Rural Law Enforcement
In the Rural Law Enforcement section you’ll find news reports and expert articles about what it means to be a police officer in rural America.
A young officer explains how leadership failures — not pay or recruiting budgets — are driving morale and retention problems in small town policing
A campaign dispute in Alabama raises hard questions about dissent, accountability and democracy in elected policing
Proposals addressing housing, childcare, healthcare and collective bargaining remain stalled, despite their potential impact on retention and job satisfaction
When it comes to managing the violence visited on rural officers, we have to refuse to accept the way things have always been done
While everyone is acutely aware of the risks necessitating court security and the liability implications of security failures, actual progress toward security remains highly variable
I don’t think I have ever met anyone else so internally motivated by the call to serve others
While rural officers are strained by the same stressors as officers in the cities, they are less unhappy about it
The FREE program has promise as a strategy for reducing vehicle crashes, particularly those stemming from dangerous driving behaviors
“The fact we’re barely five months into the year is beyond alarming,” Jim Palmer, executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association said
If we won’t acknowledge the risks rural officers face, and make sure they have a chance against them, then honoring their sacrifices with ceremony rings hollow
There is no magical system that kicks in to take care of officers hurt on the job — and that needs to change
There were 87 vacant positions in the agency as of January, which means the department is understaffed by 25%
It’s time to recognize the changes wrought by critical incidents in remote places
The Willard Police Department offers a template for community outreach and engagement
The plight of two LE professionals who both died of duty-related melanomas highlights the inequities in workplace protections afforded to those who protect both humans and our natural resources
If signed into law, it would provide $60 million in grants each year to “smaller” law enforcement agencies, from 2023 to 2027
While the Small and Rural Law Enforcement Executive Association is the new kid on the block, its ranks are building fast
A drone operator located the man, clad in body armor, in the woods as he approached threatened to shoot law enforcement officers
A court rules that an officer was justified in handcuffing a subject during a detector dog sniff
The measure, which would provide $300 million over five years to PDs with no more than 125 officers, was one of several policing bills passed
Why is it okay to skimp on basic safety equipment because we’re talking about a cop instead of a welder or warehouse worker?
Leaders of small departments said rural towns often have more difficulty hiring officers than larger, better-funded cities
Small agencies can always benefit from an extra set of eyes – especially when they are in the sky
A 1932 bloodbath at a remote Ozarks farm that resulted in the death of six LEOs still offers tactical lessons for officers today
The article discussed small town PDs in the US and the disastrous response in Uvalde as though they were related
A discussion about the pros and cons of law enforcement adopting a fire service shift model
A champion of rural law enforcement, Dias is working to document violence against LEOs serving in rural and remote locations
“When I talk to our taxpayers, they ask, ‘Why didn’t we do this sooner?’”
By quantifying what is happening in rural places, there can be no excuse for failure to train, equip and staff rural police to modern, professional standards
Wanting equitable wages for rural cops is not about greed or ingratitude, it’s just economics
A deadeye game warden was praised for his unorthodox rescue of a trapped deer
A chief in Washington State thinks so and is encouraging his cops to sleep on the job
Chief Paul Wegner believes it is a viable solution that he’s willing to try in order to save his staff
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