Rural policing: Patterns and problems of “micro” departments

Scholarly interest in policing concentrates on a few giant urban departments; very little is known about small agencies, although they are far more typical. This is an exploratory investigation designed to address that neglected area. The data source was in‐depth interviews with law enforcement officials, primarily chiefs of “micro” departments in rural Oklahoma. The objectives were: to learn about the rural police officer and his job ‐ qualifications, daily tasks and functions; see how small towns are sewed by their police; find out how rural police departments relate to other law enforcement agencies and to city government, and discover why tiny rural communities choose to maintain a police department. Explicit descriptive or explanatory findings were not the main goal; rather, this study explores a relatively unresearched area to obtain insights and information that may be useful in continuing more in‐depth study. Among the research topics that might emerge from this inquiry are questions of power relationships between small town elected officials and police department appointees. The literature review introducing this study may also contribute to encouragement of scholarly work in rural policing.