and family as well as societal institutions (such as health
and social care, police, and nongovernmental organizations) that are ready to
step in and act in favor of the abused. Multiple barriers inhibit women from
breaking their silence and getting the support they need to come forward. Some
of these barriers are at community level. Chapter 14 will complement this dis-
cussion by reporting experiences from crime prevention initiatives in rural
Sweden aimed at violence against women.
Final considerations
This chapter illustrates urban and rural differences in violence against women
using Sweden as the study case. It also sheds light on possible factors behind
violence against women in rural areas by examining Sweden in light of the most
important international literature in the field. In Sweden and elsewhere, reporting
rates for violence against women vary geographically for different reasons,
which make it difficult to untangle underreported cases of violence against
women between urban and rural areas. Although statistics on violence against
women show more violence in urban municipalities in Sweden, rural areas are
witnessing more cases of violence than in the past. Such an increase in cases of
violence against women in police records was also confirmed by health statistics
(hospitalization rates). This relative increase may be related to a genuine change
in the level of criminal activity but also to a combination of other factors, such
as arise in victims’ willingness to report to the police and other authorities, soci-
ety’s increased sensitivity to violence, improvements in criminal justice prac-
tices, and changes in the law.
It is important to keep in mind that the Swedish case study discussed in this
chapter shares limitations with other studies based on limited data sources,
which is relevant here. This analysis is based on “groupings of municipalities”
as units of study. Data permitting, future analysis should explore units that make
more sense for rural communities, such as rural villages within “urban” municip-
alities that are excluded here. For better evaluations of the prevalence of and
hospitalization cases by injuries, more reliable and detailed data is necessary.
For instance, the national victimization survey should increase sampling in rural
Violence against women 249
areas so that violence against women can be at least reported at a municipal
level. Some of the important questions on violence against women cannot be
answered by quantitative frameworks. Thus, there is a need to look at case
studies through surveys and interviews to examine rural regional variations in all
kinds of woman abuse. It is necessary to consider the voices of victims of
intimate violence as valuable information to understand its impact on their lives,
such as how domestic assaults affect their levels of fear and anxiety. So far this
lack of knowledge about the victim’s perception of these violent events has led
to a failure to learn about successful prevention strategies.
This chapter has shown that disparities between urban and rural rates of violence
against women indicate that this crime may have specific determinants in the coun-
tryside at municipal level that differ from those for women living in cities (such as
the role of the police in the countryside). It is unclear why indicators of gender
equality do not capture the dynamics of the geography of violence against women,
either in rural or in urban municipalities. One reason may be the fact that police sta-
tistics reflect society’s capacity to deal with the problem and the communities’ tol-
erance for violence as part of their daily life (embedded in the different gender
contracts). This explains why municipalities with a large proportion of ethnic
minorities in Sweden tend to be characterized by high levels of violence against
women. They may well have a high gender index, with high gender-balanced labor
market, good participation of females in local politics, support in place for assaulted
women — and therefore high reporting rates for violence against women. The same
reasoning may clarify the mismatch between low rates of reported gendered viol-
ence in some rural municipalities with a lower gender equality index. It may be that
religious values lead to less violence against women, but it may also be that women
are not prepared to publicly reveal partner assault or they have fears related to
revealing it. In this case, fewer violent assaults may be just a measure of tolerance
to violence, perhaps seen as part of the local gender contract and accepted norms.
Previous studies using individual-level data help remarkably in understanding
gendered violence in Sweden, but in many cases they fail to distinguish between
rural and urban women. New understanding that draws on rural women’s per-
spectives of violence in the domestic realm is required to delineate a clear
picture of women’s needs, not only as victims but, more importantly, as agents
of their life choices. Such needs pose a considerable challenge to academics,
criminal justice authorities, and policy makers.
The international literature indicates that violence has a greater impact on
women living in remote areas than on those living in urban centers. But is that the
case in Sweden? No systematic evidence has been found on this point. At the same
time, being a “welfare state” with a long tradition of a women’s movement does
not guarantee a homogeneous support network for women suffering violence in the
domestic realm. To answer these questions, there is a need to assess whether and
how different gender contracts affect local social control and criminal justice prac-
tices toward women victims of domestic violence. This includes the treatment the
women receive on a daily basis, through municipal social services, healthcare, and
supporting nongovernmental organizations, such as shelters.
250 Crime ina rural context
At the national level, there are many remaining challenges in research on
domestic violence in Sweden. First, there is a need to understand the nature of
the violence against women, particularly focusing on potential differences
between urban and rural areas. Studies elsewhere indicate that rural offenders of
intimate abuse were nearly twice as likely as their urban counterparts to inflict
severe physical injuries. They were also more likely to use a weapon during their
assaults. Almost twice as many rural assailants threatened to kill their victims,
and rural assailants were 2.5 times more likely than their urban counterparts to
destroy property during the event (for a review, see Pruitt, 2008). Does geo-
graphical and social isolation contribute to more violent outcomes in rural areas
than in urban ones? This is a question that can only be answered empirically,
perhaps being approached as an interdisciplinary issue worthy of analysis on
its own.
Second, as in other countries, violence against women in intimate relation-
ships varies across ethnic groups, but overall in Sweden women from ethnic
minorities are extra vulnerable to this type of violence. Abuse within immigrant
families creates a variety of challenges; some are not unique to rural com-
munities. However, it is unclear whether such variations differ across urban and
tural areas in Sweden. Responding to them in rural context may be more difficult
because of the dearth of services, particularly for those with limited knowledge
of Swedish. The findings reported in this chapter also indicate that migrant
women run a higher risk of victimization than their Swedish counterparts regard-
less of where they live. Future research should focus particularly on cases of
women brought to Sweden in “marriage arrangements.” It is unclear how the
lack of protection these non-permanent residents suffer affect their decision to
remain with their partners and cope with violence. Anecdotal evidence reported
by the media illustrates cases in which the process of “othering” is used to alle-
viate the role of offenders in suspected cases of domestic violence and to deport
women to their home countries.
Third, although violence in the private realm affects mostly women, both men
and women are at risk. Knowledge of the extent to which men are exposed to
domestic violence is so far insufficient in Sweden. The same applies to those
who experience violence indirectly in the household, such as children and the
elderly. All victims of violence, regardless of gender, gender identity, age, or
ethnic background have the right to assistance and protection. Future research
should investigate ways to improve the knowledge base, so a safe home environ-
ment can be ensured for all.
Finally, there is an urgent need to know more about the experiences of local
crime prevention initiatives on violence against women in rural Sweden. This is
important because rural areas impose challenges on women who are victims of
violence. Chapter 14 contributes to this knowledge base by providing a snapshot
of what is happening in terms of interventions to tackle violence against women
in Swedish rural areas.
Violence against women 251
Notes
1 Literally “Women’s Peace,” originally from a medieval Swedish law protecting women.
2 As a result of changes in criminal codes in 2009, the data needs to be carefully ana-
lyzed when compared with data from 1996 and 2007.
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Domestic-Violence-in-Regional-Australia-A-Literature-Review.pdf.
Westman, M. (2010). Women of Thailand (Master’s thesis, University of Linképing,
Linképing).
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ability and health. Geneva: WHO.
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
http://taylorandfrancis.com
Part V
Policing and crime
prevention in rural Sweden
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
http://taylorandfrancis.com
11 Police, rural policing, and
community safety
One reason this chapter is devoted to rural policing is the difference in police
work and organization. More than 40 years ago, Cain (1973) highlighted the dis-
tinctiveness of rural policing, with its isolating and lonesome nature, and the
dependence on one’s neighbors and community within which the police lived.
Rural crime issues are very different nowadays from those in the 1970s, and cer-
tainly rurality is a complex mix that imposes new demands on policing that go
beyond issues of remoteness and isolation. Policing is no longer a job for the
public police force only. Yet “(t)here has always been, and still is, a difference
between police work and organization in urban and rural areas” (Furuhagen,
2009, p. 13)
Mawby (2011) suggests that in many countries only a small proportion of
policing is carried out by police officers especially trained by the central or local
government. Alternative policing has not emerged at pace with this change or
evenly distributed across or within countries. This chapter starts with an inter-
national overview of what the police have been, with particular focus on the
historical development of the rural police as an institution. This is an important
subject, as Mawby and Yarwood (2011, p. 1) suggest “studies of rural policing
have fallen off the edge of many research agendas.” This chapter also provides a
detailed history of the development of policing in Swedish rural areas and dis-
cusses examples of the contemporary daily work of police with crime, crime pre-
vention, and community safety, focusing on Sweden. Then, the chapter ends
with a discussion of future challenges for policing in the Swedish countryside, as
the commodification of policing has become a reality and the police organization
is being centralized.
In this book, the term police refers to the civil force of a state responsible for
the detection and prevention of crime and the maintenance of public order. In
terms of actions, “police” is often associated with more traditional policing, that
is, mostly reactive activities, such as patrol and direct reactions to the crimes
and/or infractions being committed. Police have also been associated with proac-
tive activities aimed at crime control as well as perceived safety. Policing is a
broader concept that may include more than the police, often with the involve-
ment of multiple actors, public and private ones, and citizens, all aimed at safety
governance. Also referred to as community policing, it is more proactive than the
260 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
traditional policing work of patrol. As suggested by Yarwood (2014), “com-
munity policing” usually refers to the efforts of various state, volunteer, and
private agencies to police particular places in partnership with one another.
Whilst police actions are typically dedicated to specific geographic areas in their
jurisdiction, policing may have less distinctive territorial boundaries, as actors
are not necessarily bound on a territorial basis.
Police in rural areas: an international perspective
The word police comes from the Greek words polis, meaning city or state, and
politeia, management. The original meaning was the city administration or art of
government. The modern police, a more “organized” police as we know them,
are a relatively new phenomenon. They emerged with the development of com-
munities where there was a clear power structure in the form of royalty or later,
with independent administrative bodies. In Sweden, for example, the modern
police developed in the 1800s and early 1900s as a result of industrialization and
the growing need for control in cities that produced new and greater problems of
order and crime. As Furuhagen (2009) states, police in a broader sense has a
much longer history and is perhaps a phenomenon as old as humanity itself.
In the Middle Ages, and even in the modern era, the police played a varied
role. In Sweden, police was a collective term for all public activities except the
church; that is, to denote the part of the “domestic” and local management in
charge of maintaining order and safety, practically everything that related to
social, political, and economic life but, of course, did not have today’s organiza-
tion, with police departments and corps. Originally the police depended on indi-
viduals who shared the burden of ensuring collective safety. In small medieval
towns, night watchmen alternated shifts monitoring the city and arresting crimi-
nals and beggars. In the countryside, peasants were assigned different roles, of
village guard or parish constable. They could then also get other jobs in the local
community and they worked occasionally as local agents or representatives of
the king, that is, state power. Nowadays, the police reflect the state’s monopoly
on violence and are an institution responsible for order and security within the
country (Furuhagen, 2004, 2009).
The way rural areas are policed nowadays is also a result of different tradi-
tions in policing. There are two accepted police traditions: one that follows the
Anglo-Saxon model, which has its roots in England and in the United States, and
the other, the continental police tradition, which prevailed in France, Italy,
Germany, countries in southern and central Europe, and, to some extent, Canada.
For a detailed description of Canada’s and the United States’ structure for rural
policing, see Donnermeyer, DeKeseredy, and Dragiewicz (2011) and also later
in this chapter.
The Anglo-Saxon model is characterized by decentralization and has been
built on community-based and civil forms of policing with constables and
guards, often unarmed. In the United States, systematic study of urban and
small-town policing was almost nonexistent before the 1970s (Payne, Berg, &
Police, rural policing, community safety 261
Sun, 2005). Although studies were performed after that, researchers suggest that
they are often descriptive and “atheoretical,” with very limited attempts to link
police structure and rural social structure (Donnermeyer et al., 2011; Weisheit,
Falcone, & Wells, 2006). These authors suggest that the absence of research is
attributable to the fact that is may be difficult to obtain an acceptable sample size
of events in small municipalities. Moreover, rural residents as well as police may
be less likely to accept strangers and share information with outsiders, making it
difficult to conduct research in rural areas.
The continental police tradition derived originally from France, which created a
gendarmerie, that is, armed state police on horseback, in rural areas as far back as
the sixteenth century. The French police developed much stronger links with armed
forces and was heavily armed. According to Furuhagen (2009), the continental
police is deemed to have been, and probably still is, less civic-oriented than the
Anglo-Saxon police, which is closer to the people, more service-oriented and less
authoritarian. The Swedish police have been influenced in varying degrees by both
traditions. The Swedish police’s historical roots are local, but the state’s growing
involvement has been a common thread in its historical development. The next
section reviews rural and small-town policing in the United States, Canada, the
United Kingdom, and Australia as background for the Swedish case.
Glimpses of rural policing in the United States, Canada, the United
Kingdom, and Australia
The most comprehensive research on rural and small-town policing in the United
States was conducted by Weisheit and colleagues (Falcone, Wells, & Weisheit,
2002; Weisheit, Wells, & Falcone, 1994). Payne et al. (2005) report that they
found that rural and small-town police departments tend to emphasize crime pre-
vention and service activities, whereas those based in large cities focus on
enforcing law and controlling crime through arrests. They also found that polic-
ing styles in rural areas largely reflect the relationship between the police and the
community. Moreover, rural officers are expected to carry out a wider range of
tasks than their urban counterparts do, because other social services are either
nonexistent or too remote to provide timely service. Moreover, like their urban
counterparts, rural police have to adapt their strategy and tactics to meet the
needs of their communities (Cordner & Scarborough, 1997). Where tax bases
are small, rural police departments are likely to be seriously understaffed and
without important resources (Weisheit et al., 1994).
The rural setting has particular features shaping both crime and policing
(Weisheit et al., 1994). Weisheit et al. (1994) give an example of what this
means in the North American context. Although rural individuals are more likely
to own guns, they are less likely to use guns in committing a crime. Gun owner-
ship is much more prevalent in rural areas, where more than double the number
of residents own guns than their urban counterparts. Nowadays, of the United
States’ estimated 13.7 million hunters, 18 percent reside outside metropolitan
areas and 3 percent in big cities (Pompa & Ganier, 2013).
262 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
More recently, another face of rural areas in North America was presented by
Donnermeyer et al. (2011). They highlight the complexity of rural communities
in the United States and Canada and how it creates specific challenges for the
police. On one hand, some of these rural areas are examples of the idyllic rural;
on the other hand, some suffer from a number of problems, such as persistent
poverty, depopulation, and youth drug addiction. They suggest that a way to
understand the plurality of rural policing is to assume that there are several com-
munities within a community that vary over time and space. Within these rural
communities are various kinds of social orders that interplay with the formal
structures of policing and deal with different types of crimes in different ways.
The authors add that:
understanding policing practices in the rural context continue down a path
of testing specific actions but without ever considering macro-level forces
that place strong parameters for the ways in which rural communities,
peoples and police can change and work together in more effective
partnerships.
(Donnermeyer et al., 2011, p. 31)
In Britain, developments in policing have moved toward reactive policing,
and many local police stations have been closed. Such changes are based on
policing and governance at various levels as stipulated by the Crime and Dis-
order Act 1998. Economization in services in rural areas especially is argued
to have affected some municipalities more than others, as policing has become
less visible. In contrast, there have emerged in the 1990s local policing
schemes based on volunteerism and community involvement. Farm Watch
(FW) has been implemented across rural areas, its success in large part attrib-
utable to local police and partnership initiatives that support and maintain
such initiatives. By the end of the decade, partnership initiatives had a firm
place in government policy. Rural crime governance has changed in parallel
with an increased emphasis on risk-based strategies that identify and police
crime “hot spots” from the national to local levels, thus demoting crime in
rural areas. Within the most rural regions, urban areas do exist, and these
attract the bulk of available funding (Fyfe, 1995; Jones & Phipps, 2012;
Yarwood, 2011). Mawby (2011) suggests that a policing mix has character-
ized community policing in rural areas in the past 20 years, through the
expansion of private and state agencies involved in policing as well as volun-
teers and police ancillaries. The number of special constables relative to
regular officers is greater in rural areas and, according to the author, has
remained constant over the years despite the expansion of private and state
agencies involved in policing.
In a recent study in rural Scotland, Fenwick, Dockrell, Roberts, and Slade
(2012) also found that the challenges of rural police include large territorial
distances, limited access to resources for support, unique community expecta-
tions, and role conflicts experienced by police officers in the social dynamics
Police, rural policing, community safety 263
of rural communities. In these circumstances, officers learn to balance being
part of the community with carrying out their policing duties, or balance
policing “by the book” with community expectations. To maintain legitimacy
with the community, police need to respond to and resolve minor quality of
life issues. Participants suggest that this practice increases the visibility of the
police and provides opportunities to gather intelligence on community activ-
ities. Fenwick et al. (2012) used focus groups to find out the unique demands
on police officers following a community policing model. They found, for
instance, that evidence-based practice for policing does not fit the demands of
rural communities, as they present special challenges to police.
Barclay, Scott, and Donnermeyer (2011) report on Australian cases of
community policing in a country where the region plays an important role in
policing. To start with, the organization of policing in Australia is different
from both the United States and the United Kingdom. The organization prac-
tices and laws are determined more on a regional basis in Australian states
and territories, each of which is policed by a single organization that is cen-
trally controlled. These areas are divided into regions, then police districts,
and then police stations. Some rural communities are served by officers
located in neighboring towns, with officers working between communities.
Community policing defines important aspects of the role of the police, under
the localistic model. Local police officers are expected to become part of the
community even if it compromises objectivity. This model also has disadvan-
tages, namely that certain groups or activities become over-policed and others
under-policed. Paradoxically, as a result the model may also favor certain
groups and sectional interests (Barclay et al., 2011). This may support what a
more critical account of this model states: “Some communities are more
willing and able to help themselves and it is an irony that those in the need
of most help are unlikely to benefit from self-help initiatives” (Yarwood,
2014, p. 6).
Sweden has a long tradition of local policing, but this does not mean that it
has always been decentralized. Up to the mid-1960s, Sweden had a decentralized
organization (see Table 11.2, later in the chapter). Later it became more driven
from the center. In the 1980s, a debate about strong governmental intervention
and centralization affected many sectors of society, including the police. This
development also followed trends in practices in the United Kingdom and else-
where focused on community-based policing in Sweden. Crucial for this decen-
tralized policing model was the 1996 national program for crime prevention, in
which local police forces were central actors (Ceccato & Dolmén, 2011). Local
partnerships meant that part of the responsibility of crime control and prevention
was placed on the shoulders of civil society (Yarwood & Edwards, 1995) with
public engagement in different levels and initiatives. This collaborative model
became — and is still regarded as — important to successful crime prevention. The
next section discusses the origins of modern policing, up to current develop-
ments, with a focus on rural areas.
264 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
Police and policing in Sweden: focus on rural areas
From its origins to modern policing in the 1990s'
The Swedish police authority’s earliest origins were in rural areas, where early
forms of policing likely worked in the same way as in other countries, namely
the local community itself was responsible for maintaining order. It was with the
nascent monarchy that pre-modern police service began to take its current form.
The king’s bailiffs worked in the Middle Ages with tax collection and other
details of the administration but also had overall responsibility for local law and
order (Sjdholm, 1941). Already in Viking times, order and law had territorial
features. According to Furuhagen (2009), when Sweden was Christianized
(between the eighth and the twelfth centuries), the country was divided into par-
ishes, each one led by a priest who met with the male farmers at parish meetings
to discuss local affairs, including order in the parish, such as conflicts between
neighbors or problems with rowdy youngsters. To maintain order in the parish,
the priest was assisted by “six men,” who were elders elected or appointed by
the male farmers in different parts of each parish. They would keep a close eye
on local order, helping to mediate conflicts and reporting to the priest on prob-
lems of order and neglect in their villages.
It was only in the early seventeenth century that the monarchy took over and
governors in each county were given the ultimate responsibility for law and
order. The crown bailiffs primarily handled tax collection in their districts but
they also continued to watch over law and order and prosecute crime. In prac-
tice, these tasks were handled at the local level largely by the sergeants who
served under each bailiff. In addition to police-like tasks, a bailiff could act as
the representative of the state in the role of “prosecutor” in some cases before
district courts (lower courts in rural areas). Police chiefs were not police officers
in today’s sense; they were a mixture of police, tax official, and prosecutor at the
lowest level. Police chiefs remained until the early twentieth century when,
through a reform, they were replaced by country fiscals that basically had the
same function as early sheriffs (a mixture of police, tax official, and prosecutor
at the lowest level) but also had more skilled tasks (e.g., responsibility for the
seizure of taxes, fees, and fines and keeping an eye on trade and industry, trans-
port and communications, fire protection, and construction). Under the fiscals, in
each rural village there were ffardingsmadn, or constables, elected or appointed in
the local community. In practice, these were often farmers or other people in the
parish who often served part-time as police.
During the second half of the 1800s, it became clear that policing in the
Swedish countryside was inadequate. Cities and market towns, with concentra-
tions of many people brought by, for instance, train stations, mills, and industries,
required officers devoted exclusively to police work. In the latter nineteenth
century, urban communities would hire a police superintendent and, if necessary,
additional police personnel. In the early twentieth century, rural police still were
not considered satisfactory, despite state funding for hiring extra police. Although
Police, rural policing, community safety 265
there were no military police, a mounted police combined with county detectives
and reserve officers was started, half financed by the state, half by counties or
municipalities. According to Furuhagen (2009), mounted police had already been
implemented by several counties and were called the “county police” because
they were employed by the county councils. In 1920, there were 2,789 constables
throughout Sweden, but only 325 of these had full-time duties. Also, they were
distributed irregularly across the country, as only 383 policemen served outside
the cities. At the local level, police handled tasks along with sergeants, constables,
and, later, extra officers.
There were large differences between urban police forces and police in rural
areas as well as between various municipalities and between towns. In the
capital, Stockholm, police also had a decentralized organization. The city was
divided into several districts with local police stations. Each district was headed
by a commissioner, who had several detectives and a large number of ordinary
constables under him. They spent most of their time patrolling on foot. Crime
prevention was limited, as the emphasis was on maintaining order in a broad
sense.
In 1925, a more centralized police model came into force and was supported
by several sectors of society, especially police officers. Police remained essen-
tially a municipal concern, but the state could control a local police organization.
This meant that national police legislation ensured police officers’ employment
and working conditions, with uniform rules for wages, disciplinary punishment,
and dismissal. A school was the means for centralizing training which, until
then, had been spread across the country and, by today’s standards, had been
short and inadequate. Furuhagen (2009) reports police wages were low, espe-
cially in rural areas and small towns, where the work day was long and hard.
One problem of local police had been that officers could be arbitrarily dismissed
with no independent investigation. The consequences of the Police Act 1925
were largely a codification and homogenization of police work. The local con-
nection remained strong for many small police precincts, which had considerable
freedom in organizing police work. Rural areas often had only a lone constable
who, in practice, was busier collecting taxes and performing sundry tasks than
officially assisting in police work.
Furuhagen (2009) adds that the Police Act 1925, unlike the current Police
Act, did not contain any declarations of principles that police should prevent
crime. There was also no discussion about police presence in the local com-
munity, which might suggest that in practice it was not a problem and not a
concern because police and police work were already strongly rooted in the local
community, especially in rural areas and small towns, where much of the popu-
lation lived at that time. According to Furuhagen, this reform was positive but
not enough to improve and adapt the police to society’s needs. The problems
were mainly in rural areas, where the military had to step in. A state police,
which complemented the municipal police, was established in 1932. One of the
main motivations for the founding of the state police was demonstrations in 1931
when the military shot and killed five civilians. However, the shortcomings of
266 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
the existing municipal police organization were numerous. The main problem
was that there were too many precincts and they were too small. In 1944, there
were more than 1,600 precincts (of which 123 cities and 57 towns), and rural
areas had many districts with only one or two police officers. Ten years later,
there were 854 precincts, and in the early 1960s there were 554. However, many
districts had yet to get police officers to work satisfactorily: 70 percent of the
districts had fewer than 10 police officers, some had only two. There was an
increasing need for coordination over large geographical areas, particularly
cooperation between police in rural areas and adjacent towns.
Personal and professional anecdotal evidence from police officers shows that the
nationalization of the police meant additional resources, especially cars and other
technical equipment, but also more bureaucracy and paperwork. There was now
also greater consistency. In the meantime, municipal resources and circumstances
for conducting effective policing still varied much between precincts. Technolo-
gical developments contributed to the centralization of the police. The technology
also favored a reactive approach (Furuhagen, 2009). Car patrols in the 1960s led to
“alienated” police practices focused largely on event-driven emergency operations
and neglect of contact with the community, because car patrolling was considered
to have a deterrent effect on crime. There was an expectation that as police cars
were constantly in motion, people would get the impression that the police were
present everywhere. The debate about the dangers of a state police continued after
nationalization. Some sectors of society alleged that the police in a centralized state
could be a threat to democracy. In 1975, a police investigation led to reforms of the
Swedish police in the 1980s and paved the way to a centralized model in the 1990s.
With urbanization, police workloads not only increased in volume but also became
more diverse. The decentralization of the police was thought necessary for the insti-
tution to adapt to more complex patterns of living and working that were emerging
in larger cities at that time. This was followed in the 1980s by stronger citizen influ-
ence, as local police boards got more power to make decisions and manage their
business, in terms of greater control over resource allocation. Police training also
changed: the theoretical portion was expanded and contained more social and
behavioral sciences. In practical everyday work, the reform advocated commitment
to community policing, in which contact with the public increased while car patrols
for prevention were to be avoided. During the 1990s, the reform of the Swedish
police continued in the direction it began in the 1980s but faced numerous chal-
lenges as community policing reform demanded new resources that were reduced
by the economic crisis of the early 1990s.
Recent developments in Swedish rural policing: 1990s onwards
As in other Western countries, in Sweden the police have undergone several
transformations during the last 20-30 years. The two most important changes are
the pluralization of actors exercising policing (from the hegemonic role of the
police to a plethora of actors) and commodification of certain services and activ-
ities, with the expansion of private sector to traditional police roles.
Police, rural policing, community safety 267
In rural areas, private security companies have gained legitimacy through
explicit recognition of the state, as policing models become more local-oriented.
Hence, these companies operate partly in combination with other public authori-
ties and perform legitimatized functions of security governance. In 2005, 30
percent of Swedish municipalities conducted activities that fall within the
responsibilities of the police (Thelin & Svantemark, 2005). At the same time,
one-third of municipalities employed private sector organizations to perform
police patrols (Kommunaktuellt, 2002). This development is discussed in more
detail in the following.
The “renewal bill 1989-1990” was the direct prelude to community police
reform with the paper Alla vart ansvar. The bill also suggested that most police
officers be generalists, “overall police,” meaning that they should be locally based
officers responsible for all types of police work (criminal investigations, call-out
service, crime prevention efforts). The reform was aimed at strengthening citizens’
influence on crime prevention, which was considered the best way to deal with
crime. Community policing would evolve to become the foundation of police
activities framed by 21 police authorities (see Table 11.2, later in the chapter). The
inspiration came from British and North American models such as community
policing and problem-based policing. The idea was that the police should have
stronger roots in the citizenry. Police work should have more contact with schools,
social care, local organizations, and other agencies in the community (a predefined
geographic area). Police work should also focus more than before on preventing
crime. This would be achieved primarily through a systematic approach and
problem-oriented policing in which police officers with good local knowledge
would gather intelligence about crime and its prevention themselves. However,
how many of these principles were actually put into practice?
