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'Dead in the water': is rural violent crime prevention floating face-down because criminology can't handle context?
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-16, 20:12 authored by Bell, EJ, Hall, RThe paper explores the challenges of capturing context in criminology with reference to one kind of small-N situation-violent crime in rural communities. An illustrative analysis of the violent crime prevention research and select adjunct debates about method, including case-based approaches, was undertaken. First, the paper explores the need for methods offering diversity-oriented ways of understanding country, community, and the individual in situ in the community. Second, it examines how the challenges of "context" are being described in wider debates: about the technical limitations of "big Q" methods for criminology; about the relevance of research evidence; about case-based analyses. Third, it sketches the value of Charles Ragin's diversity-oriented, small-N method for enriching understandings of context. The paper concludes that Ragin's method can add value to local rural crime prevention practice and related micro-social policy development by illuminating the "black box" of individual cases. © 2007 Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.
History
Publication title
Crime Prevention and Community SafetyVolume
9Issue
4Pagination
252-274ISSN
1460-3780Department/School
School of Social SciencesPublisher
Palgrave Macmillan LtdPlace of publication
United KingdomRepository Status
- Restricted