D2—Lancaster Famine, Saturday, January 17,1981
Rural crime, where, when, how can
BY SHEILA MILLER
LITXTZ Farmer Jones
lives on a farm nestled in the
rolling hills of Dauphin
County just north of the
Blue Mountain and away
from the urban pressure of
Harrisburg.
Jones, who is a regular
church-goer, feels he’s safe
from burglars and vandals
because his buildings are set
back a mile-long dirt lane,
completely hidden from
view of the road or the
nearest neighbors.
Because he is getting up in
years and living alone, Jones
relies on the ears of his dog,
Spark, to let him know when
someone is out. And, just m
case someone ever did try to
rob him, Jones pats his
trusty shotgun that he keeps
cleaned and oiled mainly
for an occassional pheasant
or rabbit during small game
season
Imagine Jones’ surprise
when he returns from church
services one Sunday to find
his tractor was mysteriously
parked m the middle of the
lane, most of his tools were
scattered over the floor of
his machine shop, and a
motor running inside the
bam left a sinking feeling in
his stomach as he sensed his
silage unloader had been
switched on.
Shocked and dismayed,
Jones scowled at the dog box
where Spark resolutely
stayed hidden from sight.
■k k k
For those farmers, like
Mr. or Ms. Jones (what ever
gender fits the work boot),
who think rural crime is
something that only happens
to the farmers on the out
skirts of Philadelphia, the
results of an Ohio State study
on environmental factors m
rural crime may come as
quite a surprise.
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According to the research,
it was found that a number of
things thought to encourage
a property to be vandalized
or burglarized had no
bearing on its susceptibility
while other factors
thought to insure a property
against being victimized
actually did not
Looking at Jones
assumption he was safe, the
Ohio State researchers
pointed out rural residents
living in an area of rolling
land are more likely to be
vandalized than those living
on flat or hilly land
The study, conducted in
1975 on rural Ohioans, also
pointed out church members
were more often victims of
vandalism than non-church
members However, there
was no significant difference
between church members
and non-church members
when it came to burglary
and theft, they said
One hypothesis the
researchers came up with
for church members to be
vandalized more frequently
than non-church members
was because they leave their
properties unattended for
longer periods of time The
Ohio State study also pointed
out acts of vandalism on a
church member may be
witness to the ‘vandals’
frustrations with community
norms"
The survey report
revealed rural residences
located in a secluded area
and hidden from view had a
slightly higher percentage
for being victimized than
neighboring properties
located m a more visible
area.
The Ohio State team of
experts also looked at
whether or not visibility of
buildings to neighbors had
an influence on rural crime
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prevention They found,
however, this factor did not
relate to whether or not a
property was victimized
The distance the farm is
located away from a town or
city did come into play,
though, in the results of the
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research While distance did
not seem to be a factor for
burglaries, the study showed
a lineal decrease m theft and
vandalism as the dstance
from town increased
What about the distance of
buildings Irom the road ’
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The Patz RD-790 fits most
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it be stopped
Will a property be less likely
to experience property
crimes if the house is closer
to the road than the bam?
From their findings the
researchers stated, "Theft
and vandalism are less
likely to occur when the
dwelling house is the
building closest to the road
This is not true for the crime
of burglary There were no
differences in the number of
burglaries and house
location ”
The researchers also
looked at barn location
Their data did not
significantly support the
theory that barns closest to a
public road are most often
vandalized or robbed But,
the report stated all three
property crime areas
studied had a higher per
centage of crimes where the
barn was closest
Just how far does the barn
have to be from the road to
be safe'
Foi buiglary and van
dalism, it makes no dif
ference But where theft is
concerned, tbs , esc archers
stated, Rural residents
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with nop-residential
buildings 100 feet from a
road have the highest per
centage of thefts, while those
with non-residential
buildings between 100 and
499 feet have the lowest’
Will a farm with a large
number of buildings be more
likely to be victimized than a
farm with only a barn and
house ?
Even though the number
of buildings might seem to
reflect a farmer’s affluence
and offer more nooks and
crannies for potential
vandals and thieves to lurk,
the Ohio State study found
the total number of buildings
on a farm or residential tract
did not relate to burglary,
thievery, or vandalism
Surprisingly, what comes
into play is the condition of
the buildings The resear
chers asked respondents m
their survey on rural crime
to rate their buildings for
overall condition ex-
cellent, good, fair 01 pool
After pouring over the
data, it was determined that
the chances ot burglar,
(Turn to Page 03)
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