It is clear the extent to which policing reform was not implemented in accord-
ance with the government’s intentions (Furuhagen, 2009). Several reasons obstruct
the application of the model in practice. First, the reform was implemented gradu-
ally and at different times for different parts of the country. Some police authorities
began to change their activities already in 1993, while others took until the late
1990s. In 2000, according to the National Police Agency, only 40 percent of all
local police officers were considered “working with community policing,” which
was not enough to ensure plans for local policing. Second, the reform coincided
with harsh economic times. Recruitment was limited. Only 20 percent of police
officers were working as generalists in the 2000s, leading to the conclusion by the
National Crime Prevention Council that community policing reform was not fully
developed by then. Moreover, the introduction of the position of /dnspolismdstare
(chief commissioner of a county police department) was another form of centrali-
zation, according to Furuhagen (2009). The change meant the regional police chief
was no longer part of the provincial government’s organization but rather head of
one of the county’s police departments. In 1994, there were still 118 police regions,
nearly the same number as in 1965. In 1998, there were only 21 police regions, one
in each county. Furuhagen also quotes several researchers in Sweden who suggest
that centralization — and not community policing — have characterized the police
268 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
during the early 2000s. These researchers add that the reform led to a change in the
organization alone and not in the orientation of policing services. Centralization
was somehow obligatory because, as Sweden entered the European Union, better
coordination at national and international levels would lead to centralization of
certain routines. One example has been the need to merge the data from 21 police
areas into single biometric information. By the mid-2000s, a survey (Kommunak-
tuellt, 2002) showed that half of the municipalities thought community policing
worked poorly, and one-third of the municipalities employed private patrols to
perform police-like work.
The political assessment was that the community policing reform would be
implemented but that the police would get some new resources. However,
funding for community policing reform was complicated by an acute crisis in
public finances in the early 1990s. The initial idea was that there should be about
30 police officers in every community policing area, where there would be about
30,000 inhabitants; in other words, one police officer per 1,000 residents. The
police were forced to cut the budget just as other public authorities were, result-
ing mainly in reduced staff numbers. Note that in the period 1986-2000, the
number of police officers decreased (Table 11.1). Since the early 2000s, several
community policing areas have merged.
Furuhagen (2009) indicates that the number of civilian employees decreased
by 30 percent between 1993 and 2000. Police staff were not affected as much,
but recruitment by the Police Academy stopped for three years in the mid-1990s.
This trend in the police follows the overall national trend in employment by
public sector entities during the 1990s (Brandt & Westholm, 2008). The number
of employees per citizen dropped significantly in 1993 and then increased again.
This shift has occurred in small municipalities as well as large ones. The cause
of these fluctuations appears to have been weaker public finances in the early
1990s. At the same time, technological and organizational changes during the
decade made possible a reduction in the number of employees, reducing in par-
ticular the need for unskilled workers.
The sharp increase in the number of police officers reflects the recent govern-
ment targets of having 20,000 police officers in Sweden. The number of candid-
ates admitted to police training each year is based on this goal. The total number
of police officers a police force may be assigned depends mostly on population
and crime levels. Mapping police officers per municipality can be misleading.
This is not a particularly useful measure, because a “police station” in a muni-
cipality may serve only parts of the municipality (in the south) or several neigh-
boring municipalities (in the north). Obviously, not all police employees are
officers, and administrative personnel account for a large part. The latter group
has steadily increased, by 36 percent from 2000 to 2012 (from 6,205 to 8,457
employees). The Swedish National Police publish the number of police out of
the 21 regional police forces, but the regional police authorities determine where
police employees will be stationed within their territory. This current structure
will change with the police centralization and amalgamation of regional police
authorities.
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270 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
Having a more gender-balanced police force is also part of the national goals.
For instance, in 2005, women constituted 22 percent of police officers, while six
years later the percentage reached 30 percent. In the late 1950s, Sweden got its first
female police. Women’s participation as police officers was controversial. Furu-
hagen (2009) suggests that at that time there were two camps: one camp felt that
women meant strength for Swedish police, that both men and women could be
police officers; the second camp thought that women were not suitable for practical
police service. These women were called “police sisters” and had specific tasks
concerning women and children. Police sisters constituted a very small percentage
of the country’s police force. Initially there were 26 police sisters and more than
6,000 male officers and most police sisters were based in Stockholm. The police
sister designation was taken away when the same service levels and the same
working conditions began to apply to both women and men. In theory, female
police officers received the same training as men, but in practice there were still
some differences, especially those related to weaponry and physical training. Not
until the 1960s were all positions open to women. Before that, some positions were
limited to male applicants.
Although the number of police officers employed reflects the degree of urban-
ization in Sweden (Stockholm, Vastra Gotaland, and Skane, where Stockholm,
Gothenburg, and Malm6 -— the three largest cities — are located), the increase in
police officers employed was fairly even between urban and rural counties, at
about 20 percent. If these statistics are broken down into smaller geographical
units (counties), one notices that the largest increase in police force between
2000 and 2012 occurred in counties neighboring the two most urbanized coun-
ties (Malm6 and Stockholm): Halland and Uppsala, with 53.5 percent and 40.1
percent, respectively (Figure 11.1).
1.4 5
[o) [o) = =
o foe) jo) Ds)
1 1 1 1
(
°
&
Total police officers per inhabitant
2006, index = 1)
0.25
— Rural ——Urban
Figure 11.1 Number of police officers in rural and other municipalities, 2001-2012
(source: Lindstrém, 2014).
Police, rural policing, community safety 271
There has been a decrease in police manpower in small and rural areas in rela-
tion to urban municipalities (Figure 11.1). Lindstrém (2014) shows that police
manpower in Sweden increased about 15 percent, but rural and small communities
have not gained in police numbers since 2006, some communities even experi-
encing a decrease. For instance, in 2012 about one-quarter of all Swedish municip-
alities had no permanent police staff. These municipalities often receive police
support from officers stationed in nearby municipalities. Moreover, the number of
municipalities in Sweden without permanent police staff has steadily increased
over time. Does an uneven distribution of police officers affect crime levels?
Lindstrém (2014) indicates that fewer police has meant an increase in certain
types of crimes (and the opposite: relatively less crime in well-staffed municip-
alities). More interesting is that although crime in general has been lower in rural
and smaller municipalities, increases in crime in these areas have been as large
as or larger than the increases in urban municipalities. The message that emerges
from this study is that the police need to be present in order to help prevent
crime. However, the author calls for resident involvement in policing, because
police officers are not able to do much about crime by themselves if residents are
not actively involved in preventing it.
Partnerships in rural community safety
This section is divided into two. The first subsection is devoted to local crime
prevention groups or councils. In 2012, there were about 300 crime prevention
(CP) groups across Sweden. The role of the police is discussed here, as is the
role of CP groups in rural areas. CP groups have been the main coordinators of
community policing in Sweden since the mid-1990s. The second subsection dis-
cusses the expansion of the private security sector within the governance of
safety in rural areas. The focus is on the increase in security private companies,
either as part of public patrol or direct work with situational crime prevention.
Several examples are provided in both sections to illustrate these developments.
Police and local crime prevention councils
In 2005, the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (BRA) performed
the most comprehensive evaluation of CP work at the municipal level up to that
time (BRA, 2005). The objective of the study was to investigate how CP groups
had developed since the implementation of Allas vart ansvar, the national CP
program in 1996, which was intended to create CP groups throughout the
country and support the activities of those that already existed. At that time,
BRA found that CP groups were often directly placed under municipal councils,
and, together with the police, municipal representatives had the strongest influ-
ence in the council’s work. Leaders of CP groups devoted on average less than
one day per week to CP activities, which were often financed by the muni-
cipality. CP members saw themselves as having a holistic perspective on what
happens in the community in terms of crime and safety.
272 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
In a later study, BRA indicated that the role of the police was particularly
important in smaller rural municipalities (BRA, 2006). Yet small municipalities
had little chance to succeed in CP work compared to larger urban centers, mainly
because of a lack of financial resources and support. It was also found that more
experienced CP groups tended to work better than new ones. The experienced ones
had earmarked resources and clear-cut goals. They also actively sought and used
knowledge and evidence more often than other CP groups. The majority of CP
groups focused on youth preventive measures against alcohol and drug addiction.
To follow up these assessments (BRA, 2005, 2006), this subsection reviews
an analysis performed by the author in cooperation with the criminologist Lars
Dolmén and published by the European Journal of Criminology (Ceccato &
Dolmén, 2013). This subsection summarizes the discussion of the role of police
in relation to CP groups’ actions, organization, cooperation, evaluations, and
challenges. The data was gathered using a semi-structured interview with
members of local CP councils in eight rural municipalities in Sweden (for more
details about the selection of these areas in previous chapters). The template for
the interview constituted more than 40 questions divided into five sections. A
minimum of five to a maximum of seven persons were interviewed in each
municipality, in a total of 49 interviews. To obtain a comprehensive picture of
CP experiences in rural areas in Sweden, data from other sources was obtained,
from a database of CP projects receiving funding from the National Crime Pre-
vention Council and from answers to an email survey to all representatives of
local CP groups in Sweden (from a short email “scenario” survey submitted to
all representatives of local CP groups, with a 62 percent response rate).
Crime prevention is more than volunteer action
The composition of CP groups in Swedish rural municipalities was a surprise. It
was initially expected that because of strong social ties, CP groups would be
composed mostly of volunteers. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, the ideal of
eldsjdlar (local enthusiasts working voluntarily) as the main drivers of CP work
applied perhaps in only one case of the eight studied. Findings show that CP rep-
resentatives are rarely volunteers and may not always come from existing local
social networks. CP members are often employed in different areas of the muni-
cipality, police, and/or county council with roles other than CP, devoting a
couple of hours per week (or less) to it. CP representatives may not even live in
the same municipality as they work in, commuting sometimes on a weekly or
daily basis. Their actions are much more institutionalized than was previously
thought. This is certainly a development related to how Allas vart ansvar has
affected CP organizations and priorities since the mid-1990s. Thus, CP groups
may receive funding for their activities from the municipality or by applying for
external funding from regional or national sources or the European Union.
The institutionalization of CP groups may have also impacted how representa-
tives define their CP efforts. When CP representatives were asked about their def-
inition of “Crime prevention,” they thought of a “multidimensional construct,”
Police, rural policing, community safety 273
often reflecting what they do in CP work. For instance, CP representatives from
local police enforcement define CP based on the traditional role of the police
(tackle crime and ensure order) but also reflecting the importance of formal
social control, trust, and social networks against criminal events that take place
in public places:
CP is ... to prevent crime, reduce crime curve so the police will get a good
reputation and the public has confidence in us.
(Police inspector, south, high crime, old economy)
CP is about social control. It is by far the best crime prevention effect that
we have in the small community, everybody knows everybody.
(Police inspector, south, low crime, old economy)
As is shown in Chapters 13 and 14, people working with youngsters with
problems and/or domestic violence tend to see CP’s “therapeutic” function for
the community in places where violence can be a problem to be tackled in CP
work:
Successful crime prevention is about limiting alcohol to young people,
finding alternatives, getting parents more involved. It’s a little different
culture up here in the North.
(Healthcare advisor, north, low crime, new economy)
Things happen (domestic violence) even in small municipalities. They have
to be discussed. When necessary, we must act!
(Crime victims association, north, low crime, old economy)
The work of CP groups in rural areas: are rural issues demoted?
On a daily basis, CP tackles problems of perceived safety, often relying on safety
and night and security walks, involving the local community in general. Through
partnerships with schools, CP members may be involved in programs aimed at
integrating refugee children who come to these municipalities. Farm crimes
(e.g., theft of trucks, fertilizers, cattle) and environmental and wildlife crime do
not belong on the main agenda (see Chapter 13). Jones and Phipps (2012) and
other British researchers quoted in their article found similar results. As initially
expected, CP groups concentrate their work on problems of the “urban core” of
the rural municipality and therefore rarely focus on environmental crime, with
very few exceptions.
Youth is unanimously the most important issue in rural areas for CP councils,
according to representatives (this topic will be further discussed in Chapter 13). All
eight municipalities highlighted the problems of alcohol and drug addiction as well
as related problems, some being seasonal and associated with violence in the public
and private spheres, vandalism, and, to a lesser extent, property crimes.
274 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
Though youth-related problems may be found in the most remote rural areas
in Sweden, they are often taken as a typical big-city problem. The focus on “big
city problems” in CP work in rural areas is also found when looking at the pro-
jects nationally funded. Why is this so? Partnerships have been central in the
national CP model that tends to prioritize urban problems. As an example, the
majority of projects funded by BRA are in urban areas, and if they are based in
rural municipalities, they still focus on issues that are more often found in large
cities, such as youth violence, preventive measures against drug and alcohol
addiction, or situation-based solutions to improve perceived safety. This is not
specific to Sweden. In the United Kingdom, Gilling (2011) suggests that recent
developments in national crime governance and policing have by default negated
rural crime. In the British case, this is because the new risk-based strategies pre-
clude many rural crime issues from meeting the nationally defined “crime
problem” benchmark. The author suggests that until relatively recently, respond-
ing to “headline” crime occurring in more populous areas has the priority in per-
formance terms (Gilling, 2007). In Sweden, this might also be the case, but
certainly this biased model also reflects a national top-down model of CP that
identifies several target areas and establishes frameworks for action often
focused on big cities’ problems, disregarding rural diversity. This is further rein-
forced by a scheme of prizes awarded to CP projects assessed as “best practices”
following these guidelines, which may be replicated in other municipalities.
Whether they make sense in a (different) rural context is difficult to say, but it
seems reasonable to expect that there is a need to re-examine the current model.
Even if the causes of crime in rural areas are the same as those in urban areas, it
seems in-depth knowledge is necessary to tackle problems that are expressed dif-
ferently depending on where they occur, as crime and perceived safety might
depend on context.
Partnerships, knowledge, and resources
Several interviewees suggested that a large share of their activity is devoted to
achieving a satisfactory local partnership per se, as community policing is sup-
posed to be based on information sharing (Figure 11.2). In practice, this means a
large part of their time goes into taking courses on crime prevention to improve
knowledge among CP representatives and attending lectures and meetings. This
has become the main goal of some CP groups, which is problematic, of course,
because partnership and collaborative work, as submitted here, are a means to
help CP work, not the end itself. Such work should lead representatives to better
understanding of the problems and causes with which they must deal, and which
interventions should be put into practice.
Most CP representatives declared good internal collaborative work, but not
all did so. Some groups show signs of a sectoral split between those who work
with social CP, often with more long-term strategies, and those who work with
situational crime initiatives. Overall, community policing seems to be facilitated
by strong social ties in rural communities. Some suggest that being small is an
Police, rural policing, community safety 275
Youth: offending,
addiction,
antisocial behavior
Improvement of
collaboration
between actors
Perceived safety
Education in
crime prevention Victimization
Early prevention,
educational
children
Figure 11.2 Issues addressed by the CP projects financed by BRA (%) (data source: pro-
jects granted funding by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention
(BRA), 2004-2010, in Ceccato and Dolmén, 2013, p. 101).
advantage, because a “problem” can be solved quickly since “unofficial talks”
may become “official” just because “one happens to run into someone else.”
This is perceived to be an advantage by most but not all respondents. What may
be an advantage in community policing can be perceived as a sign of unbalanced
power relations that, in a small community, may lead to exclusionary practices
(see e.g., Yarwood, 2010). These strong social ties may be a hinder for CP work
when conflicts between safety and economic goals become a fact. The police
inspector quoted below illustrates this case:
I can think it is a disadvantage at times that those who have control over the
money also “sit on” the CP council. If you take the economic point of view
instead of the CP one, you may “sit on two chairs.”
(Police inspector, south, low crime, old economy)
Not surprisingly, the police have been an essential part of the projects which got
support from BRA during 2004-2010. A brief analysis of these partnerships
shows that they tended to be headed either by local or regional police forces or
members of the municipal councils themselves, while other CP actors formally
have a more auxiliary role. Figure 11.2 shows that improving collaboration
between CP partners is often a reason for requesting external funding. An
obvious source of funding is BRA.
276 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
Collaboration within CP work is not only limited by funding. Interviewees
suggested that regulations regarding data secrecy and handling within the organ-
ization and between partners, although necessary, is a major hindrance to CP
work. For instance, police officers may have access to individual data on sus-
pects that cannot be shared with those in the CP group. Some suggest that the
confidentiality regulations are misunderstood or misused. Particularly in rural
areas where “everybody knows everybody,” individual information can become
a sensitive matter. This becomes more complicated when CP members in neigh-
boring municipalities cooperate (often within their own field).
Assessment of CP groups’ initiatives
Most of the CP projects do not include any precise follow-up, which makes diffi-
cult any pre- or post-assessment of the implemented crime prevention measures.
Figure 11.3 illustrates that this is the case for the sample of projects financed by
BRA between 2004-2010. About half of the CP groups performed some kind of
evaluation of their activities, and one-third had an action plan. Many collaborated
with neighboring CP groups, but only a few had established cooperation with
universities, creating a poor knowledge basis for action and assessment. Poor
assessment routines characterize CP work in rural municipalities in Sweden.
Swedish rural CP groups are not alone. The assessment of CP actions in rural
areas follows the overall international trend in CP. As suggested by previous
research, knowledge about which CP interventions work and which do not work
No assessment
40
Zs
\
Pre-post Simple
assessment assessment
Pre-post
assessment
with control
group
Guesswork
Figure 11.3 Type of evaluation in CP projects financed by BRA (%) (data source: pro-
jects granted funding by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention
(BRA), 2004-2010, in Ceccato and Dolmén, 2013, p. 101).
Police, rural policing, community safety 277
remains fragmentary and patchy, even in other contexts than the rural (Wikstrém,
2007). In Sweden, CP initiatives in rural municipalities may never be assessed to
the same extent as those in urban areas because of limited funding in the first
place. Moreover, as suggested by Bullock and Ekblom (2010), the problem of
assessment of CP actions may suffer from the fact that they do not always
contain the right information to help practitioners select and replicate projects to
their own context. There are exceptions, though. Several CP initiatives have
been replicated as examples of good practices. The Kroneberg model and
EFFEKT, for instance, have been associated with a long-term assessment
showing the particular impact of these CP programs both nationally and interna-
tionally. These examples are discussed in detail in Chapter 13.
Although most CP groups declare that they make use of crime statistics or
other equivalent relevant information, a small proportion of their work is
declared to be evidence based. Lack of skills among those involved in CP work
seems to be the root of the problem of poor assessment — from the conception
stage, to actions and evaluation. Recall that a significant amount of CP activity
relates to individuals’ own training (Figure 11.2). CP groups tend to keep initi-
atives that have already been in place elsewhere and are well accepted by the
community (e.g., youth recreation centers). When CPs are innovative, they tend
to invest in projects that were applied elsewhere (e.g., safety walks, drinking
limitations) by importing models and assuming they are “good practice.”
Joint police and customs station: an example from Ydre
The range of basic services offered in rural areas in Sweden has been signifi-
cantly reduced in the past 20 years. This trend accelerated in the 2000s, and in
many parts of the country the degradation of basic services has reached such a
level that the basic functions of society are being called into question (Deger-
lund, Jansson, & Lénnqvist, 2010). Sweden is not alone in this development. In
the United Kingdom, for instance, the rationalization of public services has been
keenly felt by those in rural areas, as crime rates have risen in supposedly
“crime-free” areas and policing has become less visible (Jones & Phipps, 2012).
What is interesting is that at the same time that basic services have been shut
down, new forms of service provision have been put into place. The example
discussed in this section illustrates how the process of amalgamation of the
police and customs authorities in the rural municipality of Ydre suggests that
both policing and customs services have improved.
Ydre Municipality is in Ostergétland County, in southeast Sweden. For the
past 10 years, a joint office has been located in Ydre. It currently consists of 10
employees: four employed by the customs authority, five by the police, and one
shared (receptionist). In the early 1990s, the Ydre police had only two police
employees and could stay open only two hours each week. In Flétningen, a few
miles from Ydre, there was a customs station (especially for the Norwegian
border) that had been open for clearance of goods for business hours every
weekday. By moving the customs station to Ydre and co-locating the two
278 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
authorities, the hours were extended, and services to citizens improved. One
bonus of the relocation was that it led to cooperation between customs and police
in external services to an extent that had not happened before. Collaboration
consists of joint patrol operations when possible, depending on the mission.
They may involve drug issues, crime prevention, monitoring of hunting and
fishing issues, control of dangerous goods, passport and immigration controls,
and customs and traffic controls. They assist each other whenever possible to
provide service to citizens. The cooperative agreement is periodically updated
when changes in each organization make it necessary.
Of course, expenses are lower with the same office, as we can split the costs,
but the best thing about the partnership is that we are now cooperating with
the police. This has resulted in a number of successful initiatives.
(Customs representative in Ydre: Schmidt, 2013)
The co-location makes it easy to exchange information, which is important. The
result of collaboration between authorities on police matters has yielded excel-
lent results a number of times, such as when several church burglaries were
cleared up following a joint operation. The assessment by the authorities is that
these crimes would have been difficult to clear up if not for the cooperation
between the authorities (Brandt & Westholm, 2008).
The volunteer sector in policing
In Sweden, as previously suggested, volunteer work appears to account for a
minor portion of direct CP efforts. Members of CP groups are often employed in
different areas of the municipality, police, and/or county council, having roles
other than CP and devoting a couple of hours per week (or less) to it. However,
it is submitted here that this is only a partial view of rural communities that are
based to a large extent on complex networks of social relationships linked
through local social associations, interest groups, and support groups. Thus,
there is a need for a nuanced perspective on volunteer work in rural areas, one
that stretches beyond — perhaps not too far — the traditional work of police and
CP groups. For instance, close to the work of police are active support groups
such as those working with homeless and missing people, discussed below.
In the United Kingdom, a better understanding of the work done by volunteer
groups together with the police has been achieved by Parr, Stevenson, Fyfe, and
Woolnough (2012). Six varied cases were selected for in-depth examination, to
understand how police resources are deployed and the decision-making pro-
cesses within police organizations and to focus on what spatial assumptions are
made and acted upon during missing events. Missing people represent a signi-
ficant challenge for the police due to the volume of cases and the potential risks
missing people face. A recent study in the United Kingdom looked at numerous
cases to add to the knowledge-base about missing person behavior but also to
support the best approaches when dealing with missing persons operationally.
Police, rural policing, community safety 279
Yarwood (2014) considers searches for missing people one aspect of rural
policing. The author illustrates how a search for a person relies on a relationship
network that has wider significance than existing formal networks. Concentrat-
ing on search dogs, attention is given to the ways that non-human agencies are
enrolled in policing networks. This not only broadens understanding of policing
but also contributes to the wider debate in rural studies. The author suggests that
community-based policing in rural places must similarly recognize how it is
linked to wider networks and work in relation to them.
In Sweden, volunteers organized to search for missing persons are not a new
phenomenon but could be considered a recent trend when considered as an
organized movement under the national group Missing People. When Missing
People Sweden formed in 2012, it was a small group of volunteers. Nowadays,
Missing People is a popular movement with thousands of volunteers across the
country. After solving several cases, the organization has been honored with
police medals and important sponsorships. Yet not much in-depth study has been
done to understand their methods and how they can be coupled with traditional
community policing.
Another stream of volunteer work that has increased in Sweden revolves
around those who live as homeless. The media has shown examples of a split
debate between groups who favor support to the homeless and those opposed.
The homeless are often associated with mendicancy in the streets and often con-
sidered a problem of “social order” in large cities, particularly in public places
such as at train stations and bus stops. Even in big cities, direct conflict between
locals and people found in the street are reported in national newspapers (Sund-
berg, 2014). For instance, a man accused of assault by several witnesses has
himself brought charges against a woman for assault. He shoved her away
because he felt he was under attack. The local police officer declares she has
never experienced anything like it during her years on duty. This is seen as a
counter-reaction to a dramatic increase in homeless EU migrants that often turn
to mendicancy to survive.
On a positive note, people are not waiting for formal volunteer organizations
to help. Some support is being provided by individuals themselves (see for
instance, Hékerberg, 2014). A recent report by Stadsmission (2014) indicates
almost half of homeless mendicants sleep outdoors. The majority state that they
live in homelessness in their home country. Because of the way Swedish social
services interpret current regulations, help is mostly offered by churches and
volunteer organizations, sometimes in cooperation with municipalities. This
includes practical assistance with food, clothes, and somewhere to sleep, but also
information, advisory services, language instruction, and schooling for their chil-
dren. Homeless EU citizens present their own range of problems, having dif-
ferent difficulties and needs (Socialstyrelsen, 2013). The number of homeless
people is greatest in urban areas (this applies particularly to EU migrants and
non-EU citizens who have lived in an EU member state as long-term residents
and therefore have rights similar to those of EU citizens), but homelessness is
also found in rural areas.
280 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
Policing and the expansion of private security companies
Private security companies provide services for private enterprises, government
bodies and municipalities, and individuals. Private security is not a new phenom-
enon, nor has its expansion gone unnoticed, but they have taken over several
responsibilities that in the past were associated with the public sector. As the
presence and impact of commercial security actors increases, the roles and
functions conventionally ascribed to the state are being transformed as new
geographies of power and influence take form (Berndtsson & Stern, 2011). As
we shall see below, rural policing is no exception.
Private guards have become an ordinary part of the landscape as they go
almost unnoticed. Their presence has become part of everyday life in public
places (Button, 2007). In Sweden, the number of private security companies
increased 161 percent between 1993 and 2013 (Figure 11.4). Although most
private security companies in Sweden are found in the regions containing the
three largest urban areas (Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malm6), there has been a
significant increase in the number of private security companies in smaller muni-
cipalities, particularly in a few counties such as Kronoberg, Kalmar, Gotaland,
Halland, and Norrbotten, in northern Sweden.
Apart from the increase in the number of private security companies in Stock-
holm, Skane, and Vastra Gétaland, the private security sector has expanded sub-
stantially in counties such as Halland, Kronoberg, and Gotland, counties that
have also experienced a relatively sharp increase in police officers (Figure 11.5a
and 11.5b). This simultaneous increase is difficult to explain at this aggregate
level, but as police officer assignment is often a function of crime rates and
900
800 +
700 +
600 +
500 +
400 +
300 4
tockholm
200 5
astra Gotaland
100 5 kane
Total number of enterprises, 1993 and 2013
1993 2000 2008 2013
Figure 11.4 Number of enterprises in the security sector between 1993 and 2013, Sweden
(bar) and by county (lines) (data source: Statistics Sweden, 2013).
w
fo)
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262
i)
a
fo)
1
Sweden: 161% increase
from 1993 to 2013
145
1110)
103
Total number of enterprises, 1993 and 2013
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[jo]
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3 4,000
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© 30.4%
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6,000
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(b)
Figure 11.5 (a) Number of enterprises in security sector by county, 1993 and 2013, and (b)
number of police officers and increase (%), 2000-2012 by county (data source:
(a) Statistics Sweden, 2013; (b) Swedish National Police Agency, 2013).
