Relationship Between Social Capital and Crime in Rural Australia

Abstract

The paper investigates the relationship between social capital and crime in rural Australia. First the paper outlines the conceptualisation of social capital which has informed this research. It suggests two key links between social capital and crime which has led researchers to utilise the latter as a proxy measure of the former and questions the theoretical justification for this by reference to the concepts of bonding, bridging and linking social capital. The paper then provides an overview of key themes within criminological research in rural Australia. Using original empirical data from research undertaken in rural Queensland the paper explores the relationship between social capital and crime within the context of small rural communities, emphasising the role of the local newspaper in influencing local opinion on issues of law and order. The empirical results challenge the established theoretical connection between social capital and crime and suggest that the level of crime cannot be used as a simple proxy for the level of social capital. The results also illustrate the manifestation of the downside of social capital and suggest that the concept of linking social capital plays a critical role in fostering a tolerance of diversity within otherwise cohesive and functional communities.

Keywords: Social capital, crime, rural Australia, small towns, newspaper reporting.

Introduction

In an effort to expand on theory surrounding the concept of social capital, researchers are understandably keen to utilise easily accessible data to measure levels of social capital across time and space. However, several critics have questioned the validity of research findings which, it is argued, have failed to adequately conceptualise the multifaceted nature of social capital. Such studies have subsequently used inappropriate or inadequate tools for its measurement thus undermining the value of the concept (Mohan & Mohan, 2002; Stone, 2001; Woolcock,

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