Book Feature: Rural criminology and the concept of crossroads

Abstract

<p>'Crossroads' serves as a metaphor for networks and intersections, overlaps and trajectories, and we use it to denote how criminal transgressions and the representations of crime circulate in and out of rural spaces in the Australian countryside.<br> <br>The notion of 'crossroads' provides a unique lens through which to examine and interpret the images and realities of rural crime. It implies a dynamic understanding and appreciation of the nature and complexities of rural life and how transgression manifests itself in the context of a presumed countryside-city divide. In using it we challenge common myths and assumptions regarding rural crime by exploring its diverse and multiple dimensions. We do this from a central conceptual focal point - the many roads that lead into and out of rural spaces, literal, virtual and figurative.</p>