282 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
demography in an area, the increase in the private security sector may reflect an
increase in criminogenic conditions in the area. Alternatively, the increase in the
private security sector could reflect a set of priorities that are set at regional and
local levels that may not be linked to a crime increase per se.
Police and private security company in S6derképing
Séderk6ping is an example of a municipality in which the private sector has
become integral to policing and safety governance. The municipality has the
police and a private security company that combats and prevents crime. The
County of Ostergétland, where Séderképing is located, has experienced an
increase in police officers of about 25 percent of the total and a rise of almost
200 percent in the number of enterprises in the security sector during the past
decade (Figure 11.5a and 11.5b).
Key actors in the security partnership for this rural municipality perceive their
roles as safety service providers differently and are accepted by the local com-
munity in different ways. The private company in this case is run by a former
police officer. The company directly provides services to increase safety and
security, with staff that walk around in the municipality and talk to young people
— primarily and traditionally a job for the police. The company’s work is inter-
twined with work developed by the local CP group. As shown below, people
continue to expect the police to be more visible even though they believe the
police are not as efficient as the private security companies. The municipality is
a typical middle-sized town with burglaries, thef, and vandalism accounting for
most victimization. This example questions how the lines of distinction between
the public and the private are challenged by the needs of rural communities.
A survey conducted by Lundin (2006) shows that the majority of respondents
had not seen the police at all recently and were dissatisfied with police work,
particularly those outside the urban core. Responses included, “What cop?” and
“Sdderk6ping has no police.” Many stated that they had never seen any police in
Séderképing. “Yes, sure there is a police officer, but they’re probably just here
sometimes?” As a result, as many as 75 percent of respondents declared not
being satisfied with the police presence, 52 of the respondents were dissatisfied
with the way the police prevent crime, and 40 percent of respondents felt private
security was needed in the area where they live.
In rural areas, the dissatisfaction with the police seemed greater, as only 18
percent of respondents declared satisfaction with how the police work against
crime; almost the same proportion is pleased with the police presence.
However, a higher proportion of respondents in the outer areas than in the urban
area preferred not to comment on police actions. A few respondents were con-
cerned whether the police would actually make it to the crime scene if some-
thing happened. Statements that have emerged during the interviews in the
outer areas were that the police were not as visible as they would expect, the
police were under-resourced and should be working in a more preventive way
(Lundin, 2006).
Police, rural policing, community safety 283
Hiring private security companies is seen by a share of the interviewees as a
reasonable solution to prevent crime (theft, burglary, and vandalism), as the police
are not as present as they would expect. However, this opinion was not shared by
all; it depended on place of residence. For instance, in the Broby—Norra district,
two-thirds of respondents saw no need for a security company, as the area was a
quiet area, or they believed that security companies should not perform police
tasks. In another part of Sdderk6ping, in Eriksvik—Sddra, respondents had a more
positive view of private security companies: half of respondents saw a need for a
private security company as a way to increase perceived safety and deter crime.
According to them, the private security company seemed more reliable, as the
police have limited resources. The “efficiency” and “reliability” of the private
security sector has already been noted in the literature as one reason for its expan-
sion at the expense of the police in fighting crime and ensuring community safety
(Berndtsson & Stern, 2011; Loader & Walker, 2007). However, the type of work
done by security companies in Sdderképing and/or other rural municipalities is not
generally well known, nor is it known whether their activities are submitted to any
type of supervision or, in that case, by which authorities.
It can no longer be expected for security to be provided or controlled by either
public or private actors anymore. If this was the case, this assumption would be an
oversimplification of the current policing model in rural areas that obfuscates an
existing interplay between private security companies and the police. If policing is
performed in other rural municipalities in the same way as it is done in Sdéderk6ping,
the role of public (police) and private (security companies) actors would not be so
easily separated. However, neither this fact nor the lack of police resources — a
common excuse for hiring private companies — contribute to improve the private
sector legitimacy as key actors in ensuring security to those living in rural areas.
With the imminent police centralization in Sweden, a new community policing
model has to be in place to accommodate the current expansion of the private
security sector. The challenge is how to ensure that security remains a public good
once private sector security providers have established themselves. First, the role
of private security companies, either as patrols or engaged in crime prevention
work, has to become more transparent. Private security companies have become
arms of the state by developing their role as guarantor of security as a public good
(Loader and Walker, 2007). Second, the engagement of private security companies
should happen in a wider context of community policing, in which CP groups play
a central role as coordinating bodies together with the police. Epstein (2007,
p. 150) suggests that the state governs through private security actors, but is that so
in rural areas? Third, the commodification of security involves a large number of
actors beyond private security companies. In rural areas, they may take different
forms (e.g., security technology companies, security networks), so obtaining a
better understanding of the private sector as security provider is desirable in both
rural and urban contexts.
Chapter 13 returns to the case of Sdderk6ping to illustrate the layers of social
control that exist to tackle vandalism and to provide details about residents’
satisfaction with the police and private security companies.
284 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
Private security networks and policing
Private security networks offer an alternative way of reporting crime and pro-
moting remote surveillance. The system is separate from the emergency tele-
phone number or other standard methods of contacting police that allows a
member of the community to supposedly provide anonymous information about
criminal activity. The network is funded by members of the network, such as
trucking companies, forest contractors, excavation contractors, retailers, and
homeowners. In Sweden, there is also a company specialized in situational crime
prevention in several different areas but heavily focused on issues that rural
areas suffer most: crime against transport and vehicles (goods), building com-
panies, and homeowners.
The private network is devoted to crime against vehicles and goods. The
company supports a network using different forms of preventive initiatives.
Thousands of people are said to be active in crime prevention, as more than
4,000 vehicles are connected to the network through an app that can be used to
report crime, serve as remote surveillance, and receive real-time information
about crime in progress. As a crime occurs in an area, data is reported to the
network of members. The system works with informal reporting of events as
they occur either by testing or sending images linked to x-y coordinates. All
information sent to the private security network by email or through the app is
protected by the Personal Data Act (PDA), ensuring anonymity. Ongoing
crimes or information about ongoing crimes must also be submitted to the
police. For more details, see Chapter 12, which exemplifies the work done by
private security networks to combat diesel theft in remote rural areas in
Sweden.
Future of rural policing: what happens with police
re-organization?
On January 1, 2015, 21 police authorities will be merged to form a single
national police authority in Sweden (Table 11.2). What will the new police
organization mean for policing in rural areas? The reform signals a centralization
of the vital functions of the police at the same time as it is intended to keep com-
munity policing alive. The model imposes new demands on the current traditions
and culture of police work in various sectors and at various geographic levels.
As it is now, the 21 police authorities work fairly independently. As such, the
lack of standardization makes difficult the daily routines of police work as well
as collaboration between authorities. Lindstrém (2014) also suggests that the
police have been severely criticized for not being able to clear up more offenses
though their resources have been increased. This is also one reason why the
country’s 21 police authorities will be consolidated into a single police service
by 2015.
The new police authority is expected to increase consistency and uniformity,
promoting clear guidance and control with short decision paths over seven police
Police, rural policing, community safety 285
regions. These police regions are planned to have a similar basic structure and
organizational units with similar tasks under the same denominations (SOU,
2014). It is expected that this uniformity in the organization will strengthen
opportunities to explore similar approaches across police activities. The aim of
unifying the organization this way is a more flexible use of resources and thus
increased efficiency. At the regional level, analytical entities will investigate
crimes that require special skills or are infrequent, such as cybercrime or child
pornography. At the local level, knowledge of local communities is crucial for
effective police work. The police chief’s responsibility is to ensure that there are
sufficient police resources in every municipality for police work and in relation
to the police’s commitments in community policing schemes. This support is
expected to ensure that local police authorities can fulfill the commitments made
to the local community. To ensure the continued development of crime preven-
tion and community safety, the Police Authority should also allocate resources
for these tasks based on key performance indicators. An instrument for this
work will be safety surveys that, starting in 2015, will be conducted in all
municipalities (SOU, 2014).
The police reform builds on the previous work and experience acquired since
the implementation of local police (ndrpolisen) in the mid-1990s. About 85
percent of municipalities already have a collaboration agreement with the police
(BRA, 2006). The BRA report reveals that this agreement is considered to have
great potential for successful policing, but in many municipalities there are a
number of problems to making it work. Both the police and the municipalities
declare that they face difficulties keeping the agreement alive. An important
factor for successful collaboration is reportedly to be the existence of a coordina-
tor who can drive collaborative work forward.
From the police side, the current proposals for the police organization are cre-
ating anxiety among police employees (SOU, 2014), especially in relation to
their role in community policing. For instance, some people suggest that there is
a risk that it may provide a pretense, internally and externally, that crime preven-
tion and intervention are two different “boxes” associated with different human
resources when in fact these roles will be performed by the same individuals in
some parts of Sweden. This is certainly true for the case of rural and small muni-
cipalities. This might give rise to unrealistic expectations on the number of
police officers in the main office and the number of tasks that can be performed
(SOU, 2014).
Rural areas are often associated with strong social links and networks which
can be perceived as a resource in policing as well as a hindrance. In this respect,
the report by SOU (2014) shows that some police officers in collaborative
schemes have been concerned that they may feel that citizens should decide what
they should do. There is also a concern that further attachment to the community
can be perceived by police officers as an extra workload and generate feelings of
inadequacy.
Contrary to the new reform, old challenges are associated with the size of the
police forces and remoteness of some parts of the country. For instance, in an
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288 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
international perspective, Sweden, like the other Scandinavian countries, has rel-
atively few police officers per capita (Lindstrém, 2014). The same author indi-
cates that as late as 2012 about one-quarter of all municipalities did not have a
permanent police staff. Currently, these communities receive police support from
officers stationed in nearby municipalities. Contrary to the political vision, he
adds, there has been a steady increase in non-permanent policed municipalities
in Sweden since the 2000s, and they tend to be concentrated in smaller
municipalities.
On top of this, the supply of police manpower in rural areas has become a
problem in the 2000s. As shown in previous sections of this chapter, the number
of police officers in Sweden has increased since 2006, but this increase has been
concentrated in larger urban areas, not reaching the rural and small municipal-
ities. In this context, it is worth noting that some municipalities have a surplus of
police, whereas others are being under-policed. Still, as shown below, sharing
police manpower seems to be the future of dealing with policing challenges in
rural areas. Of course, this goes against the principles of community policing as
stated in the 2015 police organization:
Ensuring police presence and local support is often a challenge in rural
areas.... [A]s regards police intervention, there may be geographic and
demographic reasons to deviate from the main principle that the police have
to act and have responsibility for the local communities (the lowest geo-
graphical level). This may for example be necessary in rural areas where
there is a need to share responsibility for emergency intervention — at least
during some part of the day.
(SOS, 2012, pp. 12-13)
However, some rural and small municipalities run a higher risk of being under-
policed even with these alternative solutions (such as sharing police manpower
between municipalities). Part of patrol work has already been taken over by
private security companies. As was shown in previous sections, situational crime
prevention is nowadays supported by ICT and active surveillance by residents
and passers-by, but the framework for receiving this information has yet to be
put in place. For social crime prevention, municipal authorities and social ser-
vices can carry on the work of preventing crime and delinquency, as is already
done, together with schools and individual organizations. How this mix can be
used to produce the desirable results in rural areas is still to be seen.
Concluding remarks
It is unclear to what extent policing reform in the mid-1990s was fully imple-
mented in accordance with the government’s intentions. A good sign is that
nowadays there are about 300 community partnerships (crime prevention groups)
around the country. They are often composed of a core of representatives from
the municipality, police, and schools. This homogeneous format for crime
Police, rural policing, community safety 289
prevention was inherited from the traditional decentralized municipal planning
system in Sweden but, more importantly, from the structural changes imposed
by police reform around local crime prevention. The economic downturn in the
1990s affected public resources and most likely the full implementation of com-
munity policing schemes. Top-down national crime prevention policies focusing
on big-city problems neglect the special demands of sparsely populated or
remote rural areas. For instance, property crimes targeting enterprises, farm
crime, environmental and wildlife crime often fall outside a crime prevention
group’s agenda. Members of crime prevention groups who were interviewed
unanimously designated youth issues as the most important in rural areas for
crime prevention councils. Most of the work by such groups does not include
any strict follow-up. When it does, the evaluation is characterized by simple
assessment procedures. Different types of crime prevention models are usually
“imported” from other municipalities as examples of good practices. Little
thought is put into the adequacy of these remedies in a particular rural context.
With the new police authority coming into force in 2015, it is expected that
the consistency and uniformity of routine police work will increase, as the exist-
ing 21 police authorities disappear. The centralization of certain functions should
make police work more effective and economically viable. The 2015 model also
relies on intentions to keep strong links to local policing alive. At the local level,
future work will build on experiences with existing local partnerships between
the police, municipal authorities, the private sector, and citizens that stem from
experiences from community policing reform in the 1990s and onwards.
What are the challenges and opportunities of the new police in rural areas?
With centralization, there is a risk that links to rural (sparse/remote) regions will
weaken over time, as permanent police positions decrease in small and rural muni-
cipalities — a trend that has been reinforced in the past decade. The intention to keep
community policing strong demands extra resources, in terms of direct funding as
well as manpower to maintain the quality of service in the most rural areas of the
country. To make community policing more sensitive to the needs of rural areas
(e.g., a less urban-centric model), a national crime prevention policy needs to
incorporate clear roles for new safety providers, particularly private security com-
panies, volunteers, and other actors in local safety partnerships. The rapid increase
in private sector security in small and rural municipalities in the past few decades
generates concerns about “safety as an individual right,” as private/public partner-
ships take over the police work when the police are no longer present.
The police reorganization generates a number of opportunities, of course. For
instance, at the same time that basic services are closed down, such as a police
office, new forms of service provision can be put in place. The example dis-
cussed in this chapter illustrates how the process of amalgamation of the police
and customs can trigger better services by both. Another opportunity emerging
as the police as an authority are no longer present full time is to engage other
actors in community policing. This is nothing new, but exemplary volunteer
organizations can fill the gap and provide the insurance that the community
needs (e.g., successful cases driven by Missing People). In some cases, the
290 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
synergy between these “new actors” and police is said to help strengthen exist-
ing social bonds through the creation of hybrid networks of information in rural
areas. People living in rural areas need better understanding between themselves
and police that will change the image of the police as the only safety provider.
In addition, policing in rural areas has the potential to become more sensitive
to continuously changing urban-tural relationships. The incorporation and use of
ICT to improve surveillance and crime detection in areas where guardianship is
low is an example of such potentiality. In terms of surveillance, the capacity of
geo-referencing events by texting, voicing, or imaging as crime happens is new
in policing but it is here to stay. The use of social media in community policing
may be particularly important in rural areas, because of the long distances, which
have traditionally been one of the barriers for police work in rural areas. Still,
this transformation will only be possible with a long-term involvement of key
actors in community policing, in which the police has a central role.
Note
1 This section relies heavily on the written work and personal contact with the Swedish
criminologist and historian Bjérn Furuhagen — for a complete reference to his work,
see the reference list. This author is grateful for the permission granted by Furuhagen
to translate his work, here partially reproduced.
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12 Prevention of farm crimes and
crimes against nature
This chapter takes the issues of Chapter 8 forward by discussing the main crime
prevention initiatives related to farm crimes and environmental and wildlife
crimes (EWC). These crimes and their prevention are rarely in the headlines,
which is not surprising given that in most countries crime control and prevention
strategies focus on big-city problems. The role of community in dealing with
farm crime and EWC in rural municipalities through crime prevention initiatives
is given special attention. First, farm crimes and EWCs are framed taking into
account a selection of international studies followed by examples from Sweden.
Then the chapter turns to new forms of surveillance and protest against farm
crime and EWC using ICT and social media.
Preventing farm crimes
Preventing crime is difficult, but it is even more challenging to prevent farm crime.
One of the main difficulties is lack of useful data, especially from official sources.
If data is not available, it is difficult to implement actions aimed at reducing and
preventing crime. Even in early stages, if a crime cannot be reported, the police
cannot catch criminals. In Australia, Sweden, England, and Wales, farmers state
that they do not report farm crime, either because they accept a certain level of
theft and damage on their properties or they believe that going to the police is a
waste of time (Barclay, Donnermeyer, Doyle, & Talary, 2001; Jones & Phipps,
2012; Lantbrukarnas Riksférbund, 2012). This raises questions about the commun-
ity’s confidence in formal policing. When statistics are available, such as those
recorded by the police, they may be too broad in scope to allow analysis based on
crime type or comparative trends, either spatially or temporally. Consequently,
crime prevention strategies become limited and rarely lead to generalization (e.g.,
Ceccato & Dolmén, 2013). When data exists, it may be selective, covering experi-
ences of victimization in certain groups, such as only farmers. In the United
Kingdom, Jones and Phipps (2012) exemplify a number of data sources and the
limitations, from police statistics, to data registered by insurance companies.
Another issue is that farm crime and its prevention may depend more on
context than other forms of big-city crime do. Chapter 8 showed that most farm
crimes follow regional patterns, indicating the need for specific intervention in
294 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
terms of prevention. In Sweden, low temperatures in the north limit the type of
farming, so intervention against tractor theft is particularly important in southern
Sweden, where most agricultural properties are located. As suggested by Don-
nermeyer, Barclay, and Mears (2011), although the specific circumstances or
risk factors associated with farm crime appear to be similar, it cannot be assumed
that issues related to the policing of farm crime are similar. The authors also
highlight the importance of considering potential differences in the organization
of law enforcement at different places. They note that in US counties where agri-
culture is economically important, it is likely that more attention is paid to the
safety and security needs of farmers. The availability of resources among police
forces as well as the profile of police officers on each police force (O’Connor &
Gray, 1989) can also influence whether farm crime is on the daily police agenda.
Experience from the United States suggests that a lack of data is not the only
problem when dealing with farm crime, as better data sharing among actors and
organizations is needed, too. Better crime prevention would be in place if
farmers would report all types of farm crime, which does not always happen.
Mears, Scott, and Bhati (2007) indicate that the police should consider collabo-
rating with law enforcement agencies within and between counties to deal with
existing crime and to deter would-be offenders. Collaborative work by police is
essential, as suggested by Donnermeyer et al. (2011), when dealing with organ-
ized drug production and agro-terrorism, when it may include state-level police
and various law enforcement agencies at the national level.
Before adopting any models of intervention toward farm crime, it is necessary
to consider differences in police organization, particularly those stemming from
international experience. As suggested in Chapter 11, what is defined as relevant
in crime control (and by whom) depends on the police organization, which in
turn affects what works and what does not work in preventing farm crime.
Despite these challenges, a number of studies report experiences preventing
farm crime. Donnermeyer et al. (2011) summarize in detail experiences in Aus-
tralia and the United States. The authors conclude that there are two types of prob-
lems in dealing with farm crime in Australia. The first relates to the challenges of
enforcement in remote areas where guardianship is poor, by farmers as well as
society in general. The second relates to specificities of local cultures found in any
rural community that make crime prevention and crime control difficult. In
Sweden, slow police response times have affected satisfaction with the police in
most Swedish remote areas (SOU, 2002). The size of local police areas also varies.
Southern areas are relatively easy for police forces to cover because of the relat-
ively high population density, whilst in the north some police areas are very large.
A study from Australia assessed the work done by police squads or crime
investigators who specialize in rural crime (Donnermeyer & Barclay, 2005).
According to this analysis, the most common obstacles to effective policing were
the lack of time and resources to deal with farm crime and the difficulty of
effectively patrolling large areas, according to police officers. Officers also
found it difficult to deal with several calls for service, for instance, when they
suspected that farmers were reporting a theft for the purpose of tax evasion.
Prevention of farm and wildlife crimes 295
In other cases, it was difficult to make a case, because farmers were negligent.
Poor management practices include rarely locking gates, sheds, and fuel tanks,
lack of identification on livestock, farm produce, machinery, and equipment, and
poor recordkeeping on stock numbers and stock movements. They also felt that
gathering enough evidence to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt was one
of the most challenging tasks by the police dealing with farm crime.
In the United States, the literature on farm crime and how to deal with it is
limited. One exception is a recent research project conducted by Mears (Mears
et al., 2007). The initiative was called the Agricultural Crime, Technology,
Information, and Operations Network (ACTION), located in California’s Central
Valley. The study assessed the effectiveness of a number of activities aimed at
preventing and reducing farm crime. These activities involved actions such as
collecting and analyzing crime data, encouraging information sharing among law
enforcement agencies, and marking equipment and livestock. The study shows
that although farm crimes were common, they were rarely reported. Some crimes
follow seasonal patterns, sometimes depending on the demand for products in
the market. The authors also show that “one solution fits all” in terms of farm
crime prevention does not work, as some farm crimes are unique, requiring spe-
cific actions. As farmers are vulnerable to victimization from multiple sources, a
crime prevention initiative has to follow a multi-pronged approach.
In the United Kingdom, the use of private policing against farm crime has
figured less in rural areas, compared to the use of more formalized public volun-
teering, police ancillaries, and safety walkers (Mawby & Yarwood, 2011). There
are few systematic evaluations of these initiatives. One was done in the mid-1990s
by Yarwood and Edwards (1995), assessing the importance of neighborhood watch
schemes in rural areas. Although authors did not look at farm crime only, their
study confirms the importance of neighborhood watch schemes in reducing fear of
crime and improving police-community relations but warns that such schemes
could reinforce social bias, a recognized problem associated with voluntary action.
Several initiatives devoted to farm crime in England and Wales are reported
by Jones and Phipps (2012). These initiatives vary, from “volunteer arms” and
farm watch schemes, to labeling of products and security measures developed
against the theft of machinery and livestock. One farm watch scheme makes use
of an online “watch link” that allows two-way communication between police
and people in the community, via telephone, fax, email, or mobile phone.
Although new channels are potentially available via ICT technology, the authors
reveal some concerns. One concerns the viability of such technologies in rural
areas, as broadband technology has not been developed to its full potential and
3G signals may be out of reach for emails. The other refers to the need for com-
munity participation to make these initiatives possible.
Farm crime in Sweden: the perspective of crime prevention groups
The way police are organized influences policing work and whether or not farm
crime becomes a priority on a daily agenda. In the past two decades, in Sweden
296 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
and elsewhere, partnerships between the police and other local authorities have
been characterized by community safety initiatives in both urban and rural areas
(Ceccato & Dolmén, 2013; Yarwood & Edwards, 1995). There is consensus that
this community safety model has evolved but that a fully collaborative framework
between police and local actors remains to be seen (BRA, 2009). In the 2010s, the
winds of centralization led to the reorganization of the police (currently ongoing),
which is expected to affect policing across the country. However, as yet no one
knows for certain whether these changes will affect the day-to-day work of the
police and crime prevention (CP) groups in rural communities. As it is now, the
police play the leading role in controlling and reducing farm crime. Theft of diesel
machinery and tools has become burdensome in many rural areas (Lantbrukarnas
Riksfo6rbund, 2012). So how do these local partnerships deal with farm crime?
What is the role of CP groups in rural areas in dealing with this offense?
To answer these questions, a short email survey was sent to all municipalities
in rural Sweden that have a CP group, with a response rate of 62 percent.
Members of CP groups were invited to describe the most important short- and
long-term actions they would take as a group to tackle the following problem.
Five cases of theft have been reported to the police recently. Tractors, tools
and generators have been stolen from farms outside the city. It is suspected
that the perpetrators come from a nearby town. What would your local
crime prevention councils do to address the problem and ensure it does not
recur? Please describe the most important actions you take.
CP groups in rural areas appear to be prepared to tackle farm crime “if something
happens,” or at least they have the organization to deal with this offense. The scen-
ario above is much more part of the reality of communities in southern Sweden
than in the extreme north, where agriculture is limited by long cold winters.
However, the way CP representatives reacted to the above scenario differed little
regardless of where they lived. Interestingly, a few representatives believe that their
CP group would not bother to react to such a small number of crimes.
The large majority of representatives regard farm crime as a “police issue”
(Figure 12.1). As in the case below, CP representatives highlight the importance
of reporting the crime to the police (if the police do not know yet). Similar to
findings in the United States (Mears et al., 2007), a couple of CP representatives
would highlight the need to establish cooperation with other police forces
beyond the boundaries of the local police district to tackle farm crime:
This is a police matter, not an issue for the CP council.
(CP representative, municipality in central Sweden)
Have a dialogue with the police in the first place. This is a police matter.
The police, in turn, may have to work over the boundaries of jurisdictions.
Important to inform residents about the importance of police reports.
(CP representative, municipality in southern Sweden)
Prevention of farm and wildlife crimes 297
Information
35
No answer Police work
Neighborhood/farm
watch schemes
Check farms Target hardening
Private patrol Collaboration
Figure 12.1 What would your local crime prevention councils do to address farm crime?
(source: own survey, V=60 local crime prevention councils).
Echoing findings in Australia and in the United Kingdom (Donnermeyer
et al., 2011; Jones & Phipps, 2012), CP representatives who answered the survey
indicated that poor willingness to report minor farm crimes was a problem. Some
representatives highlighted the need to inform residents about the importance of
reporting all kinds of crime to the police, as there is “a local culture of accept-
ance” of minor thefts, vandalism on roads, and littering in forests.
Most representatives consider the partnerships within the CP groups important
to support preventive actions to control and prevent farm crime. Improving
guardianship and strengthening information channeled by passers-by are often
considered important in tackling farm crime.
Keep alive the positive social networks.... It may be important that
postmen, paperboys and other people moving around [rural] areas can report
what they see.
(CP representative, municipality in southwestern Sweden)
Unfortunately, representatives tended to react to the scenario by suggesting
actions toward properties in urban areas rather than considering the challenges on
farms or in areas outside the urban core. For instance, some suggested implement-
ing neighborhood watch schemes, instead of farm watch, or installing CCTV
cameras. It was notable that very few CP groups had representatives from farms.
We inform residents, property owners and others so they can prevent burg-
lary, check locks, possibly alarm, tell neighbors when you go away, have
lamps turned on, etc.
(CP representative, municipality in southwestern Sweden)
298 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
A CP representative from a municipality in central Sweden suggested a fairly
complete range of measures to be tackled, from farm watch schemes and labeling
and registering theft-prone goods, to educational programs to help farms discourage
offenders from steal off their property. Collaborative work between the police, CP
members and relevant organizations is considered important, though the interviewee
was not completely certain about engaging safety walkers, or “vigilante groups.”
[W]e make sure that a police report is made, otherwise we help with that.
Collaborate with appropriate organizations, such as insurance companies,
The Federation of Swedish Farmers locally and create educational programs
to disseminate information on how to protect their property.... The experi-
ence we have here in the county is from many thefts of snowmobiles and
ATVs. In the long run, we would continue working with and supporting
farm watch schemes.
