ABSTRACT
The development of criminology in the late nineteenth century and through much of the twentieth century was both theoretically and empirically urban in its focus. The transition of societies from rural and agricultural to urban and industrial provided a rich field for exploring and understanding criminal behaviour and criminal justice. The context was inevitably and overwhelmingly urban, with rural criminology lagging far behind. Contributors to Donnermeyer's edited work demonstrate how much rural criminology has borrowed from established theory in criminology. Donnermeyer and DeKeseredy have discussed the application of the left-realist concept of the 'square of crime' to the study of rural crime, including such diverse issues as agricultural crime, substance use and variations in crime rates among rural communities. Rural criminology is now more theoretically critical and international in its scope, with an ever-expanding cadre of scholars who are engaged with understanding the non-urban context of crime.
