Fractious fracking

Research from Ural Federal University (UrFU) and Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania has found a link between rising crime rates and a boom in the mining of shale oil and gas in the US states of West Virginia, North Dakota and Arkansas. Despite homelessness and non-violent crimes against families and children becoming less frequent during the years of the shale boom, the number of violent crimes increased by 36 per cent. The researchers point to a number of possible explanations for the rise, including the fact that fracking promotes increased income inequality, with only a very small proportion of the population benefitting from royalty income. The temporary nature of jobs can also create friction between fracking workers and local residents. Kazi Sohag, an assistant professor at UrFU, argues that until the negative environmental effects of fracking are reduced, optimal tax policies implemented and gender imbalance corrected, crime rates will remain higher in these rural states.