(CP representative, municipality in central Sweden)
Even though the police are regarded as the main player in preventing farm crime,
CP representatives suggest hiring private companies to help with patrol work.
Beyond groups performing private patrols, there are also companies that work
together with the police, other local actors (e.g., trucking companies, forest con-
tractors, backhoe operators, and retailers), and CP groups on situational crime
prevention in rural areas as illustrated in Box 12.1.
The use of ICT in rural areas is allowing new forms of surveillance, espe-
cially in remote areas and during times nobody is around. Partnerships between
private and public actors have been fundamental to this development, coord-
inated by CrimeStoppers Sweden (CrimeStoppers, 2014). These partnerships
involve the police, the Farmers’ Association, construction companies, and insur-
ance and telecom companies. These particular partnerships with CrimeStoppers
Sweden showed a rapid expansion in Sweden. They have been working with
target hardening and increasing the risk for offender detection on three main
fronts.
Crime reporting. A cell phone app called CrimeAlert has also become popular
for reporting crime as it happens. Development is underway of new services
with new features, such as multi-language support and uploading movies and
notes from the crime scene.
Product marking. Crimestoppers Sweden cooperates with an insurance
company on the product Datatag, a British marking method that utilizes micro-
chips, etching, special decals, DNA, and microdots. As in the United Kingdom,
Datatag has built-in registers that the police and insurance companies can use to
search misappropriated equipment and accessories. A liquid DNA for diesel is
also being implemented that will facilitate finding the rightful owner of diesel
stolen from machinery.
Crime detection. Cameras (e.g., hunt trail camera) that are used in places with
machines and sheds are showing good results. (A good camera costs about €400
or US$550.) If someone burgles the premises, for example, an image or movie is
Prevention of farm and wildlife crimes 299
Box 12.1 Checklist to reduce the risk of diesel theft in rural areas
Diesel theft is on the rise. What can you do to prevent it?
It is estimated that the cost of diesel theft was around SEK200 million in
Sweden in 2013. In the construction industry, the cost of stolen materials reached
SEK1.5 billion. Many of these thefts are cleared up thanks to tips, cameras, alarms,
and other good preventive measures. Unguarded places are often the target of fuel
thieves. You can protect your property with simple means. Here are a few sugges-
tions that can make it difficult for thieves to succeed.
1 Plan your protection based on where you work (the greater the risk of detec-
tion, the less the risk of theft).
2 Find out if the place you will be working at is a crime “hot spot.”
3. Based on information from the police, take appropriate security measures.
4 Place machinery, sheds, and tools in highly visible places, as transparency
and lighting discourage thieves.
5 Ensure that your diesel tank has an alarm or is monitored.
6 Close shelves and personal property with approved locks and chains. Do not
buy cheap locks, as they are not rated for heavy damage.
7 Do not leave any property visible in a vehicle. It only takes a minute for a
thief to empty the cab.
8 Use alarm, complete with multimedia camera, and put up a sign that the area
is under surveillance.
9 Let the police know that you have implemented security measures and that
they are welcome to stop by your workplace.
10 A guard patrol sometimes can be a good solution. Check if your colleagues
can join in and share patrolling duties.
11 Label your theft-prone equipment and machinery.
12 Try to leave as little diesel fuel as possible in each machine.
13 Enlist the help of neighbors and landowners in the place where you’re
working. They can certainly pay attention to what happens in the area.
14 If you monitor your machine with a camera, follow current rules on general
camera surveillance.
15 Report all kinds of crime!
Source: CrimeStoppers (2014).
sent to contractors via cellphone. According to CrimeStoppers (2014), in recent
years a number of offenders have been caught thanks to these cameras. Signage
is required, as is compliance with national regulations about where the camera
can be located and filming only in places to which the public should not be
allowed access.
Prevention of environmental and wildlife crime
The need to protect nature from damaging action by humans has long been recog-
nized. Prevention of environmental harm can be defined, according to White (2007,
300 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
p. 36), “in terms of ensuring future resource exploitation and dealing with specific
instances of victimization that have been socially defined as a problem.” This
means that protective actions are directed at preventing or minimizing certain
destructive or injurious practices into the future based upon analysis and responses
to damage identified in the present.
Environmental crime prevention in rural areas faces a unique challenge — its
location. The contamination of a lake in an urban area is easily noticed and
perhaps quickly repaired, while an oil spill or deforestation in a remote area may
go unnoticed for years. The recognition of the harm depends also on awareness
of the problem, which in part can be linked to proximity to the environmental
damage itself.
Several issues are listed by White and Heckenberg (2014) to indicate how
environmental crime prevention is more demanding than traditional crime pre-
vention. For instance, environmental crime prevention has to deal with acts and
omissions that are already criminalized and prohibited but it also has to identify
events that have yet to be designated as harmful. Many areas of harm are not yet
criminalized. Moreover, interventions often collide with economic interests and
growth, as compliance with precautionary principles will almost always reduce
current profit margins. Environmental crime prevention also has to negotiate dif-
ferent kinds of harm, which affect humans, at different scales, local and global
environments, and non-human animals. Thus, while the specificity of the harm
demands a tailored response, there are some forms of environmental harm that
cannot be contained, requiring coordination at supranational levels. This is par-
ticularly important when the harmful effects are not homogeneously distributed
geographically or across social groups, such as those based on gender (e.g.,
Arora-Jonsson, 2011).
Presumably tightening regulations in one area may lead to displacement of
the problem elsewhere. Thus, the attitude of “not in my back yard” (NIMBY)
among countries in the Global North runs the risk of perpetuating environmental
harm in countries in the Global South. Moreover, environmental crime preven-
tion deals with actors of different agencies, which means in practice that only a
few voices are heard. However, these differences in power are no excuse for not
incorporating the activities of ordinary people and the involvement of diverse
communities in crime prevention. Likewise, environmental crime prevention
requires multidisciplinary approaches to the study of the environment that goes
beyond the boundaries of traditional disciplines.
Most environmental problems have an identifiable location associated with
place characteristics — a quality that for crime prevention is an important
resource. Knowing the type of place means that harm can be easily predicted and
different actions can be taken to solve the problem or prevent it from happening
in the future. Theories that start from an opportunity perspective, the characteris-
tics of the place, and time that crime occurs, such as routine activity theory,
crime pattern theory, and situational crime prevention theory, focus on the spe-
cific characteristics of a situation. Thus, situational crime prevention strategies
can be particularly useful when the place or site of environmental harm is
Prevention of farm and wildlife crimes 301
known, as these strategies are based on removing the opportunity to commit
crime and increasing the likelihood of apprehension. The design of prevention
strategies may follow the five categories of opportunities (effort, risks, rewards,
situational conditions, and neutralizations). A number of recent examples in the
international literature report the use of situational crime prevention applied
to EWC.
Lemieux (2011), for instance, exemplifies the case of elephant poachers in
Africa, suggesting a number of measures to limit the number of criminal oppor-
tunities, such as limiting access to areas where wildlife live, controlling weapons,
increasing police patrols, and using technology to enhance the monitoring cap-
abilities of wildlife authorities. Another, more difficult, suggestion is to reduce
consumption of wildlife products, demanding measures against traders and con-
sumers by systematic screening of exports and imports.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Pires and Clarke (2011) study the situational
conditions of parrot poaching in Bolivia. They found that parrot poaching was
consistent with parrot poaching in Mexico, which is predominantly an opportun-
istic activity performed by campesinos, local farmers who have easy access to
bird nests and are motivated by poor economic conditions. The authors suggest
increased penalties, more enforcement, and more protected areas but also a
number of other strategies based on situational crime prevention. They suggest
that intervention should be focused on the most poached species with protection
of their nests during the breeding season. This could be accomplished through
the use of nets and other physical barriers, CCTV surveillance of open areas with
termite mounds, and installation of nesting boxes at a height too great for poach-
ers. Reducing poaching requires engaging local communities in conservation and
generating revenues through alternative livelihood, such as ecotourism or regu-
lated trade, and employing poachers as rangers.
White and Heckenberg (2014) illustrate the use of situational crime preven-
tion combined with more long-term actions applied to illegal fishing in Australia
and other types of EWC. They suggest tackling illegal fishing by providing
alternative sources of revenue for traditional fishers, working with changes in
attitudes and community mobilization, such as by educating children about
species decline and implementing coastal watch schemes, increasing efforts by
fencing off key areas, increasing the risk of apprehension by installing CCTVs,
increasing patrols, and reducing rewards, such as by disrupting markets and
strengthening moral condemnation of overfishing. Authors highlight that they
are suggested actions, not one-size-fits-all. The suggestions only make sense
when put into a specific context, requiring close analysis of the different dimen-
sions of each type of environmental problem.
Following a similar line of thought, Huisman and van Erp (2013) state that
the prevention of environmental crime requires, in addition to situational crime
prevention measures, a more macro approach. The authors analyze 23 criminal
investigations of environmental offenses in the Netherlands, claiming that to
understand opportunities for environmental crime one cannot rely on a situ-
ational analysis of criminal opportunities of individual cases alone. One must
302 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
also take into account the political and regulatory culture and socioeconomic
context of environmental crime. Despite criticism of using situational crime pre-
vention on environmental crime (e.g., Huisman & van Erp, 2013), the attractive-
ness of this approach lies in its potential for the design of simple yet effective
preventive measures (Clarke, 1997). Taking into account the current inter-
national evidence, the next section focuses on EWC prevention in Sweden.
Environmental crime prevention in Sweden
In the 1960s, environmental harm started to be perceived as a serious problem
for society. At the same time, there was a shift, from the notion of protection, to
conservation of nature. According to that notion, individuals should be able to
benefit from natural resources at the same time that they should care for them.
This shift in the perception of environmental harm, however, did not change the
view of value and consumption of nature.
In the 1970s, Forsling and Borgblad (1978, p. 54) indicated that the challenge
in Sweden was still a “balanced vision” in society that would equalize things
that were not actually equivalent (for instance, monetary returns of water use and
value of clean water). A number of steps forward were taken when the Swedish
minister of justice demanded international action against environmental crime
and economic crime among multinational companies.
In 1972 a conference was held in Stockholm which became a milestone for
the international environmental movement (UN, 1972), and in the 1980s and
1990s interventions against nature gradually had to be assessed from an ecolo-
gical point of view, following standards of use of natural resources and environ-
mental assessment protocols. Since then, there have been major changes in
criminal law and environmental regulation, following the conferences in Rio,
Kyoto, and Johannesburg (e.g., UN, 1992). Shifts in public perception of
environmental problems globally impose new values on natural resources and
demand preventive measures.
In Sweden, environmental issues and environmental harm became the
central focus in the 1990s with the introduction of the Environmental Code in
1999 and the establishment of a new organization in the police and the pro-
secution service for combating environmental crime (Korsell, 2001). The
Environmental Code states that agencies exercising a control function have a
duty to report suspected environmental offenses to the public prosecutor.
Moreover, such agencies were empowered to impose administrative sanctions.
According to Korsell (2014), although crime registers show an increase in
environmental crimes recorded, only a few criminals have been sentenced to
prison. As Chapter 8 showed, the most common sanctions for crimes against
the Environmental Code are fines.
Nowadays, in order to ensure that environmental laws are observed, author-
ities divide their tasks into three types: regulatory, supervisory, and self-
monitoring. The self-monitoring is performed by the entity itself and aims to
create systematic work procedures, risk management, and other precautions
Prevention of farm and wildlife crimes 303
within their own operations. The authorities who are responsible for supervision
have the task of providing the operational regulatory support and advice
regarding how to apply environmental regulations. Furthermore, they ensure the
coordination of operational supervision, so that environmental laws are applied
in the same manner by the various operational supervisors. The Inspections
Ordinance (Naturvardsverket, 2011a, p. 13) states that government authorities
should give guidance to operational supervisors. Sweden currently has 16 super-
visors. The Inspections Ordinance (p. 13) also indicates how oversight work
between the state and municipal authorities is allocated. The most common case
is for a municipal authority to be responsible for the supervision and inspection
at the municipal level (Naturvardsverket, 201 1b).
Municipalities are the main framers of the tasks of the environmental inspec-
tor, whose job is to give notice of cases that do not follow the law and environ-
mental requirements, though the county administration and other state authorities
may also be involved, depending on the case. Given such importance in the
detection of EWC, what is the professional profile of these environmental
inspectors?
In an attempt to answer this question, the duties and expected qualifications
of environmental inspectors in two rural municipalities of about 30,000 inhabit-
ants were selected from daily newspaper job ads searching for these profes-
sionals. There is fair demand for environmental inspectors, a job regarded as
extra demanding. One reason is that the work of an environmental inspector,
together with police officers, health and animal inspectors, and other similar
professionals in Sweden, is regarded as particularly stressful. The scientists’
union studied whether and how often various inspectors are intimidated in their
work. The survey shows that the worst affected category is animal welfare
inspectors; about 70 percent state they have been threatened and are threatened
when performing their duties. It is estimated that four out of 10 environmental
inspectors have been threatened in the past year (Warne, 2013).
Table 12.1 provides two recent job descriptions for environmental inspectors
in rural Sweden. Though they are fairly similar in terms of duties and qualifica-
tions, note that for Municipality 2 the advertisement explicitly requests an indi-
vidual who can cooperate across departmental and other agency lines (county
and local authorities) as well as can handle “stressful situations.” As suggested
by Korsell (2001, p. 133) those who probe environmental crimes face a problem
that investigators of other economic crimes do not face. The majority of environ-
mental harm is, according to Korsell, legal and takes place with the consent of
society. Only when environmental harm involves breaches of rules and permits
does it become an issue. For this reason, it is difficult to prosecute many environ-
mental offenses.
Another challenge is that in Sweden (e.g., Korsell & Hagstedt, 2008), as in
Scotland (e.g., Fyfe & Reeves, 2011) and certainly many other places world-
wide, the definition of an EWC crime is contested on a daily basis by those from
the community and elsewhere. For instance, if livestock are in danger because of
an increase in the population of large predators, illegal hunting of these animals
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Prevention of farm and wildlife crimes 305
may become socially accepted, locals may turn a blind eye, and may even
support it in the community, despite the act being illegal. Tradition and “the way
things are done in the countryside” trump criminal law, a thing that is defined by
groups living far from the local reality. This form of disputation is portrayed by
von Essen, Hansen, KAllstrém, Peterson, and Peterson (2014) as a form of resist-
ance to imposed external values. They suggest that a recent phenomenon of
illegal hunting of protected species has been observed in Scandinavian countries.
Von Essen et al. (2014) suggest that as an everyday form of resistance, illegal
hunting provides a continuity of livelihood practices while at the same time pro-
viding the group with the means of challenging the legitimacy of the regime in
subversive ways in the struggle for recognition. These forms of disputation are
against the state, the European Union, and also locals who represent “main-
stream values.”
The next section discusses who is responsible for dealing with EWCs in
selected rural municipalities in Sweden. To assess the actions of these groups
against farm crime and EWC, data from two different sources was analyzed:
semi-structured interviews with representatives of CP groups in eight rural muni-
cipalities and responses from an email survey to all representatives of CPs. The
short email survey was based on hypothetical scenarios and sent to all municip-
alities with a CP group in rural Sweden.
EWC and the role of CP councils
EWC is not regarded as an issue for CP councils. The large majority of CP rep-
resentatives in Sweden think that it is up to the municipal and county authorities,
especially environmental inspectors, together with the police to deal with EWC
in first place. Based on responses from police officers, local police forces do not
feel comfortable in this role and point to the environmental inspectors as key in
the process. Interestingly, this seems to be replicated elsewhere. For example,
White (2008, p. 197) suggests:
for the police ... dealing with environmental harm is basically dealing with
the unknown ... environmental law enforcement is a relatively new area of
police work ... and it is at a stage where perhaps more questions are being
asked than answers are provided.
To assess in detail the role of a CP council if an environmental crime were to
happen in their municipality, an email survey was sent to all representatives of
CPs in Sweden (62 percent response rate). The email survey contained a hypo-
thetical EWC scenario, and CP members were invited to describe the most
important short- and long-term actions they would take as a group to tackle it.
You have learned that an unknown quantity of toxic waste has been dumped
near a large river at the border of your municipality on several occasions.
Two other municipalities were also affected by the waste. You suspect that
306 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
the waste comes from a company in your community. What would your
local crime prevention council do to solve the problem and ensure that this
crime does not happen again?
Less than one-quarter of the interviewed CP representatives would not know
what to do or would not take any action if the case concerning toxic waste
described above occurred in the municipality (Figure 12.2a). The main reason
they would not act, is that they do not think CP should deal with EWC. However,
even if they believe that EWC is not a matter for CP work, two-thirds of them
can easily identify the authorities that are responsible for the problem. These
respondents pointed out who should investigate the suspected toxic waste, to
whom they would report the case (the environmental authorities and the police),
and, in case of a crime, they would make sure that the offenders would be taken
to court. Some representatives would also list ways to repair the damage and
activate insurance for those affected by the crime (skadestand). They also
believe that the general public should be informed as soon as possible either by
media or Internet. If the damage would affect other municipalities, the county
should be involved as well as the local authorities of each municipality
concerned.
this must primarily be a matter for the police and the county (lanstyrelsen),
as well as for municipal environmental authorities (miljéférvaltningen).... I
do not believe this type of crime is a matter for a local CP council, as there
are other authorities that monitor, supervise and investigate environmental
crimes. In the long run, together with the Environment Agency, the energy
company (and possibly county) I would drive a campaign and also organize
information sessions. Try to develop checklists or the like, which can be an
aid to entrepreneurs in the management of hazardous waste.
(CP representative, municipality, central Sweden)
One-third of the CP members interviewed would not take any action in the long
run (Figure 12.2b) or did not answer the question. Most of them see establishing a
long-term plan as crucial to ensuring the problem does not happen again. Others
believe that improving information about handling toxic waste would be neces-
sary. Education programmes toward companies, especially small ones, was sug-
gested, as was overall improvement of control checks by the local authorities.
As reported by the CP representatives interviewed, the local environmental
inspectors and the police still face significant challenges in dealing with EWC at
the community level. Overall there is a lack of knowledge about EWCs. Some
types get more attention from the media and, in subsequent years, have tended to
be easily identified by the same environmental authorities. It seems that in some
municipalities, toxic leaks and construction in protected areas are often the
problem, while in others, offenses involve littering or illegal hunting.
As previously shown in Chapter 8, there is some sort of regional special-
ization of EWC. Such specialization is partly a result of the ecosystems
Contact county
Contact
municipality
(environmental unit)
Other (clean area,
inform public) Contact police
Contact company
Manage the fj Contact rescue
process services
Collaborate with
actors
(a)
Improve
information, skills,
control, check lists
No action Drive campaigns
Close contact with
environmental
municipal
authorities
Punish offenders
Long-term plan
(b)
Figure 12.2 (a) What would your local crime prevention council do to solve the problem
of EWC and (b) ensure that this crime does not happen again? Percentage of
valid answers (source: own survey, VN=83).
308 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
themselves (and what they contain across the country, including how accessible
they are) but also results from the practices of environmental authorities in
detecting EWC. However, it is unknown how the interplay of these two factors
affects EWC detection.
Even if EWCs are detected and cases are sent to court, very few offenders are
found guilty. If they are guilty, the penalty usually consists of fines, not prison
sentences. In the early 2000s, Korsell (2001, p. 134) suggested that the sanctions
imposed for environmental crime in Sweden were mild. The explanation was
that “agencies that control environmental crime find it difficult to uncover the
more serious incidents,” especially because companies work close to the allowed
prescribed limits. If there is any deviation, they are often small, so the offender
is bound to incur a minor penalty. In certain cases, the crimes may not be
reported, as minor violations against nature are often considered acceptable or
the price to be paid for the sake of keeping jobs. Those who discover these viola-
tions may turn a blind eye despite the crime.
Protest to protect the rural environment
Protesting is regarded in this context as a way of denouncing an environmental
harm. Protesting is thus an act of crime prevention and as such can be considered
part of rural policing. Paradoxically, protesters and police are rarely on the same
side. Though the role of the police is to ensure safety and the common good, it is
rare that protesters are placed side by side with the police. On one side are the
police, keeping order and protecting public and/or private property. On the other
are protesters. This is not only typical for Sweden, of course.
A number of similarities emerge when Woods (2011) presents the history of
protests in the countryside in the United Kingdom since the early 1970s. The
author suggests that the policing of protests has not traditionally been high in the
priorities of rural police forces in the United Kingdom. Woods classifies protests
into two types. One type is those genuinely born of a local cause, such as
farmers’ protests or protests against mining or hunting. The second type is those
that happen to occur in rural areas by chance but are triggered by urban or other
types of movement composed of protesters from elsewhere (such as protests
against nuclear power or military bases located in a rural area).
Protesting has a long tradition in Sweden. More commonly, protests take
shape as face-to-face encounters, on the streets with banners in hand in big cities
as well as in rural areas. Although this form of street protesting is rare, it may
take on other forms in everyday life. It is part of the Swedish democratic process
to react to decisions by protesting through opinion pieces in newspapers or parti-
cipation in programs on radio or television. More recently, there has been an
explosion of blogs and other specialized Internet sites. Most are open forums,
but a few call attention to different types of environmental issues.
Throughout the twentieth century, it was common for farmers to go to the
Swedish capital to protest against an agreed policy action. More unique was
when angry women in the 1960s made their way to central Stockholm to
Prevention of farm and wildlife crimes 309
protest — an event that became a cornerstone in the history of women’s political
participation. They were not there as wives only but rather as consumers to
protest against rising prices. According to Forsberg (1997), this demonstration
would have great significance for the conduct of pricing policy (milk prices) in
Sweden. Researchers still talk about this protest as a symbol of public reactions
that showed links between the countryside and urban areas.
Since the 1990s, the Swedish media has shown examples of scandalous
reports about abuses in the food system. Swedish radio and television reported
unethical and disreputable treatment of animals that awoke strong public reac-
tions, such as the treatment of cows and pigs, salmonella outbreaks, and the like,
some following the international mad cow disease debate (Forsberg, 1997). In
today’s global community, protests deal increasingly often with issues that go
far beyond national borders. More recently, social media has become a new
arena for protesters. Protesting has provided new ways to flag global problems
with a local impact and vice versa.
The police have a role to play in street demonstrations. Apart from the riots in
big cities such as Malm6 and Stockholm in 2013, when force was used by the
police to handle burning cars and contain violence, protests are less violent
events.
Speaking for the forest
Some protests reach the national media, as they have had a long life of dispute.
One recent example is the protests about iron ore mining in Kallak, Jokkmokk,
in northern Sweden. These rural protests are small events and rare in Sweden.
The reaction of the police has been reported by the newspapers as non-violent
but reports from these events made in the area show that protesters are pulled
away from the road by the police and then dispatched by bus.' These rural pro-
tests are considered peaceful by the media when compared to events that have
happened recently in urban areas in Sweden (the confrontations between police
and youngsters in riots in Malmé and Stockholm in 2013 mentioned above). Yet,
in reality they may also involve a great deal of violence.
In Kallak, there are at least two conflicting interest groups. On one side stand
the critics, made up of representatives from Sami groups (the indigenous Finno-
Ugric people inhabiting the Arctic area that encompasses parts of far northern
Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia) as well as tourism entrepreneurs and
environmental activists and scholars who emphasize the mining industry’s negative
impact on the local environment and the whole river valley.’ On the other side
stand local politicians and sections of the population who see mining as a positive
force that has the potential to create hundreds of new jobs and attract people to
Jokkmokk, which currently has around 5,000 inhabitants. Jokkmokk’s association,
“Allmaénningen,” which is an economic association with all individuals who are
owners of forest, owns most of the area staked for the Kallak mine, but part of the
land is privately owned. Some suggest that the board of Allmanningen is pro-
mining, despite there being members who are against it. The company has rights to
310 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
prospect, but in this case the landowners and reindeer herding complained in the
media that the company dug beyond the area where they had permission. News-
papers also reported that the landowners and reindeer herding made a complaint
about protesters to the police as they felled trees in the area.
The role of police is often to maintain the peace by avoiding direct conflict
between employees and protesters. Confrontations between police and protesters
in the area of the planned mine at Kallak went on throughout 2013 (Figure 12.3)
and, according to news reports, is still ongoing in 2014. The last police interven-
tion was less violent, but it was still brutal to witness an 85-year-old Sami rein-
deer herder being taken away from the area.* These confrontations are not
problem free. It is unknown how the protesters feel about the police when in
place. As often happens in the United Kingdom (see e.g., Woods, 2011), rural
police officers are also usually residents and may sympathize to some extent
with the causes espoused by protesters.
Environmental experts suggest that blasting in the mine can form cracks in
the ground and affect the hydropower dam a few kilometers away. There is risk
for drinking water contamination, and, in a worst case scenario, downstream vil-
lages may be swept away by flooding if anything happens to the dam. A nation-
wide Swedish newspaper reports the environmental harm is undeniable but is
not the only impact. A protester, whose family has reindeer grazing in the area,
was lifted away by police and placed in the trench. She says that it’s an abuse of
her people. She adds “in Sweden we denounce the oppression of indigenous
peoples in other countries but oppress its own indigenous people.”
Figure 12.3 Protesters against iron ore mine will continue: our fight has just begun
(source: Anette Nantell, Dagens Nyheter, 2013).
Prevention of farm and wildlife crimes 311
Together with other protesters, this person turned to international law, the
ILO Convention, which deals with indigenous people’s rights to land and water.
Along with 40 other activists, she formed a barricade against the police officers
who let the mining company’s trucks drive the ore down the road bit by bit.
Undoubtedly, much has changed since the first cries for change in natural
conservation approaches and animal rights against economic interests in the
1960s and 1970s. However, cases like the one described above make us return to
what Forsling and Borgblad (1978, p. 54) wrote nearly 40 years ago:
As it is today, the short-term economic interests weigh much heavier than,
for example, nature conservation interests. Nature cannot be valued in
money.... The consequence of adopting this “balanced vision” is that in
reality not all interests are not at all equal.
It is perhaps true that the value of untouched nature may not raise the GDP of a
country, but steps have been taken since the 1970s to protect natural environ-
ments. In the European Union, since the 2000s incentives have been paid to
farmers who preserve nature areas. Of course, there are numerous cases in which
the process and the decisions are still anchored on an outdated tradition of justice
that put in doubt the defense of the community’s sustainability. When harm and
damage are imminent, it may be too late to undertake mainstream intervention.
The only alternative then may be taking more tangible, perhaps drastic, measures
such as protesting.
Protests in newspapers
Most local newspapers have a letters column (insdindare), now also digitally access-
ible via the Internet. Newspapers have special sections for these types of arenas. In
such columns, hundreds of letters may be found denouncing environmental harm
across the country: from oil spills and chemical waste dumping, to animal abuse. A
recent case of a fishing farm in the northeast of the country became nationally recog-
nized when the company had to look for a new location following protests by the
local population in local newspapers. Protests in this case happen without the direct
involvement of the police, but the municipality and environmental inspectors were
involved after public complaints. Another case exemplifies the dubious role local
authorities may play in cases of environmental harm. On one side, the environ-
mental inspectors represent the local authorities who safeguard environmental
rights. On the other side, the municipality itself is accused of unlawful actions
against the environment by approving the disposal of wastewater into a lake.
