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.
Six years of tracking officer shootings has made one thing clear: in the smallest towns, violence comes fast, backup is far and too many cops die before help arrives
From school massacres to cross-country kidnappings, some of America’s most brutal crimes happen far from city lights — where officers are outnumbered, under-resourced and overlooked
8 police officer book recommendations to help develop winning techniques on and off the job
From a lack of protective equipment to being hours from backup, small town cops face many challenges not seen by their urban counterparts
The Illinois State Police has a secret weapon for making country roads safer for drivers
Even the smallest departments can conduct basic crime analysis and evaluation of the impact of police operations
Operation Hammer Strike also resulted in the seizure of nearly 1,335 pounds of processed marijuana, three guns and more than $30,000 in cash
Terrorists need three things to be able to act: intention, capability and opportunity. And those can all be interrupted by vigilant policing
Nearly half of the 36,000 annual traffic fatalities in the U.S. occur on rural roads, even though only a fifth of the population lives in rural areas
A West Virginia county takes a whole-community approach to implementing broadband
To understand the world, we have to look through many different lenses. Here’s a selection to get you thinking
Cheyenne County, Kansas covers over 1,000 square miles and is served by four deputies
As rural officers are priced out of the housing market, department heads scramble to fill positions and retain experienced staff
A new grant program via the Bureau of Justice Assistance will release $7.65 million in funding for selected agencies
Some council members expressed dismay and concern over the decision
Implementing effective stakeholder communications is achievable by using the relevant resources and the correct planning
Small police departments that do not have the luxury of their own PIO can hold their own in the high-stakes public information arena
The case highlighted the dangers faced by tribal police officers who often must patrol vast jurisdictions alone
Small town leaders must manage not only their local community’s concerns but also inform national and international media about incidents in their region
Tracking the number of shootings of police officers demonstrates that the risk rural officers face is measurable and substantial
“Alexa, play ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’”
Research indicates that rural locations have higher rates of mental illness, opiate addiction and suicide than urban areas
The incident prompted an active shooter alert but no one was injured, officials said
Understanding the potential for risk, and the different types of criminals game wardens hunt just might save a life
The publications focus on the unique recruitment, retention and operational challenges of rural law enforcement agencies
Chief James Small of the Palmyra Public Safety Department has slowed down officer turnover to nearly a stop
Progressive police leadership can transform even the smallest of agencies without spending a dime
Not all police movies and TV shows are about big-city departments — here’s a selection of those set in the small towns and wilds
A medical examiner’s report ruled out homicide or suicide, saying the man was possibly killed by a mountain lion. But wildlife officials say there’s no evidence of that
In some counties, Indigenous women are murdered at a rate ten times the national average
Poor leadership can be particularly destructive for an agency’s ability to recruit and retain its workforce
There is a ‘healthcare desert’ in rural communities, with a near complete absence of mental healthcare providers in general, never mind ones versed in police stress or trauma
Distance from backup and trauma care are the perils of rural policing
