Bush crime and the pull of rural dystopia

Entire crops of walnuts and avocados have disappeared in the US, wheat silos have been emptied, and prize rams smuggled off properties in the dead of night.

These brazen thefts are part of the strange world of rural crime, a broad area of offending explored in-depth for the first time in the new international Encyclopedia of Rural Crime.

Australian editor and contributor, the University of New England's Dr Alistair Harkness, said rural crime was often downplayed, despite being unique in its harms and methods.

"Farm crime takes a fair bit of ingenuity and a lot of agricultural knowledge," Dr Harkness told AAP.

"It can be driven by stock prices and disasters. When times are tough, there might be a contractor or a labourer who sees a chainsaw, or a bike, and thinks, 'I can make a few dollars here'.

"Or things like a $500,000 wheat header from Horsham that ends up in Mount Isa two days later that's been stolen to order.

"During a drought, people steal water. It's anything and everything - even fence palings - that has value and can be offloaded."

The book, a collection of short research papers from 80 criminal specialists around the world, also investigates how hate crimes, extremism and offences against tourists can manifest in rural settings.

One chapter examines how regional communities handle a rise in dark tourism, as pop culture drives curiosity about old jails, historic houses, or the sites of high-profile murders, atrocities and disasters.

Dark tourism is wrapped up in a fascination with "rural dystopias", the authors said, which can be an alluring contrast to bucolic holidays set amongst remote beaches or rolling plains.

"This rural idyll can quickly be challenged and subverted, often aided by growing popular culture references," Australian contributor Jenny Wise wrote.

"The rural can become a place of conflict, hardship and violence and also horror.

"While some communities have been stigmatised by the media with concepts of rural dystopia, others have openly embraced 'darker' tourism activities."

Dr Harkness said a critical part of the research collection looks at access to justice in homogenous rural cultures.

"If somebody is perceived to be a bit different and they're victimised, they're probably less likely to go to the police station and report it," Dr Harkness said.

"They might think 'the copper behind the counter is probably a member of the footy club or goes to the same pub' and will they be believed or taken seriously?"

The researchers hope the book will inform law enforcement in country areas, so police and other agencies understand the vast range of issues that affect small communities and why crimes can go unreported.

"There can be a reluctance to report in fear of reprisal and revenge - people might know that it was their neighbour but they don't want any repercussions.

"Those reporting issues then lead to resourcing issues as governments look and say 'there's no problem here'.

"There have to be different measures to make decisions as there are always social complexities in rural spaces.

"It's about awareness that rural crime is more than sheep duffing or cattle rustling."

* The Encyclopedia of Rural Crime was published by Bristol University Press in November and is available online in Australia this month.