How can you dump wastewater in Hamstasj6n? Obviously that is an
environmental crime.... School kids are taught not to dump waste in nature,
but what will they think if the municipality directs wastewater into the
lake.... Wake up and act!
(Sundsvalls Tidning, February 7, 2010)
312 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
Protests can also be made by formal authorities. Five of the northernmost
counties have jointly protested recently against the government ICT develop-
ment proposal. In a protest letter published in several newspapers (e.g., Lind-
gren, 2014), the counties claim that rural municipalities are at a disadvantage,
as the population outside towns with 3,000 residents and fewer are not
included in the program, which will ensure access and updates to broadband
support for the future. As the communications landscape gets denser, the net-
worked population is gaining greater access to information, opening up oppor-
tunities to undertake collective action. In the environmental arena, as a number
of examples in Sweden have demonstrated, this participation can help impose
demands for change.
Protests in the Internet era
Since the rise of the Internet in the beginning of the 1990s, the population with
access to the Internet has increased dramatically, even in the most remote rural
areas in Sweden. Over the same period, social media has become a fact of life
for civil society worldwide, with the use of different tools: text messaging,
email, photo sharing, social networking, and the like. Social media often
involves many actors — citizens, activists, nongovernmental organizations, soft-
ware providers, governments (Shirky, 2011). The possibilities for building net-
works of information and capacity to quickly influence public opinion have also
dramatically changed.
In Sweden, blogs and other forums are often used to inform and mobilize
individuals around different types of environmental harm/crime (see, for
example, animal rights, www.djurensratt.se/, or the Ministry of the Environ-
ment’s blog, http://blogg.miljodep.se/). The beauty of social media is the inde-
pendence of location. Protesters fuming about local causes can trigger a
movement beyond national boundaries. Enjolras, Steen-Johnsen, and Wollebek
(2013) show that, as a tool for protest, social media represents an alternative
structure alongside mainstream media and well-established political organiza-
tions and civil society that recruit in different ways and reach different segments
of the population.
An agenda to tackle EWC: littering, chemical waste, and illegal trade
in endangered animal and plant species
Littering and car dumping in the wild
According to figures presented in Chapter 8, littering accounts for the second
largest share of EWC in the police statistics in Sweden. This category is domi-
nated by the disposal of garbage in forests and on the outskirts of main urban
areas and tends to be detected close to roads. This includes domestic waste,
old furniture and cars. Some cars are burned on-site (Ceccato & Uittenbogaard,
2013).
Prevention of farm and wildlife crimes 313
Levels of littering and garbage dumping are potentially associated with
garbage collection fees. As indicated in Chapter 8, the difference in garbage col-
lection fees among municipalities is SEK25,003 per year, according to the
Swedish Homeowners Association’s 2012 survey. The difference, however, is
bound to affect both those that own their homes as well as those who rent (costs
are shared by rent tenants).
The increase of vehicle dumping in nearby forests has often been associated
with the lack of incentives for car owners to take their cars to the closest junk-
yard (the incentive expired in the 2010s). Instead, many vehicles are left in the
woods or along roads, or parts of them are, as some parts are sold in the second-
hand market. This is an example of the complexity of defining actions to prevent
this type of harm. An apparently isolated decision taken at the national level of
eliminating incentives for car owners has motivated vehicle dumping in the
forest. In a single rural municipality in northern Sweden, more than 30 cars are
left each year for the municipality to take care of. This problem is not divorced
from other types of crime, such as theft of car parts later sold elsewhere.
For the communities in these targeted areas, more awareness would be neces-
sary to report cases of domestic waste dumped into the wild and its impact.
Spills of fuel and other chemicals are left with old cars. The detection of these
crimes depends on the accessibility of the area by road or through an urbanized
area. Recorded cases depend on detection, and detection is based on what people
witness on a daily basis. Some of these areas are difficult to access, and garbage
and waste in the forest may go undetected for much of the year, as the area is
covered by snow, particularly in northern Sweden.
Fencing off properties goes against allemansrdatt, the Swedish tradition of the
right for anyone to use other people’s property. However, areas that are con-
stantly targeted by waste dumping should be exempted from the rule. While sug-
gestive of possible intervention, the following list of measures to tackle waste
dumping has to be considered in the specific Swedish context.
Note that some of these specific measures include changes in fees and incen-
tives at national level, while most are directed at regional and local actions with
the full engagement of the local community. Although local authorities may not
have the power to make structural changes that affect the long-term conditions
for environmental harm, this chapter offers a number of indications of how con-
ditions may be reconsidered so as to enhance the prevention of waste dumpage
in nature in rural communities most targeted by the problem. These suggestions
are not organized according to order of priority but rather are linked to the
attributes of situational and social crime prevention principles.
Incentive schemes
¢ Decrease garbage collection fees for domestic waste at national level.
¢ Increase frequency of collection of domestic waste in tourist areas/“cottage
belt.”
¢ Prevent discharge in forest by offering public recycling stations in rural
locales.
314 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
¢ Promote public campaigns to reduce waste and encourage re-use and recy-
cling materials.
¢ Reinstate national system of incentives for old car return.
Improve public awareness
¢ Inform individuals about consequences of inappropriate garbage dumping in
nature.
¢ Post information about garbage dumping/littering restrictions in nature.
¢ Education in schools about consequences of waste dumping.
¢ “Cash and release” media advertising including through social media.
Mobilize community
¢ Awareness of the problem by visiting the damaged areas.
e Adoption of the problem by crime prevention groups (CP).
e — Litter watch schemes (LWS) by grown-ups and schoolchildren.
¢ Promote coordinated actions by CP, LWS, and other local actors.
¢ Confidential hot-line and app systems linked to denouncement of garbage
and litter.
Increase the difficulty of committing crime
¢ Identify particular targeted areas/forests/rivers and prevent access to these
areas with fences and gates.
¢ Limit pathways into the wild and nature conservation areas.
¢ If targeted, make it difficult for outsiders to access natural areas protected
by law.
* Remove places that can be used for littering/dumping.
Maximize the risk of detection
¢ Install CCTV cameras.
¢ Increase patrols in targeted areas/forests/rivers.
¢ Disrupt markets for second-hand car parts.
¢ Investigate origin and identity of previously dumped vehicles.
¢ Motivate guardianship by transients of suspects along roads.
e Identify unauthorized transients in areas protected by law.
¢ Report suspect purchases of fuels used to burn cars and other materials.
Reduce the rewards
* Quick removal of waste and dumped materials in nature (avoid “copy
cats”).
¢ Refocus the problem in the media by showing cases when offenders are
caught.
¢ Increase fines for garbage dumping in nature.
¢ Induce guilt by strengthening moral condemnation of garbage dumping into
the wild.
¢ Spread pamphlets/media about the impact of garbage dumping in the area.
Prevention of farm and wildlife crimes 315
Reporting waste dumping should happen regardless of whether it conforms to
the definition of a crime. Dumping domestic waste, for instance, may not be
regarded as a serious crime but should be pointed out for its potential harm in a
form of chemical pollution to soil and water or plastic materials that are not
biodegradable.
Unlawful handling of chemicals/chemical pollution
EWC records of unlawful handling of chemicals present a concentrated pattern
in rural areas spread over the country. Remote rural municipalities in Sweden
have a significantly high percentage of these crimes: unlawful handling of chem-
icals, disruption of control, and disregard of regulations and permits for the use
of chemical components. Newspaper articles show several cases of inactive busi-
nesses that leave machines and products that are the source of the problem. In
contrast with littering and car dumping, chemical pollution is often perpetrated
by a business (e.g., industry, mining, or farming).
Incentive schemes
¢ Tailored information to local companies about handling and managing
chemicals.
* Control access to prohibited chemicals through import via Internet or tips
from police or customs (border patrol).
¢ Information to personnel on how to handle and manage chemicals in the
production process.
Improve public awareness
¢ Inform individuals about consequences of unlawful handling of chemicals.
¢ Certification scheme for businesses that are environmentally friendly that
can be flagged in their products.
* Create “code of good practices” in managing waste among company
associations.
Mobilize community
e Assist compliance through coordinated action at local (CP, police, environ-
mental inspectors) and regional levels, business and environmental
authorities.
¢ Confidential hotline and app systems linked to whistleblowing on chemical
pollution and other environmental problems.
* Creation of public-private partnerships to educate appropriate use of chem-
ical handling and management of toxic waste.
Increase the difficulty of committing crime
¢ Seal production process to reduce the risk of chemical spill.
¢ Frequent inspections of production system by environmental inspectors and
the like.
316 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
Maximize the risk of detection
¢ Trade union representatives can ensure working conditions adhere to rules.
¢ Companies that shut down are responsible for what is left on the grounds of
the company, including chemical waste and other potentially damaging
product.
¢ Improve knowledge of environmental inspectors to increase instances of
detection.
¢ Police officers may be engaged in detection and the investigative process
when there is suspicion of crime together with environmental inspectors.
¢ Collection and analysis of crime data.
¢ More resources toward the investigative process and during production of
evidence (qualified biologists, toxicologists, or epidemiologists).
¢ Better information sharing along the process and between different actors.
Reduce the rewards
¢ Increase sanctions to unlawful handling of chemicals/pollution.
¢ Zero tolerance to businesses that do not comply with environmental norms,
including minor deviations.
Illegal trade in endangered animal and plant species
“The global trade in illegal wildlife is a multi-billion dollar industry that threat-
ens biodiversity” (Rosen & Smith, 2010, p. 24). Current evidence shows that
regulation and enforcement have been insufficient to effectively control the
global trade in illegal wildlife at national and international levels.
Sweden imports and, to a lesser extent, exports endangered animals and
plants. As an importing country, endangered species most trafficked from other
parts of the world are used as pets, in collections, or in the form of tourist objects
and as ingredients for health foods.
Globally southeast Asia is a hub of illegal activity (Rosen & Smith, 2010). As
an exporting country, there are cases of poaching large predators, such as bears
and wolves, but also bird eggs, mostly for trade. As Chapter 8 suggested, illegal
trade conducted by organized criminal networks is more difficult to investigate
and is often rejected by public prosecutors on the grounds that the offense cannot
be proved because of lack of evidence (Korsell & Hagstedt, 2008; Sazdovska,
2009).
According to Rosen and Smith (2010), the effective control of illegal trade in
endangered animal and plant species requires a multi-pronged approach includ-
ing community-scale education and empowering local people to value wildlife,
coordinated international regulation, and a greater allocation of national
resources to on-the-ground enforcement. At regional and national levels, nations
without the independent capacity for enforcement will require help from other
nations in the form of partnerships to be able to control trade. White and Heck-
enberg (2014) suggest also that to control illegal trade as an organized crime, it
is necessary to share knowledge of perpetrators, involving the investigation of
Prevention of farm and wildlife crimes 317
chains of damage and the network of players, which may involve corruption of
authorities as part of the organized crime system.
Chapter 8 suggested that a slightly higher percentage of cases of animal
abuse, illegal animal possession, and disregard of protected species are recorded
in remote rural municipalities than in accessible and urban municipalities.
Together with illegal trade, this calls for preventive action at national, regional,
and local levels, where environmental authorities can act upon the problem. Sug-
gestions put forward below to tackle illegal trade in endangered animal and plant
species in Sweden focus on issues that have a local dimension, though some
indicate the need for structural changes in national and global regulation and
planning.
Incentive schemes
e Secure reserves and conservation areas.
e — Increase the natural habitat for endangered species.
¢ Reward vigilance from patrols, voluntary poaching control units.
¢« Compensation when endangered species destroy crops or livestock.
e — Invest in community-based eco-projects in origin countries (as alternative to
poaching).
Improve public awareness
¢ Inform individuals about consequences of inappropriate consumption of
endangered animal and plant species.
¢ Media advertising including through social media about the local and global
impact of the trade (both origin and host ecosystem).
e Incentive for consumption of certified products only (e.g., wood, fur).
Mobilize community
¢ Adoption of the problem by crime prevention groups (CP).
¢ Promote coordinated actions — more explicit customs declarations.
¢ Popularize the database of national endangered species.
Increase the difficulty of committing crime
¢ — Identify and protect particular species of animals and plants.
e Limit pathways into the wild and nature conservation areas.
¢ More rangers and patrols on the ground (origin country).
Maximize the risk of detection and reduce rewards
¢ Disrupt market for commercialization of endangered animals and plants.
¢ Investigate origin and identity of animals by using micro-chipping, DNA
forensic techniques.
¢ Motivate guardianship by locals, including by purchase of animal medication.
¢ Report suspect purchases of organic/biological materials through customs.
¢ Better information sharing along the process and between different actors.
e Bilateral government agreements to tackle illegal trade.
318 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
e — Increase sanctions and fines on convicted offenders.
¢ Refocus the problem in the media by showing cases when offenders are
caught.
Concluding remarks
Farm crime and EWC are not considered a priority in CP councils’ agendas or
by the police. Exceptions are municipalities that are targeted by these problems,
where environmental inspectors and the police play an important role in crime
detection. Although local CP councils demonstrate good knowledge of what to
do in the case of a farm crime or EWC occurring in their municipality, there is
an overall lack knowledge about what works and what does not work when tack-
ling farm crime as well as EWC among those interviewed from CP councils.
Such crimes normally are not followed up and are considered one-off events
detected by environmental inspectors and police. There are indications that
public (including CP groups) and private partnerships are blooming in municip-
alities that are often targeted by farm crime and EWC.
Environmental inspectors, who might detect such offenses, cannot be
expected to take over the role of the police as criminal investigators; so many
cases never reach trial. At the same time, CP groups in each municipality should
be more aware of, and perhaps be more curious about, these events than they are
nowadays. There is a clear scope for further research here. First, research can be
helpful in improving crime prevention practices by taking a closer look at the
barriers (legal, organizational, economic, and cultural) that make the detection of
farm crime and environmental violations difficult as well as the reasons why
they rarely go to trial. It is possible that there are geographical differences across
the country that explain levels of detection and conviction rates. As most com-
munity practices to prevent these crimes fall outside the range of responsibilities
of the traditional actors engaged in crime prevention (such as the police and CP
councils), a good start is to find out ways to keep the new public-private partner-
ships alive as legitimate actors in rural policing. With clearly defined roles, there
is no doubt about who is in charge when dealing with farm crimes or EWCs.
A model of a rural CP that takes into account the needs in the countryside
must capture the changing urban-tural relationships. These relationships are cur-
rently being redefined as the use of ICT makes crime less dependent on space.
ICT can be used to increase efficiency in crime detection and the reporting of
criminal events, as suggested by the use of CrimeAlert, tagging, and specialized
cameras. The use of CCTV to detect criminals on building sites or in forests, a
common target of thefts in rural areas, is an example of how the technology can
be used in areas where guardianship is low. The use of social media in com-
munity policing may be particularly important in rural areas because of the long
distances. The powerful capacity of georeferencing social control by texting,
voicing or imaging as crime happens is new in policing, but it is here to stay as a
new expression of surveillance (Ceccato & Dolmén, 2013). In a more general
account, for prevention and reduction of farm crime and EWC, the collection
Prevention of farm and wildlife crimes 319
and analysis of crime data must be improved via police records and partnerships,
followed by information sharing throughout the process and among different
actors. In the future, national victims’ surveys should incorporate questions that
are more appropriate for rural areas, with samples that allow meaningful analysis
across rural municipalities and regions, which, for the time being, is not
possible.
Indeed, the sharing of information is an important activity in order to raise
awareness of farm crime and EWC occurring in particular areas. Public aware-
ness is also important, education about the issues for children, and engagement
in safety walks and watch schemes are potential ways to get the community
involved and prevent crime. For farm crime, especially concerning machines and
tools, marking equipment and promoting harder sanctions and more aggressive
enforcement may be effective in high targeted areas.
It is not known why remote rural municipalities show higher shares of chem-
ical environmental crimes, but lack of support by environmental authorities and
lack of adequate information about how to handle chemical waste is certainly a
major contributor to the problem. Better information from environmental author-
ities on handling chemical components should be in place. Municipal authorities
should impose better control of waste left by inactive companies. Small busi-
nesses, perhaps the most important group of offenders, should get better informa-
tion from environmental authorities on handling these components. Resources
should be earmarked from the national to the local levels to provide educational
programs that prevent the problem in the first place.
EWC records, in particular for garbage dumping and littering, show that such
crimes often occur in accessible areas, such as near roads, though not too close
to urban areas, as that may increase the risk of being detected or recognized.
Police records also show that larger municipal areas can lead to an increase in
cases of dumping. The adoption of electronic surveillance along roads could, for
instance, be an alternative to increasing surveillance in areas more targeted by
garbage dumping. Routine activity principles can be the basis for assessing
detection schemes and EWC concentrations. Popular places may see more
EWCs, which then can be easily combated by improving surveillance and
security at that particular spot. Public campaigns can suggest that such dumping
spots should be better supervised and may be under indirect social control of the
local community. Future research should focus on finding ways to deal with the
problem and better implementing preventive schemes using current public and
private partnerships, such as the ones found in rural Sweden.
To restrict the illicit market in plants and animals, information should reach
the general public, as many crimes of this type are committed “by mistake” or
ignorance of the current environmental laws. In Sweden, Customs has a key
position in preventing protected plants and animals from entering the country.
Within the country, the rate of detection of these environmental violations can
be improved by increasing surveillance at suspected locations. At the individual
level, consumers can be vigilant of ingredients in food and medicines that can
arise from illegal trade. For example, furniture can contain types of wood that
320 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
are threatened in their local habitat or fur from endangered species. So consum-
ers should avoid buying products that are not certified. The same can be said
about other products of suspicious origin.
Nature is a means for economic sustainability but it is submitted here that
EWCs cannot be excused for the sake of keeping the rural economy alive. The
issues of the social and economic sustainability of rural areas must be assessed
in relation to the needs of the environment. To make things more difficult, some
of these recorded environmental crimes are caused by businesses such as saw-
mills and more traditional enterprises that have been part of the community for a
long time and are now targeted by new environmental rules. Most people in the
community do not view these activities as crimes. Perhaps this is a reflection of
the fact that society is still adopting a “balanced vision” noted already in the
1970s by Forsling and Borgblad (1978). And yet, natural resources are exploited
individually, while the costs of harm to nature are shared collectively.
Protesting, either through the media or face-to-face, is an example of people’s
capacity to mobilize around a specific cause. So far, protests in rural areas, either
for inherited causes or new externally imposed ones, are for the time being seen
as exogenous to crime prevention actions and policing. As illustrated in the
Swedish mining case, although the police may sympathize with the causes of
protesters, as some police officers are locals, structural barriers keep their actions
apart. Cases like this one call for a discussion of the police’s role and legitimacy
in rural communities, particularly now when Swedish police centralization will
soon be a fact.
Notes
1 Polisingripande i Kallak. Retrieved April 17, 2015, from www.youtube.com/watch?v=
YhhFdLvPinU.
2 Gruvbrytning kan orsaka dammhaveri. Retrieved April 17, 2015, from www.nsd.se/
nyheter/gruvbrytning-kan-orsaka-dammhaveri-7659 120.aspx.
3 The old man in Gallok. Retrieved April 17, 2015, from www.youtube.com/watch?v=
kLCik Xsui_k.
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13. Crime prevention in rural areas
Youth-related challenges
To frame the Swedish case, this chapter briefly reviews some of the current
international literature in criminology on crime prevention activities aimed at
youth in rural settings. The role of community in dealing with the problem in
rural municipalities through crime prevention initiatives is given special atten-
tion. The chapter closes with examples from the Swedish rural context and con-
cluding remarks.
Crime prevention and youth in the rural context: an
international perspective
Violence and addiction to alcohol or drugs are often common concerns in crime
prevention worldwide. Rural areas do not appear to provide strong deterrence to
these problems for young people (Johnson et al., 2008). Although different strat-
egies are implemented to tackle crime, violence, and addiction, the role of com-
munity is identified as fundamental to the prevention of crime and substance
abuse among youngsters. Some actors, such as schools (e.g., Shears, Edwards, &
Stanley, 2006) and local collaborations (e.g., Albert et al., 2011), have a direct
effect on preventing substance abuse, disorder, and crime. The role of com-
munity is argued to also have an indirect effect, through culture and norms that
may discourage or encourage addiction and crime. International examples of
crime prevention (CP) initiatives based on community engagement, though not
extensive, are briefly discussed in the next few paragraphs.
In the United States, Hawkins (1999) suggested a system that empowers com-
munities to organize themselves to engage in outcome-focused prevention plan-
ning. This model for prevention planning uses the tools of prevention science
and is called Communities That Care (CTC). The method includes school
surveys that reliably measure risk, protection, delinquency, and drug use out-
comes across states and ethnic groups applied to a number of study areas in the
United States. In Europe, CTC has been tested in England, Wales, Scotland, and
the Netherlands. A more recent example in the United States was reported by
Albert et al. (2011), who assess community-based programs against overdose
among youth in western North Carolina, where unintentional-poisoning mortality
rates had drastically increased since 2009. The overdose prevention program
324 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
involved five components that rely heavily on community involvement through
monitoring and surveillance data, prevention of overdoses, and face-to-face
meetings.
Community norms against substance abuse play an important protective role
against drug use (Collins, Harris, Knowlton, Shamblen, & Thompson, 2011).
While little research has looked at the indirect impact of community, Beyers,
Toumbourou, Catalano, Arthur, and Hawkins (2004) find that in the United
States community norms favorable to substances such as cigarettes, alcohol, and
marijuana affect use among young people. Changes in the community culture
are crucial to obtain good results in prevention. Another example in this direc-
tion is reviewed by Payne, Berg, and Sun (2005). The authors discuss the results
of a youth violence prevention plan using a rural and growing community in the
United States. They discuss the advantages of adopting an “empowered
approach” to develop youth violence prevention, together with policy makers,
practitioners, and citizens. Details of the approach are presented along with
issues that arose during the research and planning process.
Johnson et al. (2008) suggest that community prevention efforts should focus
on reaching rural areas and segmenting program content based on youngsters’
needs, which might differ from group to group. The authors found, for instance,
that white teenagers from that particular region of the United States would
benefit from an emphasis on preventing tobacco and alcohol use, whilst non-
white teenagers would benefit from an emphasis on preventing violence and vic-
timization. In the United Kingdom, youth crime and anti-social behavior are
common problems associated with crime prevention in rural areas, also linked to
alcohol and drug addiction (e.g., Forsyth & Barnard, 1999).
Internationally, CP initiatives have been criticized because they implement
interventions that may negatively impact young people (White, 1998). Interven-
tions are often not intentionally directed at young people alone, but young people
still feel most affected by them as they tend to “hang around” together in groups
in public places, especially teenagers. White (1998, p. 131) points out that some
CP strategies run the risk of over-controlling young people rather than address-
ing the structural causes of youthful offending or antisocial behavior.
Keeping these issues in mind, the next section reports on experiences with
crime prevention devoted to young people in selected rural areas in Sweden.
Email surveys, an analysis of a crime prevention database, media excerpts, and
face-to-face interviews were used to capture examples of current CP initiatives.
Addressing youth problems in rural Sweden
Youth-related problems are the main CP concern, transformed into different
types of intervention, from early offending careers, to violence and alcohol and
drug addiction. CP projects funded by the Swedish National Crime Prevention
Council (BRA) between 2004 and 2010 were evaluated by the types of municip-
alities that receive funding, the types of projects, and whether any assessment of
these projects was done by the group.
Youth-related challenges 325
Bi Offending, antisocial behavior, addiction
O Youth victimization
Bi Early prevention, educational, focus on children
Figure 13.1 Issues addressed by the CP projects financed by BRA (%) (source: own
graph from BRA database).
CP projects funded by BRA focused mostly on youth-related issues (V=37).
Within those projects that deal with youth problems, 48 percent deal with vic-
timization (violence), about 43 percent are related to offending, antisocial behav-
ior with drug and alcohol abuse, and about 10 percent are devoted to early
offending prevention focused on young children (Figure 13.1). Note that the
funding is directed to CP interventions in both large and small towns.
To investigate further how CP groups in these projects work on a daily basis
with youth-related problems, a short email survey was sent to all CP groups in
rural municipalities. The email survey helped to select eight municipalities
which were further investigated for case studies using face-to-face interviews, as
discussed in the next section. Members of CP groups were asked to discuss the
most relevant short- and long-term actions they would take to solve the problem
below.
A small group of young people are causing various disturbances in various
public places. (They were found drinking alcohol outside their school and
they have been engaged in acts of vandalism on public property, fights with
other youngsters and minor thefts.) Residents in the area are very upset by
the young people’s lack of respect for others. Although they have a foreign
background, they were born and grew up in the municipality. Residents
have now come to see you as a representative of the local crime prevention
council (or equivalent) asking for help to solve the problem. What does your
local crime prevention council do to address the problem and ensure that it
does not happen again?
Getting youngsters “busy” is declared to be a common long-term action to
prevent youth problems. Youth problems are composed of a variety of issues,
alcohol and drug addiction, truancy, acts of public disorder, thefts. However, it
is surprising how unvaryingly CP members declare addressing the hypothetical
326 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
youth problem in their community. Most CP councils declared that they would
rely on cooperation between police, school, social services, and youth recreation
centers. There are some specific features in the way they interpret the scenario.
Some of these CP groups would call for involvement of young people them-
selves and their families to solve these problems. Others suggest more social
control in the form of security guards, police, and safety walkers.
We usually put in extra security, in the form of guards. This is to get a clear
picture of the problem ... we talk with staff, municipal police, it is an agree-
ment between the police and the local crime prevention group. The group
discusses how to deal with the problem and arrives at a common decision
about what to do, and based on it we act. In this case, contact with the fam-
ilies is essential. We try to break the pattern. In the long run, we inform
teachers and recreation staff, talk to the safety walkers and allow security
guards especially to check out the area.
(CP representative, southern Sweden)
Existing collaboration between schools, police, social services and youth center
would be important, although we should have that at a much earlier stage. In
this case it seems to have gone too far! The municipality has a combined entity
for social services and health in schools for children up to 19 years old. This
unit should work hard with these young people and their families.
(CP representative, northern Sweden)
Many representatives could relate the scenario to the everyday reality they face
in their municipality. For those who already deal with such youth-related prob-
lems, collaboration between local actors is considered essential.
This scenario is our reality today in one of the villages we have here in the
municipality. It is a complex problem, and the residents of the village feel
that the police never come to them. We called a meeting with residents in
the area so they could talk about their frustration. Schools, social services,
police and recreation will collaborate on urgent individual cases. Then we
had a meeting with the young people and listened to them.
(CP representative, northern Sweden)
We have had a similar problem here. The individual actors in the network
have the foundation of their expertise and resources in working to resolve
the issue.... Efforts have solved the problem and are expected to ensure that
problems of this kind do not arise again.
