New Research! Rural Crimes Committed in 1940’s Ireland

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Written by Dr Clay Darcy, Technological University Dublin, Ireland.

A recent research article by Clay Darcy, PhD, published in the International Journal of Rural Criminology (Vol. 8, Issue 1) examines a volume of recorded crimes compiled by Irish Police (Gardaí) during the early 1940’s in three small rural villages on the East coast of Ireland. The volume is being analysed as part of an ongoing sociological research project into historical rural crime in Ireland.

Front Cover of the Volume of Crimes

This article focuses on crimes committed between 1941 and 1943. Darcy uncovers records of various types of crime within the volume, including; indecent assaults, concealment of births, attempted suicide, sacrilege and larceny, among others.

The article provides a historical backdrop to the research, describing what rural Ireland was like in the 1940’s.  It was a period known as the ‘State of Emergency’ in Ireland.  World War II raged in Europe and Ireland had adopted a stance of neutrality.  At this time Ireland was still a relatively new independent State with no means of defence and Irish society was heavily influenced by the Roman Catholic Church.  It was a time when crime and sin were deeply intertwined.

The article also describes the formation of the Irish Police Force: An Garda Síochána, and highlights how this police force was comprised of physically large young men.  The majority from agricultural backgrounds, who had low levels of educational attainment and were predominantly Catholic.  Darcy argues that at this time, the Gardaí were not only agents of the state, enforcing its laws, but they were also moral watchdogs, enforcing a version of social order that was in keeping with the religious teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

The article presents both quantitative and qualitative data.  The quantitative findings include tables detailing the type and number of crimes committed in these small villages between 1941 and 1943 and details relating to ‘culprits’ and ‘injured persons’.  Interestingly, 31 out of the 83 culprits (37%) for the period under examination were children under the age of 18 years.

The qualitative aspect of the article examines four categories of crimes: concealment of birth; larceny; attempted suicide; and, indecent assault.  The article also examines and discusses the authors of the volume: the Gardaí.  Focusing in particular on their investigating and interrogation practices.

The contribution of the article lies in how it provides a vignette into rural crime and of the lives of those living in these small rural villages in Ireland during the 1940s.  Darcy argues that crime and sin were deeply interwoven at this time and that morality featured heavily in the policing habitus of the Gardaí.

Much of the crime featured in the volume related to poverty and the austerity of social life during a national state of emergency.  This article might appeal to those interested in historical rural crime, morality and crime, Irish policing history.

Barriers faced by rural police services

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Following is the first of a series of short topic snapshots, prepared by Joseph Loades, a research student with the Centre for Rural Criminology at the University of New England.

 

Rural police services experience adversities that differ from urban areas, including the geographical distances that are needed to be covered, lack of government funding, minimal transport infrastructure, high rates of unemployment and poverty of residents, and rising rates of violent crime and property offences compared to non-urban areas.

Whilst police in urban areas face an extensive array of crimes and the suspects are mostly unknown to the police, rural police are based in communities where social networks are smaller, most members of the community are known to police, and a subjective and interdependent form of policing is used. In rural communities that are subject to an interdependent form of policing, crimes are generally lower than metropolitan areas and rural communities that use an objective and dependent form of policing (Nolan, DeKeseredy and Brownstein. 2022).

Within many rural communities’ economic resources tend to be limited due to deindustrialisation. Adversities such as unemployment, poor health, poverty, a lack physical and non-physical resources, and a high prevalence of crime is experienced in the lower economic status (LES). Economic statuses can dislodge bonds between varying social groups and cultures, creating issues for rural police – who are also part of the local community. The adversities experienced within the LES  have been shown to be connected to higher rates of victimisation and offending, which is intergenerational in nature, and can become a part of community culture (Day et al. 2018).

Lack of government funding to rural police agencies can create many issues, which include low staff numbers, and a lack of police operated harm reduction methods, and police community service interventions. Wooley and Smith (2022) explain that rural police are often understaffed, under-trained, lack adequate equipment, have less time to spend on public relation exercises, which leads to a higher degree of scrutiny within their jurisdiction.

Furthermore, rural communities have a higher degree of conservative attitudes, gun ownership, have a higher population of white residents and extremist views, and a higher level of aversion to government interference and employment of personal social control. These physical and non-physical barriers, combined with large territorial jurisdictions make policing a challenging task.

