Police Scotland has recently consulted on its new strategy 2026, which focuses on inclusion, prevention, response, collaborative working, accountability, adaptability and, importantly, localism, writes Napier University criminology lecturer Dr Andrew Wooff.
My research suggests that there is a lot of existing good police practice in remote rural communities which could be adopted at a national level and which could contribute towards these strategic aims. To put it another way, rural police officers tend to be experts at working in an adaptable, inclusive and collaborative way, focusing on the local needs of a geographically dispersed community because this is their only option.
This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, the large geographic area involved in rural policing beats mean that officers often have little choice other than to be adaptable because back-up is a long-distance away and transporting detainees to the nearest police cells can take hours. Secondly, many rural police officers live and work in the community that they police, which means they often have a rooted knowledge and understanding of the pertinent issues. This has associated challenges, but it can facilitate collaborative and inclusive policing more readily than in larger urban environments. Thirdly, this knowledge can enable different policing methods to be used, whereby community solutions are sought to deal with low-key crime and disorder in a more inclusive manner than in urban locations. This can help the police develop trust and accountability more readily with community members and allow officers to be more visible.
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