(CP representative, southern Sweden)
Surprisingly, the CP representatives do not address the potentially special needs
of young people with parents who are foreign born (the scenario specifically
highlights this group). Some CP representatives were upset by the formulation of
Youth-related challenges 327
the hypothetical scenario, calling it offensive and particularly “picking on young
people with a foreign background.” However, even this group of representatives
could not conceive the idea that youngsters with a foreign background may have
at that particular stage of their lives special needs of schooling, socialization, and
community participation. It was initially expected that CP groups would engage
these youngsters more often in order to identify their needs and arrange appro-
priate actions. For example, limitations to the Swedish language might be a
problem to be tackled by the school if the youngsters had a foreign background,
as it was the case in the hypothetical scenario. The homogeneity in the answers
from the CP representatives is certainly associated with the “infrastructure” in
place and service routines rooted in Sweden’s welfare system at municipal level.
They tend to answer in a similar way because they tend to follow BRA guide-
lines as well as a number of CP models that tend to be used nationwide as exam-
ples of “good practices.” Examples of these models are the Kronoberg model
and EFFEKT, both discussed in the next section of the chapter.
Interviews with CP representatives
Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face in 2010 (in Swedish)
with representatives of local CP councils in eight municipalities (49 interviews
in total, about six individuals per study area). They were policy officers, school
representatives, members of women’s shelters, county council members, social
services, other NGO members, and citizens. Findings indicate that CP groups
approach youth problems in rural areas in two ways.
The first way that CP groups deal youth problems in rural areas is by focusing
on young people who are already causing concern (e.g., because of truancy or
fighting) and may be labeled locally as “troublemakers,” perhaps similar to the
group described in the hypothetical scenario in the previous subsection. Targeted
action is therefore directed at this group only, often involving school, parents,
and, in more serious cases, the police and social services. Among those with
confirmed problems of addiction, there is a specific drug abuse program with
frequent checks, in at least two municipalities. Collaborative work between
police, school, families, and social services is declared essential for this group.
The second way is to implement preventive actions directed at all youngsters
in the municipality. In this case, the goal of these actions is to keep young people
entertained, away from the “boredom of the countryside,” involved in structured
or semi-structured activities, under the supervision of adults. Events conducted
in these meeting places may not be associated with crime prevention per se, but
most believe that “keeping youth busy” is a good way to prevent crime. These
events can be festivals and, on a daily basis, youth recreation centers, common
in rural municipalities.
Youth activities at recreation centers are still considered the most popular
type of action adopted by CP groups to prevent youth problems (Figure 13.2).
These centers play an important social role, because they may constitute the only
“parent-free” zone devoted to leisure in the community. No doubt that these
328 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
Figure 13.2 Examples of places for youth leisure activities in rural Sweden.
recreation centers indisputably play an important role in the social life of the
community, however, the role of these youth recreation centers for CP has been
long disputed. For instance, Mahoney and Stattin (2000) show in a Swedish case
study that youth participation in low-structure leisure activities, such as the ones
that take place in youth recreation centers, was associated with high levels of
aggressive behavior, alcohol/drug use, delinquency, and crime. Internationally,
Bursik (1999) concludes that better knowledge is needed about “communities’
supervisory and socialization capabilities” of which these recreation centers are
part. There is no agreement among those interviewed. One CP representative
argues in favor of this approach, whilst another highlights the challenges of
organizing youth recreational activities within this framework. In the Swedish
study areas, interviewees believe that CP activities play an important role for the
health and quality of life of local youth:
The first time we had [the festival] we thought it should be drug free ... and it
did not work so well. We ended up with drunk people and/or drugs anyway.
(Church representative, the north, high crime, new economy,
quoted in Ceccato and Dolmén, 2013, p. 105)
We have to reach out to young people, for children and young people who
really need us and believe in what we say. ... It’s definitely a challenge!
(Politician in the Police Board, the north, high crime, old economy)
In terms of organization, CP groups in northern Sweden diverge from those in
southern groups. It is unclear at this stage how much these differences affect the
crime preventive work directed at young people.
Three important differences can be identified. First, whilst all southern CP
groups indicate having a formal structure, no northern municipality has a group
working under the name “local crime prevention council.” Moreover, northern
municipalities have a looser organization (for details see Ceccato and Dolmén,
2011). Second, CP groups in the north also declare lower levels of cooperation
Youth-related challenges 329
within and outside the group. Also, CP activities driven in northern municipal-
ities tend to be often motivated as a general health and social service and less as
crime preventive actions than they do in the southern CP groups.
One of the barriers mentioned by the interviewees was the Swedish legislation
on data secrecy and handling. Information-sharing between local authorities sup-
ports the family and the school, so they can prevent children from embarking on a
possible criminal career. Most of the CP representatives believe that although neces-
sary, data secrecy is a major hindrance to CP work. Ceccato and Dolmén (2011)
confirm that there are complaints that social services fail to get permission to share
information between authorities which impede them to help youngsters at risk.
CP groups deal with youth problems by implementing similar types of projects,
yet, some of them are organized differently. There are no apparent differences
between municipalities with relatively higher crime rates from those with less
crime. There are, of course, exceptions. Ceccato and Dolmén (2011) exemplify that
chronic addiction problems common in some northern municipalities demand a
constant constellation of experts in CP groups that are found more sporadically in
the southern municipalities. More CP groups in the south declare that they deal
with conflict between youth groups which is ethnically motivated more than in the
northern case studies. Most of these projects directed at youth do not involve any
formal assessment. Any follow up, if it happens, is limited to simple assessment
procedures or reports describing the activities. In Sweden, CP initiatives in rural
municipalities may never be assessed to the same extent as those in urban areas
because of limited funding and skills of the CP members. One difficulty in follow-
ing up is that in certain cases, CP groups haven’t stated the initial goals for the
local actions in the first place.
1: The plan that you use, have you set any specific goals with the work?
R: We have no goals of our own. We have a drug and alcohol policy action. It is
not completely implemented. So I use more crime prevention goals where I
work, so it’s very diffuse...
1: No milestones either?
R: No measurable milestones, no plan for follow-up more than the follow-up
and the reports that I write here every year.
(Safety coordinator, the north, high crime, new economy)
Seasonal problems (violence during the tourist season, for example) impose specific
demands on CP work, requiring more concentrated action during particular events
or seasons. This was expected particularly for the so-called “new economy” muni-
cipalities, those that are more service-oriented and regularly receive an inflow of
tourists at particular times of the year. One of the interviewees in the south describes
the challenges with seasonal problems related to youth in the summer, whilst in the
north it seems to be considered in the framework of daily CP activities.
We try to do some stuff with this summer mess.... It’s about serving
alcohol, information on the prohibition of alcohol consumption in the city.
330 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
There must be a functioning sobering unit. It’s about police patrolling oper-
ations, supervision of taverns, etc.
(Safety coordinator, the south, high crime, new economy)
I cannot say that we are targeting a winter season here, but it’s probably
more about looking at our own youth, what goes on around schools.
(Alcohol manager and safety coordinator, the north,
high crime, new economy)
Efforts are made to improve personal skills and improve the knowledge base
among those involved in CP but also for parents and other adults working
directly with children and youth. About one-third of the interviewed representa-
tives spend time improving their skills, especially to deal with “new” challenges,
such as drugs and alcohol sold over the internet.
We are partly adopting the EFFEKT Model (Orebro Prevention Program),
and my colleague was the one who trained us, so we can support our own
community with the skills. But we’re not there yet. Another is to have a
structured training program for drugs of abuse and a clear program of action
when they suspect abuse of any kind.
(Alcohol coordinator, the north, high crime, new economy)
We need to take a long perspective of 20 years in CP, for children and their
families.... We gather skills and knowledge and have a common strategy —
counties, municipalities and NGOs ... to minimize the risk factors.
(Youth coordinator, the north, high crime, old economy)
Drugs. From alcohol to harder things.... We get depressed because it is easy
to find websites where you can order drugs on the internet. Things happen
fast. When [the government] does not have time to classify them as drugs,
there are new ones to buy online.
(Alcohol coordinator, the north, high crime, new economy)
It is therefore not a surprise that the southern high-crime, new-economy muni-
cipality shows a high degree of collaborative work in CP with other municipal-
ities, regions, and organizations also universities; an exception when compared
to the other studied municipalities. The same applies for the northern high-crime
municipality in preparation for the winter season (Ceccato & Dolmén, 2011).
Table 13.1 summarizes the main characteristics of CP groups’ activities in the
eight municipalities.
Experiences from CP work with young people
The Kronoberg model on Gotland
To curb violence in public spaces, the police in the region of Vaxjé, in southern
Sweden, developed the “Kronoberg model.” Although applied in most of the
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address domestic violence? (source: own survey, N=60 local crime preven-
tion councils).
Challenges in combating abuse against women 357
Although a majority of respondents declare that the role of crime prevention
councils in cases of domestic violence is only to coordinate, they still show signs
of having a clear strategy on how they would tackle the problem if it appeared in
their community (Figure 14.3b). Two-thirds of crime prevention groups would
establish contact with the relevant local authorities in an institutionalized way,
using channels of support that already exist for victims. Improving the existing
networks linking local actors is also regarded as important. In the long term,
improvements in personal skills for handling violence and providing information
are also considered relevant. Support for both victims and perpetrators is
regarded as a must in some municipalities. Unexpectedly, very few declare that
they would rely on strategies based on informal social control of neighbors and
friends of victims.
Half of the respondents think that domestic violence has to be brought to the
attention of police (the others declare that it is the woman’s right to decide
whether she registers the crime) and in nearly all cases the relationship between
victims, local community, and authorities is regarded as unproblematic. As sug-
gested by DeKeseredy, Schwartz, and Alvi (2008), strong social control,
common in rural areas, might inhibit women from reporting events or even
prompt them to hide such events from neighbors or local authorities, particularly
the police. However, one of the respondents reflected upon the current barriers a
woman may face when victimized and what is needed to improve the current
conditions:
Helplines can get them to dare to report. There may be reasons why many
do not dare to report ... I guess they do not want to end up as a little item in
the newspaper ... or they don’t want to go to hospital (large women’s work-
place) because they don’t want to show their injuries. The municipality must
have a plan to support everyone involved ... perpetrator, victim, children
and others. A joint plan with the police, prosecutors, healthcare and others.
(A respondent from southern Sweden)
Many representatives highlight the need for a long-term strategy to support
victims, particularly for social services to assist in making a plan for what the
family needs and may be willing to receive, possibly supporting the woman in a
separation. The role of the school in this process was highlighted in two ways:
first, by supporting the children as they might be witnessing these violent events
at home; second, by educating and improving gender awareness for school-aged
children as a preventive measure. Some respondents highlighted the importance
of providing education to those who can actively intervene if violence breaks out
at home, such as the caretaker in a housing association.
Emphasizing the role of the police in prevention
Although the Public Prosecution Office in Sweden has invested heavily in fight-
ing violence against women, the number of reports of violence and threats
358 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
against women has increased while charges have decreased. Some prosecutors
believe the problem lies with the police:
I feel that the judicial police training should be improved. The police would
be better at interrogation and treatment. There’s a shortage of trained police
that can quickly get into the problem.
(A prosecutor in the Stockholm region, in Stengard, 2009)
Recent discussion in the media about women’s homicides indicated the role of
the police is fundamental in preventing women abuse in rural areas. Jonsson
(2013), from the police in Vasternorrland, whose team analyzed dozens of
cases of homicide in the past 12 years in an area of southern Sweden, says in a
radio interview that she believes the police should play a more important role
in combating violence against women. Jénsson suggests that, to improve the
prevention of violence and killings in close relationships, the police must work
more systematically. There is a need to create a database of addresses where
there have been repeated calls of fights and/or domestic violence. Such
information could provide patrols with more knowledge about what to expect
from a particular case in what Jonsson calls “flat fights.” She points out that
this is particularly crucial at critical stages of victims’ lives, such as when
women want to separate from their partners or husbands or leave their parents’
homes against their will:
Had we taken these more proactive actions, using skills that are actually in
place, we could have certainly prevented a number of murders.
(Jénsson, 2013)
In addition to gathering evidence, there is also a need to ensure that bat-
tered women do not withdraw complaints or notifications made to the police,
especially in situations in which the separation process is under way and when
quarrels are more frequent. Another proposal entails the creation of counseling
support for those who have a past of violence and are in the process of separa-
tion, to avoid situations that can escalate into violence and murder. Another
important component of prevention is the way a restraining order is put into
practice by criminal justice. A restraining order (prohibition of contact
between a perpetrator and the victim) is said to be insufficient. In the future, a
restraining order should be combined with electronic surveillance, with elec-
tronic differential tagging on the perpetrator at the same time that the restrain-
ing order comes into force. Long-term intervention which does not necessarily
involve the police also ought to be put in place to support women to dare to
leave a destructive relationship, avoid violence, and, in the worst case, to
avoid being murdered. This means that women must get more help than is cur-
rently the norm in Sweden, as in some cases they need help finding a new
home, a school for their children, and maybe even a new job — all these places
far from the abuser.
Challenges in combating abuse against women 359
Unlocking women’s violence in the rural context
I: What about men’s violence against women? Is this something you see a
problem with?
R: No, not really. We discussed it at the previous meeting when X brought the sta-
tistics ... there was no case. It is one thing here and another assault case there,
but domestic violence or violence against children, or rape.... We are pretty
spared from it actually. Luckily. Why? I don’t know if women don’t dare to
report it or if the “free church belt” makes you have a different view of it.
Although not specific to Sweden, the case above illustrates one of the most
important challenges in tackling violence against women in rural areas: to get
evidence that violence is actually taking place. Can violence against women be
truly addressed if there is a “cultural blindness” that does not recognize the
problem?
Answers from interviews show signs that domestic violence goes underre-
ported in some of these municipalities. Although there seems to be a tight
network between social and health services, police, and women’s shelters, cases
reported to the police are termed “low” in certain parts of Sweden. As pointed
out in Chapter 10, differences in reporting rates of domestic violence may
reflect differences in “gender contracts or regimes” (Amcoff, 2001; Townsend,
1991) that creates different conditions for both women and men. In places
where more modern gender contracts dominate, there is “the right background”
for women to feel accepted even if they report violent actions by their partners.
In more traditional gender contracts, however, domestic violence may go unde-
tected for different reasons. On the other hand, high levels of domestic violence
in larger cities in the country might be a result of the supply of services, par-
ticularly police units, specialized in family conflicts to detect and register
family violence.
When a victim actually reaches a women’s shelter, she may not want to report
to the police or social services. Some believe that the only way to change
women’s attitudes toward their partners is to invest in awareness and informa-
tion through lectures in the community. Since it is a small community, informa-
tion often passes mouth-to-mouth, which is sometimes more effective than the
lecture itself. Others think that it is easier to approach abused women when there
are children involved, since these women may have a larger interface with the
local community and services than others who do not have children. Trust must
be established, otherwise women do not dare to tell.
What we have seen in the women’s shelter is that women would not report
to the police or social services. Many times they come and talk about
“friends” who have problems, and when they come a few times, then it turns
out that their friends are actually them. We get it at once but we wait until
they can tell their own story themselves.
(Women’s shelter representative, northern municipality)
360 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
After reporting an incident, a woman may still refuse to participate in the inves-
tigation, which is perceived by the criminal justice system as a problem. There
are many different explanations for this. Women avoid reporting the case
because of social and economic dependence on the perpetrator. Other explana-
tions are that a woman’s primary goal is to get out of the abusive relationship
and not put the abuser in jail or that she was ill-treated by police or not believed
(Weinehall, 2006). Despite being an exception, one respondent mentioned that
women are guaranteed the possibility to choose their own contact person at the
police, so they do not need to disclose themselves to more than one person after
the first incident has been registered.
Identifying “sectoral blindness”
Crime prevention is rarely defined from a gendered violence perspective by
those who work directly with violence against women in crime prevention part-
nerships. Our analysis shows that when local crime prevention partnerships deal
with women’s safety, the common agenda is to deal with fear of crime in public
spaces (using safety audits or safety walks), not with violence that happens in
the private sphere.
Although those living in rural areas feel safer in public places in their neighbor-
hoods than those living in urban areas (BRA, 2008), interventions against aggres-
sion toward women in rural areas still focus on perceived safety in public places.
Thus, as in urban areas, in rural areas the actions of crime prevention groups often
tend to be guided by the dichotomy of discourse between private versus public
spaces, neglecting the problem of domestic violence and giving priority to (fear of)
violence in public places. Moreover, the priorities of crime prevention groups are
often the result of an interplay of the interests of representatives in the local com-
munity in which the police still play an important role, which often results in less
focus on violence by partners or family in the private sphere.
Of course, safety in public places is very important as it deals with a woman’s
right to move about safely in society. Decades of research have shown that the
fear of being victimized by a crime is more prominent among women than men,
but crime is just one factor that affects women’s perceived safety (Ferraro, 1995;
Lagrange & Ferraro, 1989). Other types of behavior — such as intimidation,
groping, sexual comments, harassment, and threats — also affect women’s mobil-
ity. According to Loukaitou-Sideris (2014), fear leads women to utilize precau-
tionary measures and strategies that affect their travel patterns. Whether traveling
by bus, automobile, or other mode, women’s fear of public transportation facili-
ties (e.g., parking structures, buses, train carriages) affects the way they engage
in travel and may preclude them from a basic right: the ability to move undis-
turbed from origin to destination without worrying that a “wrong choice” of
mode, transit setting, or time of travel might have consequences for their safety.
Women living in rural areas, particularly in countries with long travel distances
like Sweden and Australia, may be extra dependent on private vehicles and
public transportation to allow individuals to go to work or ask for help if
Challenges in combating abuse against women 361
anything goes wrong. For instance, a study of teenagers’ movements in the
suburbs of a middle-sized Swedish city reported a fear of traveling or of being
alone in transit environments late in the evening (Aretun, 2009). Our case studies
in Sweden show that violence against women is dealt with separately from other
issues of outdoor safety and rarely relates to women’s mobility. The dichotomy
of actions between private versus public spaces is more often found among those
crime prevention actions in southern municipalities than in the northern study
areas, where alcohol and drug consumption and addiction are targeted by joint
efforts against violence.
Although those who deal with violence against women may work separately
from traditional activities in crime prevention, they do show signs of cooperation
with neighboring municipalities both in southern and northern study areas on
some gender issues. The type of support may vary. For instance, all studied
municipalities are aware of and work to implement the regulations in the legisla-
tion to protect women (Kvinnofridslagen). The work done by the selected muni-
cipalities in the south and north of Sweden may be similar but, in terms of
organization, they are different. In the north, the groups have a looser organiza-
tion and work based on their individual responsibilities (e.g., the Linnea group is
devoted to gender violence), whilst in southern municipalities the groups have a
formal crime prevention alliance.
Although nearly all respondents describe their activities as being prescribed
either at the national or regional level, there are indications they have some room
to affect what happens locally. For instance, a group in southern Sweden
decided, parallel to their current support to women victims of violence, to start a
men’s forum.
We have established a men’s forum. It is a preventive effort aimed at violent
men. They must first be able to contact us.... It is an outlet for their aggres-
sion before they hit their partner or wife. It is difficult to measure its success.
They come to a special apartment that we have set up and then there is the
opportunity to meet them anonymously.
(Coordinator, southern municipality)
Changes in priorities have now put the focus on domestic violence with more
comprehensive involvement of multiple actors, but it seems that actions are
taken without knowing how big the problem is at the local level. These groups’
actions and the type of help they provide have become more institutionalized
over the years, often following a top-down approach, from regional to local
levels. Interestingly, there was not a single case in which any real records of
domestic violence were declared as the basis for starting their activities.
1: But why did you start the project?
R: New law, the law changed.
I: So it was not as if you started the project because some statistics (on violence)
increased?
362 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
R: I’m no feminist as such, but no, there is nothing that we have seen here but
you know that there is [violence].
(Project leader, northern municipality)
It is unclear why local actors do not track cases of violence against women if
they “know” that they exist. If police statistics may fail to capture “the real
numbers,” health statistics (number of admissions/hospitalization) should reveal
how serious the situation is. The same could be argued for women’s shelters and
local social services. Violence may extend to children, which could also be iden-
tified as a problem at school or day care.
Tackling specific rural challenges
Reaching all those in need and locating them are often regarded as difficult tasks in
small municipalities. Some of these rural areas have women from ethnic minorities,
from Thailand for instance, often brought to Sweden through marital ties or “mar-
riage arrangements.” Westman (2010) shows examples of how migrant women in
tural areas exploit their positions and try to challenge the traditional norms in the
Swedish countryside. Overall, for those who work with gendered violence, the chal-
lenge is greater when victims belong to ethnic minorities who may not speak the
language or do not want to seek help for fear of being expelled from the country.
We have a lot of migrant women in the villages.... It is not easy. You need
to reach everyone. We have women with addiction problems who are
abused, we have women that we do not reach, who do not know the lan-
guage. We have to get out the information that we exist.
(Project leader, northern municipality)
While it is important to note that abused women with a foreign background are a
heterogeneous group with different social backgrounds, they may share a number
of vulnerabilities: lack of knowledge of their rights, heavy dependence on the
perpetrator, and limited social networks. Studies show that abused women with a
foreign background often get incorrect information from the perpetrator. Threats
such as that she would be deported if she left him or that her children would be
taken away from her were common. Ethnic discrimination is another factor that
can make foreign women especially vulnerable. When this happens there is a
risk that the woman will be seen primarily as a representative of a culture and
secondarily as an individual (Socialstyrelsen, 2014).
The women may also need emotional support and help to process events and
find a way forward. Women who are not accustomed to living independently or
who are new to the country may need help with practical tasks when they have
left their partner and must create a life on their own. Good and competent treat-
ment is a prerequisite for a violence-prone woman to receive community support
and help. If the woman has limited language skills and limited knowledge of
Swedish society the process can be even more difficult.
Challenges in combating abuse against women 363
More often in the north than in the south, Swedish respondents report the dif-
ficulty of dealing with domestic violence and addiction (especially alcohol
addiction, sometimes by both victim and abuser) (Weinehall, 2011). The police
highlight that some problems are “chronic” in rural communities and, although
they follow routines, they lack total commitment when they are called several
times to the same address (Weinehall, 2011).
There are also problems associated with long distances to services and support.
As in many other rural areas (see e.g., Pruitt, 2008), local governments in rural
places often struggle financially to maintain basic public services and resources.
Respondents also indicate their own lack of skills and the group’s poor resources
for tackling violence in the private sphere. They travel to neighboring municipal-
ities to attend courses and establish collaborative work. Cooperation between
municipalities is an essential part of their work, especially in attempts to protect
victims’ privacy and anonymity. However, long distances may play a positive role
in the process of looking for support. Anonymity can be safeguarded by “sending
women to the neighboring municipality” where better resources can be found.
We found out that it is impossible to have women’s shelters in small muni-
cipalities ... because everybody knows everybody.... So you have to
cooperate. When we have no money to hire someone, we must find ways
within existing resources. It is not easy. We must help each other. That is
why we will work together with X, Y and W municipalities. When some-
thing happens, it’s primarily to X municipality that we sent women.
(Project leader, northern municipality)
Some are more active than others in working on issues to prevent long-term
domestic violence. Information and education of young people, and of parents,
is part of the agenda in nearly all study areas in northern Sweden. These lectures
are often financed with joint support from the municipality, county council, and
NGOs and encompass a range of issues, from drug and alcohol addiction (which
is a problem particularly in northern municipalities), to changes in attitudes to
traditional gender roles.
We had a play about boys’ violence against young girls.... We will also go
up to T-municipality and H-municipality to hold lectures for parents of
young people’s habits on the Internet, because parents have no idea what the
young people are busy with online.
(Safety coordinator, northern municipality)
An interviewee also mentioned that they found a course at the closest university
on men’s violence against women and children. They applied for money from
the County Council so the police, women’s shelter representatives and the muni-
cipality had the opportunity to take the course. In summary, there have been a
number of initiatives from local crime prevention representatives to improve and
spread new knowledge about gendered violence and its prevention.
364 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
Avoiding “acting in the dark”
Those who work with issues related to violence against women face a number of
other challenges in Swedish rural areas. Although local crime prevention coun-
cils show examples of good practice in a number of areas (Ceccato & Dolmén,
2013), there is an overall lack of knowledge about “what works” and “what does
not” in countering violence against women. However, this is not a problem
exclusively of those who deal with domestic violence. The examples provided
by those who participated in the survey show that the majority of the activities
and projects conducted within a CP framework rarely reach the point of being
assessed. Most of the “success stories” are often told in the form of anecdotes
about people’s struggles with poor resources to deal with gendered violence, the
structural barriers they face, and how their work has made changes in the
victims’ lives (e.g., by providing shelter or making it possible for women to
leave their abusive partners).
Many of those who were interviewed would also argue that being in a “small
community” is an advantage for the type of work they do. They claim that any
“problem” may be solved quickly because “unofficial talks” may become “offi-
cial” just because people know each other. However, not everybody agrees.
What is perceived to be an advantage by some may be an indication by others of
unbalanced power relations. In cases where women abuse occurs, this may lead
to what was termed by Barclay, Donnermeyer, and Jobes (2004) the “dark side”
of gemeinschaft: violence against women is tolerated and conflicts are resolved
“within the group.”
Aligning national goals to regional programs and local actions
The great majority of respondents expect more resources to become available for
long-term action, funding that can be earmarked at the national and regional levels
for local action at the community level. They suggest that they need extra resources
not only for their current activities but also for new ones (e.g., a girls’ forum in a
northern municipality, pro-feminist men’s movement, such as a males’ forum in
the south). Better guidelines and knowledge of how to work together with other
local actors to tackle violence against women is also desirable.
More knowledge could perhaps explain large regional differences in the
number of domestic violence cases that go to trial. In some northern counties,
only 20 percent of complaints of women abuse were prosecuted in 2012, whilst
in counties with the best clearing percentages, Gotland and Jamtland, the figure
was 69 percent (Beausang, 2012). In addition, the whole criminal justice system
must be adapted to quick response in extreme cases of women’s abuse. Restrain-
ing orders should be implemented more often, together with electronic tagging
in extreme cases. Relocation of the woman to another community can be an
alternative, but it requires resources and the coordinated actions of different
actors. As suggested by Jonsson (2013) in a radio interview, actions like these
may keep women from dying at the hands of violent partners.
Challenges in combating abuse against women 365
Some claim there is a mismatch between national and local policy, and also
poor support for putting national guidelines on violence against women into
practice locally. Some in the north also argue that “things decided in Stockholm
do not take into account the conditions and resources of remote rural municipal-
ities.” The effect of this disconnect between national and local scales in policy
has already been pointed out elsewhere by Pruitt (2008, p. 413). Referring to
North American conditions, Pruitt argues that
challenges associated with domestic abuse are unlikely to be solved by
action at any one scale. They also are not likely to be addressed effectively
with national policies that ignore space- and place-based differences. Nor
are they likely to be resolved entirely at the local level, particularly in light
of the lack of resources.
This calls for responses that represent collaboration between national and
regional levels on the one hand, and local on the other.
Two examples of good practices
These two examples were selected because they are interventions that combine
individual and community-based actions. These initiatives intend to establish
networks of support for victims, offenders, and their families, which has been an
important goal in the UN-inspired coordinated community response to gender
violence.