The expansive geographical areas that need to be covered to access police services not only affects those needing to attend police stations for varying reasons, such as the face-to-face reporting of crime, it also affects the police who need to attend urgent crimes and motor vehicle accidents (Yarwood and Cozens, 2022). The large geographical distances affect police response times to attend urgent situations such as violent offences and property crimes, which are increasing within rural locations (Carcach 2000).

For rural police services to become more efficient, government funding needs to be addressed for police to expand harm reduction and public relation methods. Human resources are also required to alleviate the high rate of adversities suffered by rural residents and break down the economic barriers between social groups.

(Images sourced from pixels.com)

 

References

Carcach, C. (2000). Size, accessibility and crime in regional Australia (pp. 1-6). Canberra, Australia: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://www.aic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-05/tandi175.pdf

Day, A., Casey, S., Gerace, A., Oster, C. & O’Kane, D. (2018). The forgotten victims: Prisoner experience of victimisation and engagement with the criminal justice system. https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/55219/1/Day%20et%20al%20-%20Research%20Report%20-%20The%20Forgotten%20Victims.pdf

Nolan, J. J., DeKeseredy, W. S. & Brownstein, H. H. (2022). Police Ethics in Rural Contexts: A Left Realist Consequentialist View. International Journal of Rural Criminology, 7(1), 1-23. https://ruralcriminology.org/index.php/IJRC/article/view/8958/7736

Wooley, M. J. & Smith, S. Z. (2022). Reaching Rural Police: Challenges, Implications, and Applications. Crisis, Stress, and Human Resilience: An International Journal, 4(1), 66-84. https://www.crisisjournal.org/article/36378-reaching-rural-police-challenges-implications-and-applications

Yarwood, R. & Cozens, C. (2017). Constable countryside? Police perspectives on rural Britain. In Geographies of rural cultures and societies (pp. 145-170). Routledge.

 

OUTSTANDING WINNERS OF AWARDS PROGRAM ANNOUNCED

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The International Society for the Study of Rural Crime (ISSRC) is made up of scholars, students and practitioners from around the world with an interest in research aimed at reducing the scourge of crime in all its forms in rural areas.

The Society launched its annual awards program in 2020, offering awards in three categories.

  • The Joseph F. Donnermeyer New Scholar Award
  • The ISSRC Research Student Award
  • The ISSRC Policy, Practice and Engagement Award

The President of the Society, Emeritus Professor Joseph F. Donnermeyer, said the field of applications for each award category in 2021 was very strong.

“The judging panels had their work cut out this year”, Professor Donnermeyer said.

“Applications were of a very high calibre, showing that the future of the Society and of rural crime studies is in excellent hands.

“I was impressed with the innovative ways which applicants are thinking about how we can tackle crime in rural places – both in a scholarly way but also important practically as well.

“It’s one thing to sit at a desk putting thoughts to paper. It’s another thing altogether to think cleverly as to how these ideas can help shift policy and practice.

“On behalf of the Society’s membership, hearty congratulations and hats off to the three 2021 award recipients!”, Professor Donnermeyer said.

Winners receive a certificate, a cash prize and a book voucher kindly dontaed by Britsol University Press.

 

          Bristol University Press Logo

 

The 2021 ‘Joseph F. Donnermeyer New Scholar Award’ is presented to:

 

Dr Tarah Hodgkinson, Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario, Canada.

Tarah is a very productive scholar, and has written rural-focused articles in both an Australian and Canadian context. She has an impressive track record, with 25 journal articles, 6 book chapters and 11 other publications. She has also received international awards, showing her impact and reputation on this level. Her funding to date is also noteworthy.

In the co-authored article she submitted, Tarah identifies a research and evidence deficit in the topic studied; fear of crime in non-urban contexts. She talks about contributing factors such as neglect of the rural in research and the myth of rural idyll, and points to need to examine rural, including in relation to differences in crime decline. Overall, there is a clear contribution to rural criminology (and there are both research and practice implications and contributions) and she is an incredible early career researcher.

The panel was able to see how Tarah’s work has not only made an impact as an academic but also in the applied sense as a crime prevention practitioner.

The 2021 ISSRC Research Student Award is presented to:

 

Cecili Doorewaard, University of South Africa

The panel was unanimous in their decision of awarding Cecili the ISSRC Research Student Award for 2021. The Research Student Award is given to research student (Honours / Masters / PhD student) for a sole-authored piece of writing associated with their research (unpublished or published) in rural criminology.

