This book is about crime and community safety in rural areas. Crime is oftenregarded as an urban rather than a rural issue. Is this because rural areas are saferthan urban areas? We suggest in this book that even if they are, this is just apartial view of what safety in rural communities is or what it is perceived to be.The relationship between crime and community characteristics is complex,determined by a set of interdependent factors that, together, create nuanced differencesof what is thought to be safety in rural areas. The chapter defines theaim, scope, and structure of the book.