Moreover, the selection of cases is limited by the views, experiences, and per-
ceptions of those who work with crime prevention in eight rural municipalities
in Sweden. Although they may reflect a rich variety of rural municipalities in the
country, conclusions cannot be generalized for all rural areas, with similar types
of initiatives. Despite these limitations, we believe it is important to be able to
report on the experiences of those working with women’s abuse in these two
examples. In the future, it is important to focus on the views of those who seek
support either as victims or perpetrators of violence.
Women’s shelter in Storuman
The women’s shelter called “Kvinnojouren i Storuman” started in 2004 by
local nurses who had experienced many cases of abuse against women. They
took the idea to a member of the community council, who was later backed up
by social services, and then the group was formed. Since then, they have had a
good response from the authorities and society at large. When they started
their activities, neighboring municipalities (e.g., Sorsele) wanted to get
involved. Nowadays they share the apartment and running costs. They now
have seven people who work on a number of cases. Some of the work is done
at the individual level.
366 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
R: Yes, the problem is psychological abuse, you know, to access it, and reduce
it. It is a preventive program that you do not know how long it can last.
1: How do you work with it?
R: By boosting women’s self-esteem and gaining confidence. It is extremely
important; it is what is lacking in them. They must be aware that they have
self-worth. It is so easy to become depressed. If you are confident in your-
self, you dare to go against [your oppressor]. One should not simply put up
with crap.
Activities run by the women’s shelter organization in Storuman also represent
good examples of a community-based approach toward prevention of gender
violence. The group attempts to develop and reinforce a shared long-term culture
that does not tolerate women abuse and constantly tries to prevent it through
training and information. As Saville and Clear (2000) indicate, positive commu-
nication skills and conflict resolution enhance cohesiveness. Thus, schools and
local community centers can be used to provide information and training in rural
communities. One of the members of the group gives examples of how they
work in a preventive way together with the community:
On March 8, the women’s shelter usually sponsors free bowling and coffee
for women and girls, and this year, the girls invited boys. We had 100-110
people there. It was amazing for such a “little Storuman.” Out in the schools,
we must do this. We have to reach out to young people.
(Women’s shelter)
In Storuman, they are constantly searching for resources, to invite people for
lectures on the theme “gender and violence.” At the time of the interview, they
had applied for funding from the County Council and received enough to hold a
number of lectures and training courses for people in the community but also for
inhabitants of neighboring municipalities.
However, such preventive work faces challenges. Although various forms
of violence against women share a number of commonalities, there is a
common belief among women working at the women’s shelter that the
effective long-term prevention of the problem demands a better understanding
of women’s needs and their cultural contexts (Ingesson, 2012). A group that is
relevant in northern Sweden is the Sami. The leader of the women’s shelter,
who has been active more than 20 years, says that in her experience the Sami
society is patriarchal, consisting of a male-dominated power structure and
individual relationships, with a systematic bias against women. Even within
the Sami group, there is friction on values related to gender roles, such as
between those who take care of reindeer and other Sami groups. As part of
their work with prevention, the women’s shelter in Storuman received funding
from the County Council for interviews to assess Sami women’s needs and
life situations. Working against this progressive background is the local
culture, which reminds us of its patriarchal values in the middle of the town
(Figure 14.4).
Challenges in combating abuse against women 367
Men’s forum and women’s safety walks in Gotland
Gotland has one of the highest rates of clearing of domestic violence cases that
go to trial (69 percent) in Sweden (Stengard, 2009). In Gotland they implement
the ideals of a pro-feminist men’s movement as described by DeKeseredy et al.
(2009). The Men’s Forum (Mansforum) was started in 2007 by men working
with family therapy for social services (municipal) and with no connection to the
various women’s supporting groups that also exist in the municipality under the
action program called Kvinnofrid pa Gotland (legislated protection of women on
Gotland). The Men’s Forum was initially intended to be a place for men to talk,
including those who had a history of domestic violence (men convicted of
crimes). The Men’s Forum also has a helpline. Eriksson (2011, pp. 24-25)
reports on local initiatives against violence against women.
Figure 14.4 “The wilderness man”: an ideal of masculinity or a symbol of patriar-
chal society? Storuman, Lappland, Sweden (photograph source: Carin
Lanersjé, 2011).
368 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
Most men who come to a meeting at Men’s forum want more than just talk
on the phone.... Those who are violent often come back several times as
they feel they have difficulty controlling their anger and know that they
scare people with it.
However, the initiative is not free from challenges. Since Men’s Forum is not a
completely formal activity within social services, it is always uncertain from
year to year whether the forum will continue because of limited funding.
Another challenge is the lack of male personnel working in social services.
As pointed out by Eriksson (2011), 25 women and one man are employed in
family care services. Those men who come to the forum may agree with the
participant at Men’s Forum who said, “It’s only girls there and they don’t under-
stand us.” Almost all departments in social services are dominated by women.
As in many other rural communities, attracting qualified personnel is a chal-
lenge, and often other priorities go before gender equality when new staff is
hired for municipal services.
Since 2013, the group is functioning with three persons. They are part of the
family support unit. Nowadays they devote about three hours a week to the
Forum within normal working hours. That includes email contact, phone mes-
sages, and booking times for meetings (once a week). Persons referred to the
Forum are obliged to come. They are usually men who have problems managing
their anger. Others, who come on their own, are often men who got trapped
living with a mentally ill partner, have a custody battle going on, or feel steam-
rollered by officers at social services and need someone to whom they can vent
their problems.
All calls so far have been individual. The group’s representative suggests that
their challenge in the future is to initiate discussion groups. The municipality is a
small place — everybody knows everybody — and there is a resistance among
individuals to open up and talk about their problems with violence to a group, as
chances are that others in the group know the person, their partner, or a family
member.
There are also initiatives directed at women’s safety in public places. A
“safety walk” (or “safety audit”) is an inventory of the features of an area (or
a park) that affect individuals’ perceptions of safety. Safety walks were intro-
duced on Gotland in the beginning of 2009 with the objective of identifying
physical environments that are perceived as frightening for women. They are
also a way to engage and empower local women. Safety walks have initially
been used to demonstrate how daily fears translate into concerns about the
physical environment, which is useful information for planners (WACAV,
1995, p. 1). Safety walks have led to changes in the physical environment. At
the time of the interviews, new safety walks were planned to tackle the
problem of safety in the center of the city. Housing companies improved sur-
veillance conditions (installed new lights, replaced broken ones, trimmed
bushes), but interviewees believed that changes depended greatly on budgets.
Bicycle sheds and park areas will also get extra lighting in the near future.
Challenges in combating abuse against women 369
Sandberg (2010, p. 21) reports examples that these changes were not free of
controversy, including comments by the person responsible for the outdoor
environment in the inspected residential areas.
They have cleared a dense forest which was located in the middle of the
block ... the measure was met with resistance. Almost 100 per cent of the
disaffected were men who made their voices heard ... but many women
came forward with encouraging comments about the changes.
(City Garden on Engineering Management, Gotland)
In Gotland, the public has been invited through advertisements on the municipal-
ity’s website, newsletters distributed by the housing companies (distributed to all
residents in the area), and information posted on notice boards in the areas to be
inspected. Local community actors also took part: police, social services, leaders
of local associations. According to the interviewees, the response from the public
varied by residential area but has usually been low. This is a recurrent problem
with safety walks (Ceccato & Hanson, 2013). Ceccato and Hanson suggest that,
although safety walks encourage communicative planning, the limited participa-
tion of individuals runs the risk of reflecting the views of only a specific group
whose voices may be easily heard. If a biased assessment from a safety survey is
used as grounds for changes in the built environment, it may unexpectedly help
consolidate gender stereotypes — something that goes against the most funda-
mental goals of the safety survey. Despite potential methodological challenges,
safety walks provide valid evidence to be taken into account when the goal is to
plan for safe environments.
Final considerations
What do the Swedish cases tell us about overall violence against women in rural
areas? The underreporting of this offense results from the victim’s silence, and
from the tolerance and inhibition of the social circles surrounding the victims. If
rural crime prevention deals with women’s safety, it often focuses on perceived
safety in outdoor environments. It seems that, so far, interventions against
aggression toward women are often guided by the dichotomy of discourse
between private versus public spaces that also guide the work done by local CP
groups and, to some extent, also the police.
Violence against women is regarded as an important issue by all individuals
working in local CP groups who were interviewed. However, these profes-
sionals believe that social services or other members of municipal social
boards or healthcare experts are the key actors in dealing with domestic viol-
ence at the local level. They also highlight the importance of women’s shelter
organizations (which are rarely found in remote rural areas) and, most impor-
tantly, that domestic violence is a question that requires coordinated action
among local actors.
370 Sweden: policing and crime prevention
Women’s shelter organizations are a cornerstone of efforts to deal with
victims of violence in Sweden. However, they are concentrated in urban areas,
one-third are in accessible rural municipalities and only three in remote rural
municipalities in Sweden. Limited by resources, the type of help they offer
varies greatly, from call lines to protection for the victims and housing.
Networking and sharing knowledge are often highlighted as important
ingredients in tackling violence in the private sphere when lack of resources
is a fact. Our analysis shows that when local partnerships for crime preven-
tion deal with women’s safety, the common agenda is to deal with victimiza-
tion and fear of crime in public spaces (using safety audits or safety walks)
and neglects violence in the private sphere. In certain northern rural municip-
alities, women’s violence is regarded as an important issue by CP groups
(often associated with alcohol addiction problems). Often however, the
priorities of crime prevention are the result of interplay of interests on the
part of representatives from the local community, in which the police still
play an important role, and may not always focus on violence in the domestic
sphere.
Crime prevention groups in northern Sweden differ in terms of organization
from those in southern municipalities. All act as crime prevention groups, but
northern municipalities clearly have a looser organization, which may not
facilitate the challenges they face on a daily basis. Some report problems of
dealing with addiction and violence, reaching ethnic minorities that are
victims of domestic violence and treating chronic cases as well as problems
related to long distances to services and support. They also indicate their own
lack of skills and the group’s poor resources for tackling violence in the
private sphere.
In a more structural account, some claim there is poor support to put into
practice national policy guidelines on violence against women, as many prob-
lems are multidimensional, touching upon various areas (addiction, unemploy-
ment, ethnical minorities, migration laws). This fact reminds us that domestic
violence is a product of multi-scale factors and that responses to it should also
be multi-scale, requiring better collaboration between national (e.g., Swedish
National Council for Crime Prevention — BRA), regional (e.g., county), and
local scales (e.g., local police force). In the specific case of Sweden, a more
accurate inventory of the types of services and support (including financial
ones) for women facing violence in the domestic environment in rural areas is
necessary. The problems of geographical isolation and remoteness of rural
areas, in particular, make public awareness and education campaigns funda-
mental to transmitting the idea of social responsibility in issues of gendered
violence. These changes mean that more resources need to be allocated at dif-
ferent levels, such as healthcare, law enforcement, community services, and
support programs for the victims and their children.
Any action ought to be embedded in long-term support for battered women
based on the cooperation of local actors at different levels, but some actors
believe that the criminal justice system as a whole should play a more central
Challenges in combating abuse against women 371
role than it does today. For instance, many believe that creating a database of
women who repeatedly call for police help in the case of family quarrels will
enable police officers who deal with domestic disturbances to follow a more
systematic procedure. Of course, the need for local police to be more present
and work proactively locally goes against the “centralization winds” that blow
in Sweden and characterize the current police reorganization.
Social services also play a role in focusing attention on those who directly
experience violence or witness violence against a loved one, such as children
and the elderly. In extreme cases, protection of identity and housing are the
only solution. Foreign women require special attention, as these women are
often highly dependent on the perpetrators, may not be aware of their rights,
and have limited language skills. In rural contexts, these barriers can become
amplified by geographical and social isolation.
A special group consists of women brought to the country in marriage
arrangements. This group of women may need extra support to process events
and find a way forward. Women who are not accustomed to living independ-
ently or who are new to the country may need support with practical tasks
after they have left their partner and are creating a life of their own. A better
understanding of the current migration laws is necessary to track cases of
violent men who import a “series of wives” from abroad and make use of the
current system to send them back as soon as the relationship comes to an end.
Crime prevention of gendered violence has long been based on principles
of behavior avoidance, demanding from women the difficult decision to leave
their homes to stop violence. Interventions directed at potential perpetrators
(men at risk), such as the example from Gotland, can also help prevent viol-
ence in a more pro-active way. In the long term, it would be better to have an
open discussion of what the current norms of socialization and gender roles
are among adults at various levels in society. This is perhaps one of the most
important structural challenges in preventing violence. Although violence in
the private realm primarily affects women, both men and women are at risk.
Knowledge of the extent to which men are exposed to domestic violence is so
far insufficient in Sweden. All victims of domestic violence, regardless of
gender, gender identity, or gender expression, have a right to assistance and
protection.
Information and education programs, especially those directed at young
people, improve the odds for change in gender stereotypes and diminish toler-
ance for gendered violence. The examples discussed here show that there are
also initiatives among those dealing with gendered violence in trying to
improve their skills and improve the knowledge base to deal with the specific
challenges of gendered violence in rural areas. Although many challenges
remain untouched, examples of good practices, such as those discussed in this
chapter, give hope that change is under way.
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Challenges in combating abuse against women 373
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Utbildningsmaterial om vald mot kvinnor med utlandsk bakgrund (p. 60). Stockholm:
Socialstyrelsen.
Svenska kvinnorérelsen — SKR. (2009). Women’s shelters by Swedish municipalities
[Database]. Stockholm: National Organisation for Women’s Shelters and Young
Women’s Shelters (ROKS).
Westman, M. (2010). Women of Thailand (Master’s thesis, University of Linképing,
Link6ping).
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
http://taylorandfrancis.com
Part VI
The difference that rural
makes
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
http://taylorandfrancis.com
15 Lessons from rural Sweden and
looking ahead
This chapter brings together the content of this book and gives an overview of
the main conclusions drawn. This chapter pays special attention to issues of
youth in rural areas, farm crime, and crime against environment and wildlife, as
well as cases of violence against women, with particular focus on Swedish rural
areas. Crosscutting issues are summarized in this chapter before new research
frontiers are suggested and conclusions drawn.
Lessons from the book
Part I — Introduction
This part introduces the reader to the book’s aim, scope, and structure. Chapter
2 presents arguments for why rural areas matter in a criminological per-
spective. The chapter attempts to unravel simplistic views of rural areas as
crime-free and/or “strange” or dangerous by discussing a number of issues that
reveal rural areas as both safe and criminogenic. Low crime rates, typical of
rural areas, do not necessarily mean safety for all when victimization is une-
qually distributed, perhaps concentrated in a specific group. This part con-
cludes with a review of the theoretical framework adopted in the research on
which the book is based and reflections on the process of doing research,
including issues related to the data.
Part IIT — Trends and patterns of crime
Chapter 4 compares crime rates and prevalence in Sweden with those in the
United States and the United Kingdom. In all three countries, urban crime rates
are higher than rural ones, regardless of definitions of crime types and how rural
areas are conceptualized. The comparison of the international data shows mixed
but often declining trends for rural areas but especially for urban areas. The
hypothesis that urban and rural crime rates in the United States and Sweden are
converging is also discussed. Then, the analysis focuses on specific types of
violent and property crimes in rural areas, drawing conclusions for rural areas in
multiple countries whenever possible. Inequality of victimization by groups is
380 The difference that rural makes
still a major challenge when crime trends for different areas are compared. Most
groups that are overrepresented in repeat victimization are found in urban areas,
but for certain crimes and for frequent victimization the differences between
those living in urban and rural areas are small or nonexistent. As is discussed in
this chapter, the analysis of inequality of victimization demands an approach that
is informed by crime, group, area, and time.
Chapter 5 takes the first step toward a more nuanced picture of crime in rural
areas by modeling the geography of property and violent crimes in rural Sweden.
Results from the regression models indicate that accessible rural municipalities
were more criminogenic in the late 2000s than they were in the 1990s, particu-
larly municipalities located in southern Sweden. Crime rates are higher where
urban criminogenic conditions emerge, not necessarily in urban areas but in set-
tings that have strong links with urban centers. These results show increasing
dependencies between the city and the countryside, not only with regard to the
population’s demographic and socioeconomic characteristics but also lifestyle
and criminogenic conditions. Changes in routine activities associated with exist-
ing and new risk factors are indicated as potential causes of the increased vulner-
ability of accessible rural areas in recent decades. Moreover, some evidence of
anomic conditions is found when a population increase in municipalities affects
crime rates. Yet, it is still unclear whether pro-social institutions moderate or
mediate the impact of economic conditions on the crime rate. Chapter 5 finishes
with reflections on why new theoretical frameworks are needed to help interpret
a multinational comparison of rural-urban dependencies, some of which are
evident through changes in rural residents’ consumption, lifestyles, and
victimization.
Part II — Perceived safety in rural areas
Chapter 6 attempts to illustrate that the safety perceived by people living in rural
areas is a more complex phenomenon than overall expressions of fear of crime
suggest. The implication of this is that there is no single remedy for the problems
of crime and perceived safety, let alone a single actor (such as the police) that
can tackle such problems. The book argues that perceived safety is a collective
project that requires constant assessment by those who produce it: those who are
in fear, the community itself, and other stakeholders. Perceived safety is both the
cause and the product of people’s everyday life practices and experiences,
embedded in a context that is not politically neutral, or limited to the village,
rural areas, or individual nations. Undoubtedly some tangible attributes of per-
ceived safety stem from local conditions, where daily anxieties arise from vic-
timization, discrimination, economic change, and other root causes of fear.
Instead of reducing the issue of perceived safety to the risk of victimization,
Chapter 7 looks beyond actual statistics on perceived safety between rural and
urban areas to shed light on the nature of fear among people living in rural areas,
with particular attention to rural areas in Sweden. Several groups of individuals
declare themselves to be more fearful than others. This group may be composed
Lessons and looking ahead 381
of those who are more vulnerable to crime in the first place, for a number of
reasons, and therefore more fearful, reflecting concerns about crime, stability,
and social change. Since 2006, certain measures of perceived safety have
decreased among the poor in Sweden. For them, poor perceived safety affects
their mobility patterns and quality of life. Inequality in victimization may also
explain the pattern. The poor are victims of crime more often and reveal more
anxieties than wealthier groups in Sweden. However, as elsewhere in the inter-
national literature, fear of victimization in Sweden does not reflect the severity
of the crime. Rather, fear of crime appears to reflect reductions in perceived
crime risk, that is, changes in the situational conditions for crime, especially for
car-related crime. A more nuanced picture of perceived safety in rural areas is
presented in chapters 8-10. In these chapters, victimization and fear are dis-
cussed in relation to, for instance, young people and women.
Several lessons may be learned from these patterns of perceived safety in
Sweden. One lesson is that urban-rural divides in perceived safety (with more
people being fearful in urban environments than in rural) represent a rough
picture of reality, because there is inequality in both victimization and perceived
safety by groups. This is exemplified in Part IV of this book. Chapter 7 con-
cludes by questioning the role of police and policing in reducing fear of crime
and boosting perceived safety in rural areas.
Part IV — Crime in a rural context
Chapter 8 focuses on farm crime and environmental and wildlife crime and to a
lesser extent, it touches on rural production of narcotics. The chapter has two
sections, and both place Sweden in an international context. Farmers are victim-
ized mostly by theft of diesel and other fuels, machinery, and tools as well as by
different types of fraud. As many as three out of 10 farmers or their properties
declared to be a victim of crime in 2012-2013. Farmers in the south have been
exposed to crime two or more times more than the national average, but there
are differences by type of crime; for example, theft of fuel is slightly higher in
northern Sweden than in the south. Underreporting is a problem with these
offenses. Findings also show that despite community efforts to deal with farm
crime, victimization has not decreased.
This chapter also provides a glimpse of environment and wildlife crime
(EWC) in Sweden. Police records and newspaper articles indicate an increase in
EWC in the past decade. It is important to note that before 2007 only crimes
with a suspect were recorded by the police, which partly explains the rise
between 2006 and 2007. Although crimes against the environment and wildlife
are rural phenomena, the geography of EWC varies by crime type. The propor-
tion of serious EWC, unlawful use of chemicals, and crimes related to nature
and wildlife is similar in both urban and accessible rural municipalities. Urban
and accessible rural municipalities also show high numbers of minor EWC
reported, such as littering, garbage dumping, and illegal waste transportation.
Remote rural municipalities have a significantly higher percentage of chemical
382 The difference that rural makes
environmental crimes, comprising unlawful handling of chemicals, disruption of
control, and disregard of regulations and permits for the use of chemical com-
pounds. For crimes against the protection of nature and wildlife (animal abuse
and illegal animal possession as well as disregard of protected species), a slightly
higher percentage is recorded in remote rural municipalities than in accessible
and urban municipalities.
Drug production attracts less attention than farm crime does in Sweden, com-
pared with the United States or Australia. According to police records, drug pro-
duction in Sweden tends to be concentrated in rural areas. Media articles report
cases of cannabis cultivation in apartments and cellars but also on farms in
southern Sweden. Production of synthetic cannabis has also been reported in
northern Sweden. However, it is unclear how these reports relate to levels of
drug addiction, and much less is known about the nature of users and potential
dealers in the rural context. Little is also known about the potential links between
drug producers/dealers in rural Sweden and international drug providers through,
for instance, the internet.
Chapter 9 turns to a more familiar issue: the paradox of young people, seen
either as the “saviors of the countryside” or “the agents of local trouble.” This
chapter attempts to illustrate both sides of the coin using available official statis-
tics. First, demographic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle differences among young
individuals in Sweden are introduced as a background for understanding regional
differences in offending and victimization among youth. This is followed by a
discussion of factors associated with youth crime and victimization in rural
areas; apparently they are similar to those in urban areas. As much as possible,
the Swedish case is compared with the international literature, often with exam-
ples from British and North American research.
The chapter closes with a discussion of two superficially divergent issues:
motorcycle groups that have confirmed links to numerous criminal activities, and
young women who come to Sweden after being recruited in remote areas in
neighboring Baltic countries. The impact of the motorcycle groups and their net-
works of influence in rural areas is controversial, as younger members may
belong to the community, and therefore their actions are somewhat tolerated by
locals. For a certain group of women, the chapter traces individuals’ journeys
from regions in the Baltic countries to urban Sweden, illustrating the rural—urban
link. Young people often become cross-border commodities, forced to engage in
activities orchestrated by groups that look like criminal networks. Police statis-
tics of these cases are inexistent or incomplete. Evidence used here is based on
interviews (with young people brought to the country, mostly to big cities) and
other data sources gathered by supporting organizations.
Chapter 10 points out the barriers women living in rural areas face when
reporting violence, particularly when the perpetrator is known to the victim.
Following a brief discussion of international urban-rural trends in rates of viol-
ence against women, the basis for an analysis of the Swedish case is provided, a
list of individual and structural factors pointed out in the international literature
as determinants of violence against women in rural areas. In Sweden and
Lessons and looking ahead 383
elsewhere, reporting rates for violence against women vary geographically for
different reasons, which makes it difficult to disentangle “shadow figures” of
violence against women between urban and rural areas. Statistics reveal more
violence against women in urban municipalities in Sweden, and yet in rural
areas more cases of violence against women are being recorded by the police,
which is also confirmed by health statistics (hospitalization rates). The increase
may reflect a genuine change in the level of criminal activity but could also
result from a combination of other factors, such as a rise in victims’ willingness
to report to the police and other authorities, society’s increased sensitivity to
violence, improvements in criminal justice practices, and equally important,
changes in the law. It is unclear why indicators of gender equality do not
capture the dynamics of the geography of violence against women, either in
rural or in urban municipalities. One reason may be the fact that police statistics
reflect society’s (in)capacity to deal with the problem and the communities’ tol-
erance for violence as part of their daily life, embedded in different gender con-
tracts. The international literature indicates that violence has a greater impact
on women living in remote areas than on those living in urban centers. In the
case of Sweden, no systematic evidence has been found on this point. At the
same time, being a “welfare state” with a long tradition of a women’s move-
ment does not guarantee a homogeneous support network for women suffering
violence in the domestic realm.
Part V — Policing and crime prevention in a rural context
Part V is divided into four chapters: Chapter 11 discusses issues of rural
policing, Chapter 12 is devoted to youth-related problems, Chapter 13 focuses
on environmental and wildlife crime (EWC), and Chapter 14 builds on Chapter
10 by discussing crime prevention against violence against women, with the
focus on rural areas.
One reason Chapter 11 is devoted to rural policing is the difference in police
work and organization. International literature long highlighted the distinctive-
ness of rural policing, with its isolating and lonesome nature, and the depend-
ence on one’s neighbors and community within which the police lived. Rural
crime issues are different nowadays from those decades ago, and certainly rural-
ity is a complex mix that imposes new demands on policing that go beyond
issues of remoteness and isolation. Policing is no longer a job for the public
police force only. A good sign is that nowadays there are about 300 community
partnerships (crime prevention groups) around the country. They are often com-
posed of a core of representatives from the municipality, police, and schools.
This homogeneous format for crime prevention was inherited from the tradi-
tional decentralized municipal planning system in Sweden but, more impor-
tantly, from the structural changes imposed by police reform around local crime
prevention in the mid-1990s. The economic downturn in the 1990s affected
public resources and most likely the full implementation of community policing
schemes. Top-down national crime prevention policies focusing on big-city
384 The difference that rural makes
problems neglect the special demands of sparsely populated or remote rural
areas. For instance, property crimes targeting enterprises, farm crime, and
environmental and wildlife crime often fall outside a crime prevention group’s
agenda. Police-recorded crime does not allow typical rural crimes (e.g., farm
crimes) to be registered. Members of crime prevention groups who were inter-
viewed unanimously designated youth issues as the most important for crime
prevention councils in rural areas. Most of the work by such groups does not
include any strict follow-up. When it does, the evaluation is characterized by
simple assessment procedures. Different types of crime prevention models are
usually “imported” from other municipalities as examples of good practices.
Little thought is put into the adequacy of these remedies in a particular rural
context. This weak attachment to local needs imposes further challenges to crime
prevention after the new police organization come into force in 2015. With the
new police authority more consistency and uniformity of routine police work is
expected, as the existing 21 police authorities disappear. The centralization of
certain functions should make police work more effective and economically
viable. The 2015 police model also relies on intentions to maintain strong links
with local policing. Future work is expected to build on experiences with exist-
ing local partnerships between the police, municipal authorities, the private
sector, and citizens that stem from experiences from community policing reform
from the 1990s on.
