This article provides a profile of key population characteristics of the Greater Holmes County settlement in northeast Ohio. It begins with a brief history of the settlement’s growth, then summarizes population data from the 2020 and 2025 directories. The profile includes several specific demographic features, such as patterns related to ordination, men's occupations, marriage, widowhood and remarriage, birth intervals, fertility, population pyramids, and twinning. Whenever possible, population characteristics are broken down by the three affiliations of Dan, Old Order, and New Order; by sex (female vs. male); and by birthdate to gauge possible differences in a demographic trait over time.

This article provides a comprehensive overview of rural criminology as a dynamic and evolving subfield within the broader discipline of criminology. It traces the historical marginalisation of research into rural crime, and it highlights the growing scholarly recognition of rural contexts as distinct and criminologically significant. Drawing upon a comprehensive literature review and the authors' extensive expertise, the article explores the key conceptual frameworks, methodological challenges, and theoretical developments that shape the field. It emphasises the importance of place, community, and socio-cultural dynamics in understanding rural crime, victimisation, and justice. The article also examines the internationalisation of rural criminology, showcasing its expansion across diverse global contexts and its intersections with green and Southern criminologies. By identifying emerging research directions and advocating for context-sensitive approaches, the authors underscore rural criminology's potential to enrich broader criminological theory and practice. This work contributes to the positioning of rural criminology as a vital and increasingly influential area of inquiry in contemporary criminological scholarshipArtykuł ten zawiera kompleksowy przegląd kryminologii obszarów wiejskich jako dynamicznej i ewoluującej dziedziny w ramach szerszej dyscypliny kryminologii. Przedstawia on historię marginalizacji badań nad przestępczością na obszarach wiejskich oraz podkreśla rosnące uznanie środowiska naukowego dla kontekstu wiejskiego jako odrębnego i istotnego z punktu widzenia kryminologii. Opierając się na kompleksowym przeglądzie literatury i rozległej wiedzy autorów, artykuł bada kluczowe ramy koncepcyjne, wyzwania metodologiczne i rozwój teoretyczny, które kształtują tę dziedzinę. Podkreśla znaczenie miejsca, społeczności i dynamiki społeczno-kulturowej dla zrozumienia przestępczości obszarów wiejskich, wiktymizacji i sprawiedliwości. Artykuł analizuje również umiędzynarodowienie kryminologii obszarów wiejskich, pokazując jej ekspansję w różnych kontekstach globalnych oraz powiązania z kryminologią ekologiczną i obszarów południowych. Identyfikując nowe kierunki badań i opowiadając się za podejściami uwzględniającymi kontekst, autorzy podkreślają potencjał kryminologii obszarów wiejskich w zakresie wzbogacania szerszej teorii i praktyki kryminologicznej. Praca ta przyczynia się do pozycjonowania kryminologii obszarów wiejskich jako istotnego i coraz bardziej wpływowego obszaru badań we współczesnej kryminologiiDer vorliegende Artikel bietet einen umfassenden Überblick über die ländliche Kriminologie als ein dynamisches und sich weiterentwickelndes Gebiet innerhalb der breiteren Disziplin der Kriminologie. Er beschreibt die Geschichte der Marginalisierung der Forschung zu Kriminalität in ländlichen Regionen und hebt die wachsende Anerkennung des ländlichen Kontexts als eigenständiges und für die Kriminologie relevantes Gebiet in der Wissenschaft hervor. Auf der Grundlage einer umfassenden Literaturrecherche und des umfangreichen Fachwissens der Autoren werden im Artikel die wichtigsten konzeptionellen Rahmenbedingungen, methodischen Herausforderungen und dieses Gebiet prägenden, theoretischen Entwicklungen erforscht. Die vorliegende Publikation unterstreicht die Bedeutung von Ort, Gemeinschaft und soziokultureller Dynamik für das Verständnis von Kriminalität, Viktimisierung und Gerechtigkeit im ländlichen Raum. Es wird auch hier die Internationalisierung der ländlichen Kriminologie ausführlich analysiert, indem die Ausbreitung der ländlichen Kriminologie in verschiedenen globalen Kontexten sowie ihre Verbindungen zur ökologischen Kriminologie und zur Kriminologie des Südens aufgezeigt werden. Die Autoren weisen neue Forschungsrichtungen und sprechen sich für kontextbezogene Ansätze aus. Dabei betonen sie das Potenzial der ländlichen Kriminologie im Bereich der Bereicherung der breiteren kriminologischen Theorie und Praxis. Die vorliegende Arbeit trägt dazu bei, die ländliche Kriminologie als einen wichtigen und zunehmend einflussreichen Forschungsbereich in der modernen Kriminologie zu positionierenВ статье представлен комплексный обзор криминологии сельских районов как динамичной и развивающейся области в рамках более широкой дисциплины криминологии. В статье представлена история маргинализации исследований преступности в сельских районах и подчеркивается постоянно расширяющееся признание среди ученых контекста сельского района как отдельного и важного с точки зрения криминологии. Опираясь на комплексный обзор литературы и знания авторов в данной области, статья исследует ключевые концептуальные рамки, методологические проблемы и теоретические разработки, которые формируют данную отрасль. В статье подчеркивается важность места, сообщества и социокультурной динамики для понимания преступности в сельских районах, виктимизации и справедливости. Кроме того, в работе анализируется интернационализация криминологии сельских районов, показана ее экспансия в различных глобальных контекстах, а также связи с эко-криминологией и криминологией южных районов. Определяя новые направления исследований и выступая за подходы, учитывающие контекст, авторы подчеркивают потенциал криминологии сельских районов в плане пополнения более широкой криминологической теории и практики. Данная статья является вкладом в позиционирование криминологии сельских районов как важной и все более значимой области исследований современной криминологии

