These studies present in detail the stressors and limitations faced by rural police officers. See the link at the end of this article for the full article by Oliver and Meier.

As a Chaplain for a Federal agency as well as for a mid size local agency in a largely rural county, I have observed and experienced many of the differences in the stressors of those in a larger urban area and those in small towns and rural agencies.

Following are nine stressors unique to rural cops that come to mind immediately:

Backup. In a large agency, backup is readily available, usually arriving within seconds when called on. In a rural agency, especially on night shifts, backup may be a half hour away, and asleep. For a cop to be pulling over a car load of drunken citizens at 2 a.m. who don’t want to cooperate, or who want to fight him (or her), there’s no time to wait a half hour or more for backup. It will all go bad during the first five minutes. Many times these incidents happen where there is no cell phone coverage, meaning that those driving by have no means of calling in that there is an officer in trouble. And, even if they could, there still would be the half hour or more that it will take for backup to arrive.

Add to the being on a back road with no street lights, no cell phone coverage and possibly spotty radio coverage, the officer being not very used to being threatened and a bit out of shape, due to massive amounts of inactive time. This would be extremely stressful for anyone – and our rural officers are potentially in this situation on a regular basis.

Not enough personnel. In many rural counties, there may be as few as two or three officers to cover the entire county at night, and perhaps no more than twelve or thirteen during the day. So, let’s say that in the southwest sector of the county there is a multi car accident, needing roadblocks, investigation and support.

In the northeast sector, there is a fight in progress at a local nightclub, involving a half dozen patrons. Meanwhile, in the center of the county there is an armed robbery in progress, and two domestics over at the trailer park. Where are we going to get the personnel to handle all of these? Which citizens get put on the back burner while dispatch is trying to prioritize the calls?

One of the stressors in a smaller agency related to not enough personnel, is that usually responsibilities are assigned according to expertise or experience, meaning that one or two detectives cover all the homicides and fatal accidents. Another one or two may cover all the child abuse and domestic situations. When the stress of these duty assignments gets to be overwhelming, there are no alternate personnel available for relief.

In a larger agency, personnel who are feeling overly stressed or burnt out with a particular duty MAY be able to have a temporary change of assignment or duty for a few weeks or months. In a small agency there simply is not enough manpower for this.

Never truly a day off. In an urban agency, personnel are likely to live in the suburbs. When the officer has a day off, it is as close to a real day off as is possible in law enforcement. In the small town however, the cop is still a cop, and will be called upon as a cop by neighbors, people at the hardware store, the local bar or club and at school events. Several cops that I know from smaller agencies tell me how they don’t like to go out on their days off, simply because of this factor. If they want to shop, they don’t want to be called on to deal with a shoplifter or belligerent customer. They don’t want to have to run out into the parking lot to deal with a purse snatcher or drunk. This is a true stressor, which keeps many cops at home, or limited to hanging out at other cops homes or the FOP.

Familiarity. In larger agencies, there is generally a level of anonymity between the officer and the people he or she is serving. This is a valid safety factor. When facing an armed opponent in the city, the officer is clear about his/her own survival and is ready to use deadly force if required.

In a small town, it’s harder to recognize the threat if the armed suspect is a cousin, or one of your friends from high school, and you were on the basketball team together. That bit of familiarity means that the officer may hesitate to use deadly force, which could mean the officer’s life. If deadly force IS used, the officer faces major stress and increased likelihood of PTSD, after shooting an old friend, relative or associate.

Even more stressful is the interconnectivity of the residents of a small town. The perpetrators in a small town are very likely to be kinfolk of the officer, his or her fellow officers or of town and community leaders. It is harder to weigh in on the scales of justice when enforcing the law on those you know or are familiar with.

Then, there is the stress of everyone knowing everyone else’s business in a small town. If the officer’s teenagers are getting into trouble or running with a wild crowd, everyone knows it. If he or she is going through marriage problems or is having an extramarital affair, it will be no secret. If the officer consumes more alcohol than others think he/she should, word will get out that the officer is a drunk.

Vulnerability. Equally stressing is the fact that in a small town or rural area, as a cop, it is known where you live. Your patrol car is out in front of your house when you are home, and when you are on duty, and your family is unprotected, your car is out of the driveway. Your fellow townspeople know which kids at the bus stop are your kids; which dog is yours; who your wife is, when she is at home or out and about doing her errands. This is a level of vulnerability that is not usually faced by those in urban areas where they are likely to live in the suburbs and commute to the city for duty.

