Even though most police agencies in the United States are considered small or rural, most policing research is focused on larger, urban agencies. For example, when you hear the term “hot spots,” what do you imagine? A block or street segment? Or maybe an intersection? You probably don’t imagine a straight, single lane road with crop fields on either side. Or when you imagine a patrol officer’s beat, you probably think of it as a few city blocks – however, 75% of police agencies have less than 25 officers. Despite crime rates rising in rural areas over the last decade, policing research has often overlooked the crime reduction needs of small and rural agencies.  

To support small and rural agencies’ crime reduction efforts, evidence-based policing is the ideal balance between research and professional experience. Evidence-based policing uses the results of scientific research, evaluation, and analysis when making, assessing, and enforcing policing policies, programs, and procedures. Evidence-based policing practices (EBPPs) are not a one-size-fits-all approach, but instead allow individual agencies to enhance their existing resources and capabilities by leveraging evaluated strategies. 

EBPPs are a method of institutionalizing research into an agency’s decision-making process. EBPPs are one resource available to help enhance small and rural police agencies’ crime reduction efforts by directing their existing resources for maximum effectiveness.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) collaborated with the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and George Mason University’s Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP) to address the needs of small, rural, and tribal agencies. Check out the new guidebook on EBPPs for small, rural, and tribal agencies. The guidebook uses conclusions from conversations with police leaders, case studies, promising practices, and evidence-based research to give agencies another tool in their toolbox for crime reduction efforts.  

For more information, please visit the IACP’s Translating Crime Reduction Best and Emerging Practices for Small and Rural Agencies project page.