While all of the applications produced excellent work, Cecili’s research stood out in large part due to its novelty, depth of insight and, ultimately, significant contribution to the field of rural criminology. Specifically, her study explored, describe and explained the criminal behaviour associated with livestock-theft. While farm crime is a field with a relatively healthy empirical basis, very little is known about the perpetrators of these crimes themselves. Cecili’s work therefore provides new insight into offender characteristics, modus operandi and motive.

Importantly, Cecili took these findings and considered them in the context of criminological theory to help explain the how and why of livestock theft, and what drives offenders to commit such acts. Needless to say, such information is valuable from the perspective of policy and practice. To this end, Cecili also drew on these important findings to make a number of key recommendations to enable the criminal justice system and livestock owners to tackle live-stock theft. In short, this work deserves to be recognised and awarded and rural criminologists more broadly would do well to follow Cecili’s lead and consider criminal behaviour associated with livestock-theft from a comparative international perspective.

 

The 2021 ISSRC Policy, Practice and Engagement Award is presented to:

 

The New South Wales Police Force Rural Crime Prevention Team (Led by Det Insp Cameron Whiteside)

In aggregate, the NSW Rural Crime team is outwardly focussed, such as with their involvement with student learning, engagement with academia, interactions with farmers and so on. They have developed a clear leadership role in Australia and New Zealand, notably with the creation of a nationally accredited course, as well as the information booklet. Clear evidence is provided on a range of initiatives which are innovative and aimed at addressing rural crime in NSW (but with national/international potential as well).

The team exemplifies the purpose of the Award – practical application from the law enforcement side that targets and aids potential victims in increasing security, works collaboratively with researchers and the educational environment (outreach through teaching as well). The level of innovation has made them a leader in Australia – policy, practice, and engagement all.

‘Rural Policing in North America’ roundtable

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Rural crime and criminal justice practices and responses face different challenges from those experienced in urban contexts. Our new series of ISSRC Roundtables investigate challenges in international contexts and provide opportunities for participants to promote their research and practice and build collaborations for future initiatives. Follow on Twitter @RuCrimSociety with #ISSRC2021

Rural crime and criminal justice practices and responses face different challenges from those experienced in urban contexts.

On 15 September 2021, ISSRC proudly hosted a practitioner-focused roundtable which considered community policing and crime-reduction efforts on issues surrounding rural policing. The roundtable provided an opportunity for participants to hear first-hand from four leaders in rural policing about work being done in the US and Canada to police rural crime.

Missed the Roundtable – don’t dispair! You can watch it on our YouTube channel.

We asked our panellists three key things:

  1. What is the key element to successful community policing in your community?
  2. What is one initiative in which you have successfully engaged the community in crime-reduction efforts?
  3. What is the most significant challenge to successfully reducing crime in your community?

Moderator and host

The event will be hosted and moderated

by Jessica Peterson

from the University of Nebraska at Kearney  (United States)

Featuring…

 

Inspector Farica Prince

Blood Tribe Police Service (Canada)

Inspector Prince joined Dakota Ojibway Police Service in 2001 and served her home community of Sioux Valley, in south west Manitoba. In 2005, Inspector Prince made the difficult decision to leave her home and joined the Blood Tribe Police Service. The Blood Tribe, aka Kainai, is the largest land-based Indigenous community in Canada. She served as an instructor/facilitator at RCMP’s national training academy in Regina Saskatchewan for three years and has been serving as the Inspector in charge of the Administrative Support Division since 2018. Inspector Prince also became a first-generation university graduate in 2019.

 

Chief Rob Davis

Chief of Police at Brantford Police Department (Canada) 

Chief Davis began his career in 1990, and has since served small rural towns and Indiginous communities throughout Canada. Prior to serving as Chief of Police, he championed the drive that led to Six Nations becoming the first Aboriginal Police Service in Canada to join the Criminal Intelligence Service of Ontario and also served as an Inspector overseeing operations throughout reserves northwest of Ontario. Chief Davis is proud to be a Mohawk from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and a recipient of the prestigious OACP & IPA Gimborn Scholarship for his dedication & efforts to combat gangs and organized crime.

