articles: Links between rural development and crime

Over the past few years, metropolitan crime has fallen in the United States while nonmetropolitan crime has continued to increase. This article examines nonmetropolitan crime during the period 1977-1995, and describes its characteristics and spatial dynamics. The article outlines eight categories of causal factors and investigates their role in nonmetropolitan county crime variation using regression analysis. This analysis shows that many variables commonly identified with "rural development" are associated with crime. The article concludes by recommending that planners anticipate the social effects of popular rural revitalization strategies, such as tourism, retirement communities, highways, and service sector development.