ABSTRACT
Research on rural crime has received increased attention from scholars and has become more theoretically driven and internationally focused in recent years. However, challenges remain in rural crime scholarship, such as how to conduct research with the most reliable and consistent measures cross-culturally. Considering the disparities of rural places across the globe, scholars need to be aware of cultural, social, legal, and bureaucratic variabilities and their respective impacts on conducting rural research. When studying various local phenomena, such as crime and deviance, researchers should be aware of the local context of the place and people being studied. This may involve a new set of definitions and methods pertaining to the perception of crime and victimization, applicable crime theories, and accessing data. Rural criminologists should dedicate themselves to the internationalization of rural criminology and proceed with an open mind to better explore and understand those under-researched areas. Therefore, rural scholarship should be culturally aware, employ critical criminological theories, and use exploratory research methods (such as case studies) to understand the intersectionality of rural, crime, and cultural specificity. Researchers should be mindful and ready to explore innovative approaches to tackle rural crimes' most challenging issues, even beyond those stated in the current chapter.