 

Chief Jim Davis

Director of Law Enforcement Services at the University of Nebraska Kearney (United States)

Chief Davis has 37 Years of Law Enforcement Experience ranging from Police Officer to Sheriff. His current position includes Chief of Police, Emergency Management Director, and Parking Director. Chief Davis is a guest instructor at the South Dakota Law Enforcement Training Center and an adjunct Criminal Justice instructor at UNK. He has a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice and is scheduled to graduate with his doctorate in management in 2022. He also still enjoys working the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

 

Mark Prosser

Retired Law Enforcement (United States)

Mr Prosser has over 40 years of Law Enforcement experience starting as a patrol officer in1979. Until his retirement in 2020, he held positions including Chief of Detectives, Supervisor for a multi-jurisdictional homicide unit, and Chief of Police in Storm Lake, Iowa. Mr Prosser was named Law Enforcement Executive of the Year for 2016 by the Iowa Police Chiefs Association. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Police Administration and has completed some Graduate Studies in Public Administration and Management. Mr Prosser taught for 19 years at the Illinois Police Academy, Buena Vista University, and Iowa Central Community College. Currently, he works for the Catholic Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa as the Director of the Pastoral Planning Office and remains a voice for immigration reform at the national level.

 

‘Rural Policing in North America’ roundtable

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Rural crime and criminal justice practices and responses face different challenges from those experienced in urban contexts.

ISSRC is proud to host a practitioner-focused roundtable which will investigate community policing and crime-reduction efforts on issues surrounding rural policing. The roundtable will provide an opportunity for participants to hear first-hand from four leaders in rural policing about work being done in the US and Canada to police rural crime.

The roundtable is free to attend. However, if you are able to make a donation, funds will be directed to the ISSRC awards program for higher degree research students, early career researchers, and practitioners.

Ample opportunity will be provided for attendees to engage with the panel.

Register via EventBrite:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/issrc-roundtable-rural-policing-in-north-america-tickets-157002427487

For more information and link to EventBrite registration, visit www.issrc.net/roundtables/

We ask our panellists three key things:

  1. What is the key element to successful community policing in your community?
  2. What is one initiative in which you have successfully engaged the community in crime-reduction efforts?
  3. What is the most significant challenge to successfully reducing crime in your community?

Wednesday 15 September 2021

5.00pm – 6.30pm (CDT; US)

6.00pm – 7.30pm (EDT; Toronto, Canada)

4.00pm – 5.30pm (MDT; Calgary, Canada)

For time zones in other places, check the Time and Date website by adding your location.

Moderator and host

The event will be hosted and moderated

by Jessica Peterson

from the University of Nebraska at Kearney  (United States)

Featuring…

 

Inspector Farica Prince

Blood Tribe Police Service (Canada)

Inspector Prince joined Dakota Ojibway Police Service in 2001 and served her home community of Sioux Valley, in south west Manitoba. In 2005, Inspector Prince made the difficult decision to leave her home and joined the Blood Tribe Police Service. The Blood Tribe, aka Kainai, is the largest land-based Indigenous community in Canada. She served as an instructor/facilitator at RCMP’s national training academy in Regina Saskatchewan for three years and has been serving as the Inspector in charge of the Administrative Support Division since 2018. Inspector Prince also became a first-generation university graduate in 2019.

 

Chief Rob Davis

Chief of Police at Brantford Police Department (Canada) 

Chief Davis began his career in 1990, and has since served small rural towns and Indiginous communities throughout Canada. Prior to serving as Chief of Police, he championed the drive that led to Six Nations becoming the first Aboriginal Police Service in Canada to join the Criminal Intelligence Service of Ontario and also served as an Inspector overseeing operations throughout reserves northwest of Ontario. Chief Davis is proud to be a Mohawk from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and a recipient of the prestigious OACP & IPA Gimborn Scholarship for his dedication & efforts to combat gangs and organized crime.

 

Chief Jim Davis

Director of Law Enforcement Services at the University of Nebraska Kearney (United States)

Chief Davis has 37 Years of Law Enforcement Experience ranging from Police Officer to Sheriff. His current position includes Chief of Police, Emergency Management Director, and Parking Director. Chief Davis is a guest instructor at the South Dakota Law Enforcement Training Center and an adjunct Criminal Justice instructor at UNK. He has a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice and is scheduled to graduate with his doctorate in management in 2022. He also still enjoys working the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

 

Mark Prosser

Retired Law Enforcement (United States)

Mr Prosser has over 40 years of Law Enforcement experience starting as a patrol officer in1979. Until his retirement in 2020, he held positions including Chief of Detectives, Supervisor for a multi-jurisdictional homicide unit, and Chief of Police in Storm Lake, Iowa. Mr Prosser was named Law Enforcement Executive of the Year for 2016 by the Iowa Police Chiefs Association. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Police Administration and has completed some Graduate Studies in Public Administration and Management. Mr Prosser taught for 19 years at the Illinois Police Academy, Buena Vista University, and Iowa Central Community College. Currently, he works for the Catholic Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa as the Director of the Pastoral Planning Office and remains a voice for immigration reform at the national level.

