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.
The lack of mental health support in small law enforcement departments can lead to long-term issues for officers and their families — it’s time for a cultural change to address these challenges head-on
Tradition and local power keep 18,000 police agencies alive, but small departments are collapsing under financial strain. It’s time to talk about bold solutions that could fix the system, and improve both officer and community safety
Exposure to the cold can kill us as fast as any bad guy
Gil Datan died in rugged terrain on timber lands after county officials believe he rolled his ATV
Incident highlights the danger that tribal officers can face when patrolling the huge reservation — sometimes alone
One law enforcement group called it America’s most dangerous park for two years straight after drug smugglers gunned down a ranger
Windie Lazenko has worked with federal prosecutors, the FBI and police, testified before state lawmakers and addressed church and school groups
36-year-old Joseph Jesse Aldridge used a .45-caliber handgun to kill two people each at three homes
Gunman killed seven people and wounded an eighth person in an overnight house-to-house rampage in a small Missouri town
Anchorage police officers are ready to start handing out $100 fines to make sure taking a toke remains something to be done behind closed doors
The cold might not bother Disney’s Queen Elsa, but it’s wreaking enough havoc in Kentucky that a PD announced a joke warrant for the popular character
The antlers of the two bucks were locked together. One deer was dead and the other was thrashing around
In a small agency, the police leader may work shoulder-to-shoulder with officers on the street, and kinship felt among officers and leaders in such cases must be managed as an asset and not a liability
New sheriff says the change is for safety and uniformity
Relationship between local law enforcement and often heavily armed federal officers has always been tense, and now threatens to reach a breaking point
K-9 Tracker was killed while pursuing 50-year-old Billy Wayne Lomaneck
The St. John police department was left short-handed more than two years ago, yet they still manage to above and beyond every day
The owner of the truck had been working on it when he lost control and was struck by the truck
Master Sgt. John Collum, 56, was investigating a prowler when he was struck by a car
Officer Tom Gentner works a beat few ever see — patrolling 20 rustic camps populated by hundreds of homeless people
Their deaths devastated their colleagues, who face the same dangers and vulnerabilities as they patrol a tough terrain and remote villages
Across the country, a modern-day crime more typically associated with the Old West — cattle rustling — is plaguing the livestock industry
The oil boom in the Bakken shale fields has touched off an explosion of growth and wealth on this remote wind-swept prairie. But it has also brought a dark side
A day after blinking in a showdown on the range, federal land managers pledged to pursue efforts to resolve a conflict with a rancher who has refused to pay grazing fees for 20 years
Trooper Ronald Dacre watches over the most sparsely populated patch of land in the eastern US — an area so sprawling the federal government has declared it a frontier
Instead of calling dispatch, the citizen calls your house and asks your kid to get you to come over
When the mercury dips deep below zero, it is important to dress properly and be sure your battery-operated gear is going to work — here’s how
The man was charged with interfering with a police officer and charged a fine, which he plans to appeal
One hunter was charged with taking deer during closed season, discharging a firearm from a roadway and taking deer from a right-of-way
