Crossroads of Rural Crime

Representations and Realities of Transgression in the Australian Countryside

Alistair Harkness|Rob White

Emerald

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9781800436473

18 May 2026

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9781800436459

19 May 2021

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9781800436442

19 May 2021

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9781800436466

19 May 2021

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Description
Contents
About

Rural-oriented scholarship in criminology is growing, in part motivated by governmental, community and academic recognition that, despite stereotypes of the 'rural idyll', crime and justice are significant issues in the rural landscape.

Using the notion of 'crossroads' to provide a unique lens through which to examine realities of rural crime, Crossroads of Rural Crime: Representations and Realities of Transgression in the Australian Countryside provides a dynamic understanding of the nature of rural life and ways in which transgression manifests itself in the context of a presumed rural-urban divide. Common myths regarding rural crime are challenged by exploring its diverse dimensions from a central conceptual focal point; the many 'roads' that lead into and out of rural spaces, whether literal, virtual or figurative. With a focus on the Australian countryside, the authors examine issues such as drug abuse, persecution of wildlife, rural penal practices, and health in Indigenous communities.

The first substantive edited collection to focus on notions of the mobility of crime within, to and from rural spaces, this interdisciplinary collection draws together contributions from criminology, politics, sociology, Indigenous studies, literature and anthropology to significantly contribute to our understanding of rural crime.

Chapter 1. Rural crime at the crossroads; Alistair Harkness and Rob White Chapter 2. Dhany ‘towards here’: Paths for rural criminology laid by Aboriginal health; Megan Williams Chapter 3. Cartographies of place: Being, country and Indigenous justice; Chris Cunneen Chapter 4. Night patrols: Mobilising collective efficacy in Indigenous communities; John Scott, Margaret Sims, Trudi Cooper, and Elaine Barclay Chapter 5. On the road to roon?: Rural Australia’s storied role in the nation’s ice ‘epidemic’; Katrina Clifford and Lisa Waller Chapter 6. The backroads of Australian punishment: Penality beyond the Australian cityscape; Russell Hogg Chapter 7. Dead ends: The vanishing of Marilyn Wallman; Belinda Morrissey and Kristen Davis Chapter 8. From victims to companions: Reconciling wildlife and agriculture in rural spaces; Gillian Paxton Chapter 9. The rhetoric of rurality: Political representations of rural and regional Australia; Rebecca Strating Chapter 10. Kicking against the majority: The rural-urban divide, politics, policy-making and the law-and-order debate; Nick Economou Chapter 11. Dynamics of seachangers in rural and regional townships: Impacts on local communities in transition; Nick Osbaldiston, Felicity Picken, and Lisa Denny Chapter 12. Post-disaster access to justice: The road ahead for Australian rural communities; Rachel Hale, Melina Stewart-North, and Alistair Harkness

Alistair Harkness is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of New England, Australia.

Rob White is Distinguished Professor of Criminology at the University of Tasmania, Australia.