Rural Areas, Community Policing in

Community policing research has tended to focus on how the community policing and problem-solving approach works in urban areas. Like many other aspects of U.S. policing research, less is known about police agencies and operations in rural environments. The social, demographic, economic, and cultural forces found in urban and rural areas can be profoundly different from urban centers. As a result, both the nature of crime problems and their responses are not necessarily the same. This entry discusses those unique aspects of rural areas that can enhance the viability of community policing as well as aspects of the culture of rural residents that can complicate the use of this policing approach.