Chapter 12 takes the issues of Chapter 8 forward by discussing the main
crime prevention initiatives related to farm crime and EWC. The role of the
community in dealing with farm crime and EWC in rural municipalities through
crime prevention initiatives is given special attention. Farm crime and EWC are
not a top priority on crime prevention (CP) councils’ agendas or by the rural
police. Exceptions are municipalities that are targeted by these problems, where
environmental inspectors and the police play an important role in crime detec-
tion. Although local CP councils demonstrate good knowledge of what to do
when a farm crime or EWC occurs in their municipality, there is an overall lack
of knowledge among those interviewed from CP councils about what works and
what does not work when tackling farm crime and EWC. Because they are rare
(or not easily detected), such crimes normally are not followed up and are con-
sidered one-off events detected by environmental inspectors and police. Public
(including CP groups) and private partnerships appear to be flourishing in muni-
cipalities that are often targeted by farm crime and EWC. The chapter reviews
new forms of surveillance and protest against farm crime and EWC using ICT
and social media, then discusses in detail an interesting case of protest against
EWC. An example is the protests about iron ore mining in Kallak, Jokkmokk, in
northern Sweden.
Chapter 13 turns to crime prevention activities aimed at youth in rural set-
tings. The role of community in dealing with the problem in rural municipalities
is given special attention. Findings show that crime prevention groups in rural
areas appear to be well prepared to deal with daily youth problems, or at least
they have the organization to deal with individuals who run a higher risk of
Lessons and looking ahead 385
offending or to prevent other children and teenagers from engaging in risky
behavior. Keeping youngsters entertained during their free time is often sug-
gested as a long-term action to prevent youth problems. Most crime prevention
aimed at young people revolves around recreational centers and activities.
However, it is unclear how much social control driven by crime prevention
initiatives affects young people’s quality of life. In many rural communities,
where “parent-free space” is limited, emphasizing the need for parents to police
their offspring may not be well received by young people, including those who
would never consider getting involved in trouble in the first place. Spaces for
young people may be jeopardized by extending police powers to safety walkers
and parents that suddenly feel they own the spaces being regulated and control-
led. In the long run, well intentioned crime prevention actions could be per-
ceived by youth as coercive, potentially influencing young people to move away
and seek anonymity. Whatever approaches are taken by crime prevention groups,
interventions are bound to have consequences for the groups that they are aimed
at — in this case, young people. Another problem is that little knowledge exists
about what works when dealing with youth-related problems. When they are
assessed, they do not always contain the proper information to help other practi-
tioners replicate the projects in their own contexts.
Chapter 14 illustrates challenges in preventing women abuse in rural com-
munities. It starts by discussing current activities that address violence against
women in Sweden, following the diagnosis of violence against women presented
in Chapter 10. Secondary data, email surveys, media excerpts, and face-to-face
interviews capture examples of current prevention initiatives against women’s
violence in rural settings. Underreporting of this offense is the result not only of
the victim’s silence but also of the tolerance and inhibition of the social circles
surrounding the victims and responsible organizations — perhaps starting with
the subtle role local crime prevention councils play in dealing with this particular
type of violence. If rural crime prevention deals with women’s safety, it often
focuses on perceived safety in outdoor environments. It seems that, so far, inter-
ventions against aggression toward women have often been guided by the dicho-
tomy of private versus public spaces that also guides the efforts of local crime
prevention councils and, to some extent, the police.
Violence against women is regarded as important by all interviewed indi-
viduals working on local crime prevention councils. However, they believe that
social services, other members of municipal social boards, or health experts are
the key actors to deal with domestic violence at the local level. They also
emphasize the importance of women’s shelter organizations (which are rarely
found in remote rural areas) and, most importantly, that domestic violence is an
issue that requires the coordinated actions of local actors. Women’s shelter
organizations are a cornerstone of efforts assisting victims of violence in
Sweden. Yet, they are concentrated in urban areas. One-third are in accessible
rural municipalities, and only three in remote rural municipalities in Sweden.
Crime prevention has long been based on principles of behavior avoidance,
demanding from women the difficult decision to leave their homes to stop
386 The difference that rural makes
violence. Interventions aimed at potential perpetrators (men at risk), as the
example from Gotland shows, can help prevent violence in a more pro-active
way. The view is that all victims of domestic violence, regardless of gender or
age, have the right to assistance and protection.
Future research questions
Several themes emerged throughout the book. Some of these are highlighted
here, as they represent remaining research questions in the field and provide new
direction for future research.
Although crime in rural areas may not always be specifically rural, its nature
fails to be fully understood by the current urban-based theories. A key issue for
future research is to understand the causes of changes in crime rates in rural areas
and how they relate to specific rural conditions for each area. Crime trends have to
be considered against a background of what is happening in these areas: changes in
their economic base, each population’s socioeconomic and demographic challenges,
and people’s routine activities — just to name a few issues. Such conditions affect
levels and processes of social control in these areas and, consequently, crime.
Following Donnermeyer and DeKeseredy’s (2013) suggestions, the role of
social organization on the formation of criminogenic conditions of rural areas
(as opposed to social disorganization) is a fundamental research question to be
further investigated in the future. As these authors well observe, crime manifests
itself in rural localities in ways that both conform to and challenge conventional
theory and research, thus the next step is to empirically test some of the altern-
ative approaches to crime in rural areas.
Another important area of future research is the concept of population at risk,
using both resident population and floating population (by vehicle traffic or
alternative sources such as opportunistic sensors in mobile phones), as affected
by high and low seasons (e.g., summer vs. winter). The book highlights the need
for more nuanced evaluations of whether crime affects rural municipalities, as
much of the debate on the impact of temporary population on local communities
is often based on perceptions of increased crime during high seasons.
In terms of the geography of crime, upcoming studies should attempt to
include indicators of social change rather than the ones used in this book. In
addition they should also test the importance of differences in regions’ function-
ality on crime levels (e.g., if they contain capital cities, holiday resorts, or indus-
trial towns), because this affects human interaction and, as a consequence,
conditions of crime. The testing of variables that serve as indicators of pro-social
institutions as moderators of inequality on crime is one example.
Another important question in rural areas is whether thefts are committed by
local offenders or are the actions of outsiders coming from neighboring com-
munities. Traditionally, outsiders are often blamed for certain types of crime. Of
course, this is an empirical question that can be checked looking at how the flow
of information from the targets reaches potential offenders, supposedly living
outside the community. It is possible that some offenders travel between
Lessons and looking ahead 387
municipalities to commit a crime, but no evidence is available for how far
offenders travel in Swedish rural context. Past research on urban environments
suggests, however, that the majority of criminals commit a crime close to where
they live which, for most crime types, is an area smaller than municipal bound-
aries. Data on the location of offences, offenders and victims and/or targets is
necessary to assess whether rural crime is committed by locals or by those trav-
elling to such municipalities for the purpose of committing an offence.
This research shows some factors that affect perceived safety are associated
with individual, group, and/or area characteristics. Moreover, some processes
triggered by fear seem to have the same impact on people’s lives regardless of
whether they take place in an urban or a rural area or elsewhere. Future studies
should be devoted to the nature of perceived safety in rural areas. Given the mul-
tifaceted nature of perceived safety and the complexity of fear of crime, a rel-
evant question is, how can fear be informative to those living and working with
safety issues in rural communities?
Another remaining question refers to the current and future challenges for
rural policing and crime prevention in rural areas. Crime has become less
dependent on space, so the fear of being a victim of crime may be fed by border-
less “glocal” forces. An individual living in in a remote rural area of Sweden
may run the same risk of being victimized by computer fraud as someone living
in New York City. New types of computer-based communication may become
facilitators for traditional crime in the physical world, such as pedophiles looking
for potential victims on youth chat forums. Information technology also connects
people without regard to their physical location but may leave tracks as soon as
they move in (real and virtual) space. This imposes new challenges for crime
prevention, because law enforcement authorities have to find online criminals
that may reside far from the police authority’s territorial jurisdiction. Moreover,
further investigation should look at the profile of victims of fraud in rural areas,
to shed light on why farmers are often vulnerable to this type of crime. Note that
many Swedish rural communities have an overrepresentation of elderly, a group
often targeted by telephone calls from strangers, some leading to fraud.
In relation to farm crimes, larger properties are more certain attractors than
smaller ones, as they often have more locations to steal from, and if they are
fairly accessible they make the right target if nobody is around, such as in remote
areas and accessible rural areas. Little is known about the situational crime con-
ditions of farm crimes. In order for a crime to occur there must be an intersection
of a potential target (e.g., a tractor), a motivated offender passing by and poor
guardianship — at the ‘right place’ (tractor is visible from the road) at the ‘right
time’ (vacation time, no-one is around). The combination of these conditions are
expected to provide the necessary situational conditions for far crime. A ques-
tion remaining for future research is the assessment of how seasons regulate the
flow of people, activities, and consequently crime. In addition, there is a need
also to investigate the existence of a demand for drugs in rural contexts among
youth that seem to be both producers and users of popular synthetic drugs. The
relationship between alcohol and drug consumption should be further
388 The difference that rural makes
investigated in a broad social and cultural context for rural communities. There
are reasons to believe that, in certain rural contexts, both alcohol and narcotic
use is accepted within certain limits.
With regards to youth problems, researchers should strive for a more nuanced
view of young people living in rural areas as a group. It is also important to obtain
better knowledge about the nature and quality of youth recreation centers and
social activities, for instance, whether or not these provisions fulfill the demands of
youth groups in contemporary rural environments. Another issue is whether the
provisions have any influence on individuals’ predisposition to offend, particularly
for those that are already at risk.
In terms of violence against women, a more accurate inventory of types of ser-
vices and support for women facing violence in the domestic environment in rural
areas is needed. New understanding that draws on rural women’s perspectives of
violence in the domestic realm is required to delineate a clear picture of women’s
needs, not only as victims but, more importantly, as agents of their life choices.
Such needs pose a considerable challenge to academics, criminal justice authori-
ties, and policy makers. Also, there is a need to assess whether and how different
gender contracts affect local social control and criminal justice practices toward
women victims of domestic violence. This includes the treatment that women
receive on a daily basis, through municipal social services, healthcare, and support-
ing nongovernmental organizations, such as shelters.
Safety is often linked to the image of rural idyll, a refuge from urban life. The
literature on the attractiveness of rural areas points out the importance of safety as
an asset that attracts not only tourists but also new residents and businesses. An
interesting research question would be the one that connects safety to rural devel-
opment and social sustainability of rural communities. Is safety a component of
rural attractiveness? And how does it take root in different types of rural areas?
As with the research in this book, any future research must deal with data
accessibility and quality. Current research is limited by what official statistics
can offer to cover the types of crimes that are relevant for rural areas. Another
problem is underreporting of certain types of offenses. Current sampling used in
crime victim surveys does not allow breakdowns of groups of interest within
tural areas, which is a limiting factor for rural criminology. These data-related
problems limit the advances that can be made in research and, more importantly,
affect the scope of crime prevention and safety interventions.
Concluding remarks
The main goal of this book is to contribute to the knowledge base on crime, per-
ceived safety, and crime prevention in rural areas, putting Sweden in an inter-
national perspective. These issues are often neglected in both criminology and
tural studies. Rural areas’ relatively low crime rates have been thought to be the
main reason for the neglect of the topic. Another reason is that patterns of crime
are believed to be homogeneous across rural areas, because “rural” is everything
that is not urban, which is another misconception. This book attempts to
Lessons and looking ahead 389
challenge the rural-urban dichotomy that far too often leads to a disregard for
the impact of different rural contexts on crime and safety and neglects the
dynamics of rural areas as arenas composed of active agents.
Several principal themes recur throughout this book. They can be summarized
as follows. Crime does not happen in a vacuum. Crime is the result of historical,
political, demographic, socioeconomic, and cultural processes that characterize a
specific place at a specific time. The implication of this is that safety in rural
environments depends on context, so it should be analyzed using caution. In
each country, or in each framework (e.g., legal, political, historical), the under-
lying factors that trigger crime may be different. Crime per se may be just the
“tip of an iceberg” of different social problems. One can hardly claim that there
is something in particular about rural areas to explain why an individual commits
a crime, yet, there are reasons to assume that there are features of rural areas that
differently affect the situational conditions of crime. For instance, geographical
isolation is part of the dynamic of crime in rural areas.
Another recurring theme is that safety in rural areas is a multi-scale process.
More than ever before, rural areas are exposed to external influences — some
global — that directly affect localities. In the past, media played the key role in
shaping stereotypes of rural safety, as my UK experience showed me. However,
the process going on now is not quite the same. The new social order affects the
way the productive system shapes the supply of jobs (e.g., laborers coming from
abroad) and makes patterns of consumption independent of geography, for
instance, through the widespread use of ICT. As most crimes depend on human
interaction, crime takes new shapes, victims, and places — some virtual. This
means that even in rural areas, safety may not follow homogeneous trends or
patterns. Unequal victimization makes certain groups and places more vulner-
able than others at certain times. Any attempt to generalize about “what rural
safety may be” runs the risk of neglecting whose safety is in focus. This leads to
the next recurring theme in this book.
Perceived safety has a reflexivity component, which means that its nature
depends on those who produce it. Reflexivity takes place when the observations
or actions of individuals in the social system affect the very situations they are
experiencing (Loader & Walker, 2007). Thus, although security services are
becoming tradable commodities in today’s market economies (e.g., commodifi-
cation of police services by security companies), they are still seen (and
demanded) by individuals as basic components in a collectively defined social
contract, that is, as a public good. Security provision is also an arena for the
involvement of civil society, a development that is positive (BRA, 2009;
Yarwood, 2011, 2014). Overall this development has unintentionally created a
gray zone of action between actors, in which assigned tasks are no longer
obvious from the point of view of the observer (e.g., a rural resident). This
uncertainty of “who does what” in security provision may be triggering anomic
feelings and legitimizing criminal actions.
The international evidence on crime prevention in rural areas is limited. Local
crime prevention groups are, as far as the Swedish case is concerned, composed
390 The difference that rural makes
of a hard core of representatives from the police, the municipality, and schools.
This “institutionalized” model is partially inherited from the traditional decen-
tralized municipal planning system in Sweden but also a result of, among other
things, structural changes in the police (and policing) since the mid-1990s.
Moreover, crime prevention guidelines and practices overlook the nature of rural
crime, its seasonality, and what happens outside the urban core of rural municip-
alities. Evidence from rural Sweden shows that local crime prevention groups
face a number of challenges (e.g., appropriate skills, resources) but show indica-
tions of being well prepared to address youth-related problems more than any
other crime- and safety-related problems. Yet, their practices are guided by rou-
tines that do not give priority to rigorous evaluation of interventions.
This book analyzes crime, perceived safety, and practices in crime prevention
in rural areas using a toolbox of quantitative and qualitative methods within a
Crime Science framework, here presented separately in each chapter. It is
important for researchers to select methods of analysis that are appropriate to the
goals of each research project, related, of course, to the theoretical framework
guiding that particular analysis. The analytical challenges posed by currently
available data and previously applied methods should be further investigated.
Finally, the findings here raise questions of whether there is a need for crimino-
logical theories (or new theoretical frameworks) that can grasp large-scale crime
patterns. As it is now, most environmental criminology theories fit the analysis of
intra-urban underlying forces of crime, at best, but do a poor job identifying crimi-
nogenic conditions that extend over large geographical areas. This is particularly
true for areas that are sparsely populated, rural, and cover large extensions of the
country, and where human interactions happen in nodes in space. Is there a need
for theories, methods, and data that can better fit the rural context? In essence,
Crime Science allows the distillation of knowledge from a large array of divergent
disciplines into a coordinated response to crime. How can Crime Science con-
tribute to both theoretical and empirical development in rural criminology? This
book is an attempt to start to answer that question.
References
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verkan i lokalt brottsf6rebyggande arbete. Stockholm: Rikspolisstyrelsen, Sveriges
kommuner och landsting.
Donnermeyer, D., & DeKeseredy, W. S. (2013). Rural criminology. Abingdon: Routledge.
Loader, I., & Walker, N. (2007). Civilizing security. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Yarwood, R. (2011). Whose blue line is it anyway? Community policing and partnership
working in rural places. In R. Mawby & R. Yarwood (Eds.), Rural policing and polic-
ing the rural: A constable countryside? (pp. 93-105). Farnham: Ashgate.
Yarwood, R. (2014). Lost and found: The hybrid networks of rural policing, missing
people and dogs. Journal of Rural Studies, 39, doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2014.11.005.
Index
addiction 190, 205-7, 210, 220, 234;
prevention 262-75, 323-9, 361-2; see
also drug consumption
allemansrdatt 180, 313
anonymity 11, 15, 73, 84, 124-6, 141, 284,
342, 363
antisocial behavior 275, 3245
anxiety(ies) 16, 44, 121-31, 137-40, 148,
149, 158, 200-1, 380-1; see also fear;
avoid going out
Arvika 51, 331, 340
avoid going out 123, 144, 152-5, 175; see
also fear
awareness space 37
Bandidos 42, 215
berry pickers 137, 148, 151, 331
border(s) 12, 38—9, 96-7, 104-14, 190-1,
202, 216, 219, 221, 277, 309
borderless 128, 387
burglary 14, 34, 40, 48, 65, 70-4, 81,
94-5, 111-12, 142-6, 152-8, 172, 212,
283, 297, 332; see also property crimes
car-related theft(s) 69, 72-3, 142-3; see
also property crimes
CCTV 156, 190, 297, 301, 314, 318,
331-2, 339
chemicals 166, 171, 175-82, 186-91,
311-19, 381-2; see also pollution
collective efficacy 32, 41, 44, 54, 104, 126,
156, 211; see also social cohesion;
social control
commodification of security 17, 44,
129-30, 283; see also gated
communities; security guards
commodity 129, 131, 157
community, definition of 10, 14, 32; see
also rural community
community policing 14, 44, 158, 262-3,
267, 274-5, 279, 283-90, 383-4
community policing, definition of 259-60
convergence hypothesis 65
counterurbanization 13, 18
crime attractor(s) 38-9, 114, 141; see also
crime generator(s)
crime cluster(s) 45, 113
crime generator(s) 38-9
crime target(s) 80, 104
crime Science 3-4, 45, 390
crime victim(s) 16, 83, 86, 97, 197, 231
crime victim survey(s) 48—50, 54, 65-71,
80, 83, 94, 113, 142, 144, 388
criminology 4, 10-11, 36, 47, 155, 323,
388
cross-border commodities 196, 216, 382
depopulation 262
diesel theft 15, 165, 168-72, 284, 299; see
also fuel theft
drinking 84, 86, 206-7, 220, 244-5, 325,
333-43
discrimination 15, 35-6, 128, 148-9,
340-1, 362, 380
divorce rate 43, 103, 105, 110, 112, 246~7
domestic assault 79, 249; see also
domestic violence; gendered violence
domestic violence 17, 20, 39, 48, 73, 80,
83, 102, 147, 228-50, 273, 331, 346-71,
388; see also domestic assault; gendered
violence
drug consumption 190, 331, 361, 387
drug production 165-75, 190, 210, 220,
294, 382
drug trade 96
EFFEKT 277, 327, 330, 337, 342
emerging suburbs 67, 69, 76
392 Index
engendered animals 169
environmental and wildlife crime (EWC)
6, 165, 19, 273; see also prevention of
environmental and wildlife crime
(EWC)
environmental harm 21, 174-6, 300-22
environmental inspectors 34, 83, 176-7,
191, 303
environmental law 186, 302-5, 319
ethnic minority 15, 79, 128, 147, 158, 204,
211, 228, 234, 238, 246, 249-50, 331,
362, 370
exclusion 36, 126-8, 148, 211, 228, 335,
340
familiarity 44, 54, 124-6
family disruption 41, 103, 211
fear attractors 128
fear generators 128
fear of being victimized 143-4, 152-3,
360
fear of crime 6, 16, 20, 35, 40, 44, 49, 54,
121-2, 124-9, 137-44, 155-8, 295, 360,
370, 380-1
fear of crime, definition of 122
fear of others 36, 127, 148
feminist 20, 37, 348, 364, 367
fishing 148, 178, 202, 278, 301, 311
forest(s) 15, 33-4, 124, 151, 183-6, 309,
312-14, 318
fertilizer(s) 6, 166, 273
fuel 83, 146, 167-73, 189, 299, 304,
313-14, 381
garbage dumping 166-7, 183, 186, 191,
313-14, 381
gated communities 18, 127, 129
gemeinschaft 10, 30-3, 126, 364
gendarmerie 261
gender contracts 17, 228, 236, 249, 335,
359, 383, 388
gendered violence 46, 53, 102, 234, 249,
360, 362-4, 371
gentrification 13
Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
6, 93
gesellschaft 10, 30-3, 126
Gn6sj6 51, 332, 335
Gotland 51, 84-7, 280-1, 330-4, 367-8
guardian(s) 39, 73, 88, 104, 203
guardianship 39-40, 73, 147, 166, 169,
190, 290, 294, 297, 314, 387
handlers 39
Hells Angels 42, 215
helpline 354, 357, 367
Hemfridsbrott 180
homeless 124, 127, 203-5, 221, 279
homicide 11, 41, 65, 73-84, 98-9, 124,
144, 230-1, 240, 242, 247-8, 358
hospitalization rates 236, 248, 383
Human Geography 4
human trafficking 151, 216, 219
hunting 148, 177, 181-2, 202, 278, 308;
see also illegal hunting
ICT 14, 200, 220
illegal hunting 165-6, 177-82, 303-6
incentive schemes 313, 315, 317
institutional anomie 43, 54, 102, 110, 113
interdisciplinary 36, 47, 121, 250
isolation 9, 15, 29, 32, 73, 124, 155, 167,
226, 228, 236-40, 250, 259, 332, 347,
351, 370-1, 383, 389
Jokkmokk 309, 384
Jénképing 147-8, 151-9
Kronoberg model 209, 280-1, 330,
333-5
Kvinnofrid legislation 229, 349, 354, 367
large city 74, 77, 78, 82, 234
late modernity 128
littering 147, 154, 178, 183, 188, 191, 297,
306, 312-15, 381
living conditions 138, 144, 149-50
local collaborative initiatives 335
local crime prevention 7, 19, 46, 51, 83,
250, 271, 283, 286, 289, 297, 306-7,
325-8, 355-6, 364, 372, 389-90
local culture 176, 228, 294, 297, 335, 346,
366
Local Indicator of Spatial Association
(LISA) 94
macro-societal changes 128
managers 39, 175
market economy 43, 79
marriage arrangements 250, 362, 371
mass media 15, 128-9
media coverage 49, 128-9, 178-83, 191
Mehedeby 149, 151
men’s forum 361, 367-8
mining 13, 81, 83, 187—9, 237, 308-9, 311,
315, 384
mobility patterns 38, 44, 125, 142, 381
motivated offenders 39, 104, 111-12
neighborhood layout 153
no-job-no-education 202
not in my back yard (NIMBY) 300
offender’s support 356
offending 42, 67, 70, 96, 103, 196,
210-13, 220-1, 240, 275, 324-5, 382,
385
opportunity space 37
Orebro Prevention Program 330, 337, 340;
see also EFFEKT
Oresund bridge 38, 96
othering 31, 36, 46, 126—7, 137, 228,
250
overall fear 130, 139-40, 157
overall worry 138-40, 144, 157
perceived safety 119-58, 273-4, 286, 360,
380-1, 385-90
physical deterioration 20, 125, 141, 154
physical environment 44, 124, 155, 368
police statistics 5, 48, 65, 73, 142, 172,
181, 229, 233, 245, 312, 362, 383
policing 7, 18, 45, 50, 121, 151, 158,
259-89
pollution 34, 174-82, 315
poor illumination 154
positivistic 37, 46—7
prevention of environmental and wildlife
crime (EWC) 299-318
prevention of violence against women
346-75
prevention of youth crime 323-44
property crime(s) 5—6, 11, 34, 38, 40,
65-77, 94-111, 273, 289, 379, 384
protest(s) 293, 308-11, 320, 384
public campaigns 314, 319
public goods 18, 129, 180, 283, 389
racism 127, 148-9
remote rural municipality(ies) 52, 191,
315, 317, 319, 352-3, 365, 370, 381,
385
repeat victimization 65—6, 80-3, 89, 347,
380
residential burglary 6, 71, 88, 94-5, 107,
111, 142-5, 153, 156, 158, 170
residential instability 40-1, 103, 211
risk heterogeneity 80
routine activity theory 39-40, 45, 54, 104,
300
rural community, definition of 32-3
rural crime, definition of 14-15, 33-7
rural criminology 28, 36, 54, 388, 390
Index 393
rural idyll, definition of 9-10, 122, 388
rural municipality(ies): accessible rural
municipalities (AR) 6, 94, 111, 172,
181, 191, 232, 352, 370, 380-5; remote
rural municipalities (RR); urban
municipalities (UR)
rural police 7, 77, 259, 261-3, 308, 310,
384
rural policing 259-90, 308, 383
rural tourism 17—18, 86-7
rural safety 16, 35, 46, 389
rurality, definition of 28-9
sectoral blindness 360
security guards 326, 339-43
security industry 129
seriousness of offenses 144
sexual assault 79, 84, 158, 230, 354; see
also sexual violence
sexual exploitation 219
sexual harassment 229, 349; see also
sexual assault; sexual violence
sexual violence 123, 216, 219, 229, 240,
349
Sherlock Holmes 9
Situational Action Theory (SAT) 42
small city 77
social care 103, 248, 267
social cohesion 5, 41, 44, 54, 103, 126,
155, 348-9; see also collective efficacy;
social control
social control 5, 40-3, 70, 85, 88-9,
103-4, 110, 147, 154, 158, 167, 210,
212, 228, 249, 273, 318-19, 326, 335,
337, 339, 349, 385, 388
social disorder 11; see also vandalism
Social Disorganization Theory 5, 40-1,
103, 110
Sdderk6ping 51, 53, 147-8, 151-9, 282-3,
332, 337-40
spatial analysis 4, 46—7; see also spatial
autocorrelation
spatial autocorrelation 94, 99, 115
spice 171, 207-8; see also drugs
Storuman 51, 352-3, 365—7
suburban 67, 71—2, 75-7, 201, 204, 230-1,
236, 238
supporting organizations 352-3, 382
surveillance 14, 235, 284, 288, 290, 298,
301, 318-19, 339, 358, 368, 384
sustainable development 20-1
systemic model, thinking 41, 114-15
synthetic cannabis 171, 190, 382; see also
drugs; spice
394 Index
temporary labor 88, 149, 151, 331
towns and rural areas 14, 69, 73, 76, 137,
143, 156, 158, 266
tractor theft(s) 294
underreporting 48-9, 226, 228, 369, 381,
385, 388
universality of the crime drop 65
unsafe in neighborhood 143
urban areas, definition of (in Sweden) 29
vandalism 11, 70-2, 125, 146-7, 154,
165-7, 170, 172, 174, 212, 215, 273,
282-3, 297, 332, 336-9
violence against women 226-55; see also
prevention of violence against women
Violence Against Women Act 229; see
also Kvinnofrid legislation
waste dumping 183, 186, 311, 313-15; see
also pollution
willingness to pay 156-7
willingness to report 15, 180, 229, 248,
297, 383
women abuse 7, 346, 348, 358, 364, 366,
385; see also sexual violence
women’s shelter 47, 227-8, 246, 327, 331,
350-5, 362-3, 365-6, 369, 372, 385
worry about crime 130, 138; see also fear
of being victimized
youth jobs 202
youth leisure 202, 328
youth unemployment 202
youth violence 19, 211, 213, 274, 324,
331-3