A common assumption is that any kind of disaster, from a fire to a typhoon, is short-lived. Another common assumption is that any kind of disaster, especially one affecting rural communities, brings people together, helping each other with clean-up and recovery. Indeed, there may be short-lived bursts of mutual support, the kind that shows up in media stories, but the sociological reality of a disaster is not so simple. The purpose of this article is to examine the impacts of disasters, both short and long-term on rural peoples and communities based on existing research and theory, especially scholarship from the fields of criminology and sociology of the community. Understanding the community-level through the lens of the extant research and criminological/sociological theory speak directly to key issues related to access to justice for rural populations.

Recent demographic studies of the Amish consistently find that their families remain large, yet there is variation, especially when comparing fertility and other population characteristics across different affiliations. This article explores the Swiss Amish, a group for which demographic studies are practically non-existent. Based on data from the four largest Swiss Amish communities, both total fertility and birth intervals are examined. Recommendations for additional research of Swiss Amish population characteristics are discussed.

This first chapter of the state of the art of rural criminology in North America, examines key issues in rural crime studies in Canada, the Caribbean and the United States. Unfortunately, on this occasion it leaves out consideration of rural crime in Mexico and various Central American countries. Nonetheless, this chapter demonstrates the extent to which rural people and rural communities in North America are challenged by issues related to safety and security. Of particular significance for rural studies of crime in North America are problems associated with farm crime, violence against women and substance production, trafficking and use, and policing crime in areas with fewer people but large geographies. The chapter makes note of the fact that scholarly attention to rural crime studies has emerged over past the several decades, even as North America itself and most of the rest of the world has increasingly urbanised.

This “Journey” article is a reflection of my long years of rural crime and criminal justice scholarship, and of witnessing the growth and progression of rural criminology as a field of study within criminology. It highlights the many scholars who both helped me and helped advance rural criminology networks to what they are today – cohesive, collaborative, and creative. Although this journey essay is highly personalized, there are a series of lessons learned that are relevant to the growth of others’ scholarly development and the advance of all criminological subdisciplines, including rural criminology, in the 21st century. These are re-stated in a revised form in the Appendix.