If a perpetrator is out to get you, it may happen anytime, anywhere. On the job, at the mall, a school event, church or anywhere else. You are known and so is your family. Your kids are vulnerable on the playground, as the perpetrator may tell his kids to “teach that cop’s kid a lesson.” 

Being known as a cop means that the small town officer is never totally off duty or able to interact simply as a resident. He or she is a marked individual, 24/7.

Death Notifications. In any and all agencies, death notifications are a dreaded duty. There are few duties more debilitating than knocking on someone’s door and informing them that their loved one has died, and then remaining there while the individual and their family weep, wail and sometimes collapse in grief and shock.

One duty that IS more debilitating is when the individual or the family are known to the officer. I serve as a Chaplain for mid size agency as well as Federal agency, and do death notifications for a state agency. I find all of them draining - emotionally and spiritually. Without a doubt, the absolute worst ones are the ones where I know the individual or the family, or only discover that I know them when the door is answered.

One of the worst ones for me happened a few years ago. I got the call around 2 a.m. and was given a name and the address of the next of kin for the notification. As I pulled into the neighborhood, I realized that a friend of my daughter lived on that street. As I pulled into the driveway of the house, I recognized the car in the driveway and my heart sank. The mother of my daughter’s friend was not married to the man she was living with, so I did not recognize the name that was given to me.

When I knocked on the door, her partner came sleepily to the door and greeted me by my first name. He said, “Hey Steve, come on in! Anything I can help you with? Are you broke down? Out of gas? What’s up?”  I had to tell him to sit down, and then broke the news that his partner had been killed in a car accident about a mile from home. Then, I stayed there as he woke up the kids, and brought them into the living room, where “Steve Davis has something to tell you about Mommy.”

After dealing with the kids (aged 8 and 16), I had to help him contact his partner’s parents, whom I also knew well. Her dad had suffered several heart attacks in the previous few months. So, after talking with them on the phone, they wanted me to wait at the house for them to arrive, so I could tell them again.

It was dawn before I got out of there, and I felt that heaviness and drained feeling that comes when you feel like a part of you has died. I felt that way for several days. Why? Because I knew the family, knew the kids, the parents and some of the co workers and neighbors that came over to find out why all the cars were pulling into the neighborhood in the wee hours of the morning. That’s a stressor particular to officers in a small town or rural setting.

Lack of funds for equipment and training. Where the larger agencies have access to more grants, funds and line item monies for training and equipment, the smaller agencies suffer from a smaller tax base and fewer dollars made available. Tactical vests and other gear aren’t always considered a high priority, because of the perception that it is not dangerous to be a small town or rural cop. People tend to forget that a rural bullet is no less deadly than an urban one.

With a smaller agency, not only is the funding frequently not available for training in the latest law enforcement practices, but there is the lack of personnel to run the agency while the others are out getting training. So, the officers in the small agency are left to their academy training, what they have picked up on the Internet and their snap judgments at the time of a life and death incident.

Guilt. For many small town and rural officers, guilt is a day to day factor of their lives, due to perceived inactivity and wondering if the taxpayers wonder if they are “earning their keep.” Law enforcement officers are keenly aware of the budget constraints of their department. So, when day after day passes with nothing more exciting than confronting kids skipping school, dealing with a dog who knocks over neighbor’s trash cans, or stopping a tourist for going 35 mph in a 25 zone, the cop feels that he or she is not making optimal use of time and tax payer dollars. And, believe it or not, that is a stressor.

High speed chases. In an urban environment, when a perpetrator attempts to flee and elude, there is a geographical limit to how fast the chase can get, due to urban traffic, pedestrians and intersections. For the rural cop, a perpetrator may hit speeds well in excess of 100 mph. Is the urban cop going to willingly be outrun and out driven by a lawbreaker? Not on your life! Especially in light of the guilt factor listed above. This is a chance to be a cop and to earn the money and admiration that is already given by the public.

So, the rural cop, pursues the criminal at high speeds, on poorly engineered roads, roads where deer and other wildlife frequently hurl themselves in front of traffic, in what is frequently an under-maintained vehicle, possibly with stale gas, and puts himself at risk, in an effort to protect the public and to prove that he truly is “enforcing the law around here.”

And what happens should he be able to apprehend the vehicle, without ending up in a high speed crash first? He is there on the side of the road, veins pumped full of adrenaline, his heart pounding, and with no backup, at least not for 10 minutes or more.

Hopefully, the perpetrator will be alone, unarmed and cooperative.

Hopefully, the perpetrator won’t be a local dignitary who now threatens the cop with his job, for putting all the local citizens at risk.