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ERIC Number: EJ806512
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Jun
Pages: 34
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0036-0112
EISSN: N/A
Opportunity Theory and Agricultural Crime Victimization
Mears, Daniel P.; Scott, Michelle L.; Bhati, Avinash S.
Rural Sociology, v72 n2 p151-184 Jun 2007
A growing body of research lends support to opportunity theory and its variants, but has yet to focus systematically on a number of specific offenses and contexts. Typically, the more crimes and contexts to which a theory applies, the broader its scope and range, respectively, and thus generalizability. In this paper, we focus on agricultural crime victimization--including theft of farm equipment, crops, livestock, and chemicals--an offense that opportunity theory appears well-situated to explain. Specifically, we examine whether key dimensions of the theory are empirically associated with the likelihood of victimization and also examine factors associated with farmers' use of guardianship measures. In contrast to much previous research, we combine multiple individual-level measures of these dimensions. We conclude that the theory partially accounts for variation in agricultural crime victimization, depending on the type of crime, and that greater work is needed investigating how key dimensions of opportunity theory should be conceptualized and operationalized in rural contexts. The study's implications for theory and practice are discussed. (Contains 4 tables, 1 figure, and 11 footnotes.)
Rural Sociological Society. 104 Gentry Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211-7040. Tel: 573-882-9065; Fax: 573-882-1473; e-mail: ruralsoc@missouri.edu; Web site: http://www.ruralsociology.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A