Fifteen papers by experts in the fields of community policing and police management focus on the requirements of organizational change to community policing in rural police departments. One chapter helps define what community policing might look like in rural America, and another chapter presents information from studies of the nature of rural policing across the United States. A chapter presents data from a national subsample of rural police organizations to examine how far community policing has come and what factors they believe have aided or hindered such a transition. The progression of policing in Canada is highlighted in a chapter to show the dynamics of organizational change. A number of chapters address internal organizational issues. Topics in these chapters include the theory behind organizational change to community policing, the role of police culture as a resource in organizational change, and the benefits of specialized units versus department-wide adoption of community policing. A chapter discusses the ways in which police executives can better get to know their employees; and another chapter focuses on issues related to the selection, training, and retention of employees who might be assigned to community- policing work. The third section of the book moves the discussion of community policing from internal organizational change to external organizational change issues. Topics discussed in these chapters include working with communities, getting to know the community through citizen surveys and focus group interviews, organizing and managing community policing, police-community problem-solving, and the future challenge of the urbanization of rural America. Chapter references and appended sample survey questionnaires and focus group questions, and author and subject indexes.

While most researchers see the urban setting as being the only laboratory for studying crime problems throughout the United States, Crime and Policing in Rural and Small-Town America directly challenges this notion with an authoritative look at crime and the criminal justice system in rural America today. The assumption that rural crime is rare and comparable across various communities has led to incompatible theories and irrelevant practices. In order to transform this misconstruction, the Third Edition offers a clear outline of the definition of rural and provides a vital argument for why rural and small-town crime should be studied more than it is. The book also explores the individual nature of issues that emerge in these communities, including illegal drug production, domestic violence, agricultural crimes, rural poverty, and gangs, in addition to the training needs of rural police, probation in rural areas, and rural jails and prisons. Responding to rural crime requires an awareness of its context and how justice is carried out, as well as an appreciation of how features vary across rural areas. Understanding the relationships among crime, geography, and culture in the rural setting can reveal useful ideas and implications for crime and justice in communities across the United States.

The authors provide stepping stones for rural and small-town agencies to make the organizational changes needed for community policing to take hold. The book introduces the concept of community policing and its many benefits to the agencies and communities that adopt it. Important issues discussed include the challenge of organizational change, as well as examples of community policing obstacles and successes, and the future of community policing in the 21st century.

The police are perhaps the most visible representation of government. They are charged with what has been characterized as an "impossible" mandate -- control and prevent crime, keep the peace, provide public services -- and do so within the constraints of democratic principles. The police are trusted to use deadly force when it is called for and are allowed access to our homes in cases of emergency. In fact, police departments are one of the few government agencies that can be mobilized by a simple phone call, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They are ubiquitous within our society, but their actions are often not well understood. The Oxford Handbook of Police and Policing brings together research on the development and operation of policing in the United States and elsewhere. Accomplished policing researchers Michael D. Reisig and Robert J. Kane have assembled a cast of renowned scholars to provide an authoritative and comprehensive overview of the institution of policing. The different sections of the Handbook explore policing contexts, strategies, authority, and issues relating to race and ethnicity. The Handbook also includes reviews of the research methodologies used by policing scholars and considerations of the factors that will ultimately shape the future of policing, thus providing persuasive insights into why and how policing has developed, what it is today, and what to expect in the future. Aimed at a wide audience of scholars and students in criminology and criminal justice, as well as police professionals, the Handbook serves as the definitive resource for information on this important institution.

Policing reveals much about rural society. It refers to the way that the police, the public and other agencies regulate themselves and each other according to the dominant ideals of society. This can be formally, through the ever-growing spectrum of policing partnerships in neo-liberal countries, or informally, through the performance and enforcement of moral codes and values. This book draws on international inter-disciplinary perspectives to examine the range and consequences of policing across different rural localities. Rural Policing and Policing the Rural is organised into two sections: the first examines who is policing rural areas, while the second examines the nature of rural policing by considering, on the one hand, the policing of rural space and, on the other, how ideas of rurality are regulated. In doing so this book provides a survey of rural policing that will be valuable to academics, students, policy makers and those policing rural places.

Community policing is a philosophy and organizational strategy that expands the traditional police mandate of fighting crime to include forming partnerships with citizenry that endorse mutual support and participation. The first textbook of its kind, Community Policing: A Contemporary Perspective delineates this progressive approach, combining the accrued wisdom and experience of its established authors with the latest research based insights to help students apply what is on the page to the world beyond. ’Spotlight on Community Policing Practice’ sections feature real-life community policing programs in various cities, and problem-solving case studies cover special topics. The text has been revised throughout to include the most current developments in the field such as how the current climate of suspicion associated with terrorism threats affects the trust so necessary for community policing, and how the newest technologies can be harnessed to facilitate police interactions with citizens. Additionally, the book now explores the fragmentation of authority and emphasizes the importance of partnerships among the numerous law enforcement agencies, government agencies, and private social service agencies. * Each chapter contains learning objectives, key terms, and discussion questions that encourage comprehension * Video and Internet links provide additional coverage of topics discussed throughout the text. * Includes a 'Ten Principles of Community Policing' addendum