This book addresses the causes of rising crime rates resulting from the rapid population growth and industrialization associated with natural resource extraction in rural communities.
“Gas, and Crime gives readers a textured account of the interrelated factors that shape crime in the Bakken and other boomtowns and will be of especial interest to policy makers trying to deal with booms in their own communities.” (Kyle Conway, Great Plains Quarterly, Vol. 38 (4), Fall, 2018)
“What happens when a small rural community becomes the epicenter of an oil and gas boom seemingly overnight? Rick Ruddell (2017) tells that story in Oil, Gas, & Crime, in a meticulously researched, thought provoking, and deliberate contribution to the study of rural life, crime, and human geography. … In sum, Oil, Gas, & Crime tells a story that should appeal to a general, policy, practitioner, and academic audience. … I found the book to be a pleasure to read.” (Scott K. Turner, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, clcjbooks.rutgers.edu, July, 2018)
Rick Ruddell is Professor and Law Foundation of Saskatchewan Chair in Police Studies at the University of Regina.