There is little published research in peer-reviewed journals about Amish experiences with crime, with the exception of work by Byers and colleagues (Byers, 2008; Byers & Crider, 2002; Byers et al., 1999). The purpose of this article is to explore the crime experiences of the Amish, based on reports by scribes found under “Community Notes” in The Diary, one of several periodicals devoted to reporting news and events from Amish communities. Two hundred forty narratives of Amish crime experiences from 13 years’ worth of The Diary (January 2010 through December 2022) were collected and organized by crime type. Based on these narratives, there are two important findings. First, crime is not infrequent, with a diversity of crime experiences, ranging from burglary to armed robbery. Second, the most frequently described incidents in these narratives were property crimes, such as burglary/attempted burglary, larceny/attempted larceny, scams/attempted scams, and vandalism. The article concludes with recommendations for future research about crime and the Amish, suggestions for culturally appropriate educational materials for crime prevention in Amish homes and businesses, and suggestions for more effective cooperation between the Amish and the criminal justice system.

Abstract This article examines challenges to the study of rural crime and criminal justice through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It emphasizes that the rural population of the world and within many countries is a significant share of the total, even though urbanization will inevitably continue through the remainder of the 21st century. Contrary to longstanding stereotypes, especially those found in criminology, rural places are quite diverse. In addition, rural localities everywhere are changing, and with these changes emerge important issues related to the safety and security of rural populations. All 17 SDGs are discussed within the context of crimes that affect rural people and their perceptions of safety; we examine what rural criminology can do to help criminal justice policy-makers and practitioners focus strategies and tactics suitable for a rural context.

Of the 958 settlements founded in North America since the Amish arrived in the 1730s, 272 are now extinct. This research note provides a summary of those failures to sustain the life of an Amish community, and includes an appendix listing settlement extinctions by state and in chronological order. The article concludes with a discussion about the value of understanding community failures as an important, but often ignored, dimension of the Amish story in North America.

“Johnny Come Lately” is a colloquialism with roots backs to nineteenth century British maritime days. It is used here to illustrate the recent emergence of new myths about rural crime and justice studies. As rural crime and justice studies have emerged and grown over the previous 50-plus years, a number of scholars have discussed and debunked myths about crime and rurality, but unfortunately, new falsehoods have been purposively created of late. In this paper, each latter-day myth is described, debunked and then transformed into positive directives about the future of rural crime and justice studies, following the example set by Ceccato and Abraham (2022). These positives include: (1) there must be a sustained effort to make the location for rural crime studies and the scholars who do the research and theorizing ever more diverse; (2) rural crime studies, both old and new, must be made more easily accessible to this generation and future generations of scholars, practitioners and policy-makers alike; (3) rural crime studies must continue to improve theoretical sophistication through application, critique, and revision, and through theoretical interpretation of previously published empirical work; and (4) a thorough synthesis of the rural crime and justice studies literature is imperative to its future development.

This article provides a demographic profile of the Amish in the Greater Lancaster County settlement, the oldest extant community and the largest in the world today. A dataset, based on a sample of about one in five households (N = 1,494), was developed from the 2015 directory for the Greater Lancaster settlement. The data is summarized along 10 major topics, including widows and widowers, ordained men, occupations of men, age at first marriage, most popular months for weddings, most popular days for weddings, number of children, birth intervals, stillbirths and infant deaths, and age and sex distribution of the population. The results are compared with the findings from a study of the Lancaster County Amish by Elmer Lewis Smith, published in 1960, that includes selected population statistics from the first half of the twentieth century and information that goes back to the final decade of the nineteenth century. The findings show a great deal of demographic stability; that is, trends in such demographic features as family size show only small, incremental changes. Only infant mortality and the occupations of men have shifted significantly. The article concludes by discussing the need for additional demographic research utilizing directories from other communities, large and small, old and new, and of different Amish groups based on the relative conservatism vs. progressivism of their church disciplines.

Most of us have heard of and likely voiced the phrase a ‘baker’s dozen’ to refer to adding an extra item to a group of twelve to make sure there are enough. This review essay will abide by this centuries-old tradition, however, out of a necessity rather than incarceration. There are now enough monographs and edited books about rural crime and criminal justice topics that selecting a trim ten, a lissome eleven or a svelte dozen is impossible. Yet, even with 13, as the reader of this review essay will discover, there are plenty more books that could easily qualify for the list. To show no disrespect for those tomes not mentioned in the main text of this highly personalized version (or perhaps, highly biased rendition is the more accurate phrase) of a baker’s dozen, the essay will conclude with a brief mention of the others.