myAIPMRural Victimization and Policing during the COVID-19 Pandemic
J. Andrew Hansen & Gabrielle L. Lory | American Journal of Criminal Justice
Abstract
Rural criminal justice organizations have been overlooked by researchers and underfunded in the United States, exacerbating problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Access to victims’ services has been a longstanding issue in rural communities, but has become more difficult due to stay-at-home orders and changes in daily activities. Requirements such as social distancing, necessitated by COVID-19, have increased the risk of domestic violence and rural service providers are less prepared than those in more populated areas. Rural law enforcement agencies, on the other hand, have traditionally operated with smaller budgets and staffs—conditions that have complicated the response to the unprecedented event. Many of the recommended practices for policing during a pandemic have been more applicable to larger urban and suburban departments with more resources and officers extended across many units. The strain on rural victims’ services and law enforcement has been felt only a few months into the coronavirus pandemic, while the long-term effects are not yet known.
“Rural” is a term familiar to the general public that has been largely overlooked by criminologists (Hollis and Hankhouse,2019; Weisheit, Wells, and Falcone,1994; Weisheit, Wells, and Falcone,1995). The amount of attention devoted to rural crime and criminal justice systems has been disproportionate to the amount of rurality in the United States, where an estimated 19.3% of the population resides in rural communities, which comprise 97% of the total land area.Footnote1 Official neglect of rural criminal justice organizations in the U.S., and the individuals who work for and rely upon them, has created historical problems with respect to rural victimization and law enforcement that have been amplified during the coronavirus pandemic. Concerns over reduced access to victims’ services in rural communities have been intensified as daily routines have shifted in response to stay-at-home orders, placing rural residents at increased risk of domestic violence (DV).
Rural victims’ services providers have been historically underfunded and were ill-equipped for the increased demand caused by the stay-at-home orders. The aforementioned programs can only effectively help when victims are capable of accessing the resources and the current pandemic has made that virtually impossible by forcing abusers into victims’ daily routines. These conditions have created unique complications in responding to rural victimization during the coronavirus pandemic.Footnote2 Police in the U. S. were also largely unprepared for COVID-19 (Moir, 2020; Oliver, 2020), but rural law enforcement (RLE) agencies tend to be smaller in size, with fewer policies, and lower budgets than their urban and suburban counterparts (National Police Foundation, 2020; Weisheit et al., 1994, 1995). On the other hand, small towns and rural areas exhibit distinct cultural norms that dictate a style of policing characterized by service- and prevention-oriented officers (Johnson and Rhodes,2008; Meagher, 1985), and informal remedies to community problems (Falcone, Wells, and Weisheit,2002; Wooff, 2015, 2017), which have been appropriate for the law enforcement response to COVID-19.
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Rural Victimization and Policing during the COVID-19 Pandemic, J. Andrew Hansen & Gabrielle L. Lory, American Journal of Criminal Justice, 2020
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