1st Istanbul International Geography Congress Proceedings Book
Rural place and crime: the case of Orta (Çankırı)
Arslan Uluç, Barış TaşThis study used a geographical approach to investigate crimes committed against individuals during 2012–2016 in the rural Orta District of Çankırı, Turkey. The theoretical framework was developed by conducting a literature review with emphasis on relevant concepts. Subsequently, fieldwork was conducted wherein all villages in the district were visited to glean elements of their cultural textures and map their geographical, economic, and social structures. Interviews were mainly used in the ethnographic study, and various mapping and graphical methods were utilized to visualize the findings. Maps of the study area, including characteristics of land use, soil groups, and land capability, were created based on 1/25.000 scaled national land cover data and a geological map prepared by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, General Directorate of Agricultural Reform, and the Mining Research and Exploration Authority. Other sources used in this study include documents and data from the Çankırı Provincial Gendarmerie Command, the Central District Gendarmerie Command, and the Central District of Turkey Statistical Institute, as well as the Police Department, Middle District of Food, Agriculture and Livestock Directorate, Central Municipality, Central District, Central Directorate of Meteorology, and Central Registration Office. Maps and area calculations were prepared using ArcGIS (10.3) software. An evaluation according to crime rates and types reaffirms the region’s rural characteristics; notably, the district predominantly experiences crimes such as wounding, threatening, and insulting, which has been widely identified as being specific to the countryside by relevant academic literature.