Policing rural communities – Roundtable recording

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On 20 October 2020, the International Society for the Study of Rural Crime – @RuCrimSociety – held an online roundtable focussed on “Policing Rural Communities”.

THE ROUNDTABLE RECORDING CAN BE ACCESSED HERE

Rural crime and criminal justice practices and responses face different challenges from those experienced in urban contexts. This practitioner-focused roundtable investigated challenges and innovations in international contexts on issues surrounding rural policing.

The event was hosted and moderated by Dr Jessica Peterson from the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

The expert panel consisted of:

Detective Inspector Cameron Whiteside
State Rural Crime Coordinator, New South Wales Police Force (Australia)

Inspector Alan Dron
National Rural Crime Co-ordinator, Police Scotland

Tori Heaney
Farm Crime Advisor, Farm Crime Coordination Unit, Victoria Police (Australia)

Christian Mouhanna
Director, Centre de recherches sociologiques sur le droit et les institutions pénales (Centre for Sociological Research on Law and Criminal Justice Institutions)

We asked our panellists two key things:

  1. What are the key challenges for rural policing?
  2. What innovations are being deployed internationally to address these challenges?

THE ROUNDTABLE RECORDING CAN BE ACCESSED HERE

‘POLICING RURAL COMMUNITIES’ ROUNDTABLE – 2O OCTOBER 2020

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The International Society for the Study of Rural Crime – @RuCrimSociety – invites you to an online roundtable “Policing Rural Communities”.

Date and Time

Tue, 20 October 2020

5:20 PM for 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM AEDT

Check your local time here

REGISTER via EventBrite here

 

About this Event

Rural crime and criminal justice practices and responses face different challenges from those experienced in urban contexts.

This practitioner-focused roundtable investigates challenges and innovations in international contexts on issues surrounding rural policing.

This roundtable will provide an opportunity for participants to hear first-hand from four leaders in rural policing about work being done in both hemispheres to police rural crime.

We ask our panellists two key things:

  1. What are the key challenges for rural policing?
  2. What innovations are being deployed internationally to address these challenges?

Ample opportunity will be provided for attendees to engage with the panel.

 

Roundtable Chair

The event will be hosted and moderated by Dr Jessica Peterson from the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

 

 

 

 

The Panel

Detective Inspector Cameron Whiteside
State Rural Crime Coordinator, New South Wales Police Force (Australia)

Detective Inspector Cameron Whiteside’s 31 year (24 years as a Detective) started in 1989 when he joined the New South Wales Police Force. He currently serves as the inaugural State Rural Crime Coordinator for the Rural Crime Prevention Team that covers approximately 95% of New South Wales. The Team supports Police Districts and Police Area Commands in the prevention and response to rural crime.

 

Inspector Alan Dron
National Rural Crime Co-ordinator, Police Scotland

Inspector Alan Dron has over 28 years in the police service, including the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency. He currently serves as the Rural Crime Co-ordinator for Police Scotland and ensures smooth operations of the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC) from his base at the Gartcosh Scottish Crime Campus. SPARC consists of key partnerships and organisations that work together to advance crime prevention and enforcement strategies in diverse rural communities.

 

Tori Heaney
Farm Crime Advisor, Farm Crime Coordination Unit, Victoria Police (Australia)

Tori, who owns her family farm in rural Victoria, has degrees in Criminology and Business as well as a Graduate Certificate in Intelligence Analysis. She currently provides high-level analysis, advice, and research direction for the Farm Crime Coordination Unit of Victoria Police. Victoria Police has a collection of more than 60 Farm Crime Liaison Officers (FCLO) across the state with expertise in investigating livestock theft and farm related crime.

 

Christian Mouhanna
Director, Centre de recherches sociologiques sur le droit et les institutions pénales (Centre for Sociological Research on Law and Criminal Justice Institutions)

Christian Mouhanna is a permanent researcher at the CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) and Director of CESDIP (Centre for Sociological Research on Law and Criminal Justice Institutions), a major venue for the study of criminal justice and deviance in France. He worked for more than 20 years on the French Police Forces, including the French Gendarmerie, the courts and security policies.

The roundtable is free to attend.

However, if you are able to make a donation, funds will be directed to the ISSRC awards program for higher degree research students, early career researchers, and practitioners.

REGISTER via EventBrite here

Interested in joining the ISSRC? Visit www.issrc.net/membership