Victimization and the Amish: A Routine Activities Perspective

• In Event: Using Theory to Understand Risk for Victimization

Abstract

There are many misconceptions about the Amish in North America, as there are about crime and rurality in general. One of those is that the Amish are nearly free of crime, with only rare incidents of a victimization. Even though Amish victimization may be less frequent (although it is virtually impossible to calculate a rate because most victim events would not be reported to the police), crime does occur with greater frequency than both the general public and criminologists might expect. There are three periodicals in which news of events in Amish communities is reported -- namely, The Budget, The Diary and Die Botschaft. These reports come from "scribes" who submit news about births, deaths, visitors to a community and other events, including when crimes occur. Using anecdotes gathered from these Amish periodicals, this presentation uses a routine activities perspective to describe patterns of victimization to the Amish and of their risks to crime based on ways that their subculture is changing, including rapid population growth, the establishment of new communities, and a general shift out of agriculture to other forms of enterprise.

Author

• Joseph Donnermeyer, The Ohio State University