Critical Perspectives on Rural Policing in Times of Change: Cops, Communication and Context

Abstract

Scotland is classed as 94 per cent rural, with 18 per cent of the population living in inaccessible and remote rural locations. Policing in these contexts requires the use of discretion, order maintenance and an intricate knowledge of the rural communities being policed. Policing in Scotland has undergone significant changes since 2013, with eight forces being amalgamated to form a single police force. With large societal changes, including the COVID-19 pandemic, rural communities have undergone significant transitions in the way they interact with law enforcement. Not only has this led to a reorganisation of how policing is done nationally, but it has also impacted on the way rural communities are policed and the context for social control in these locations. Utilising the theoretical concepts of ‘abstract policing’ and the ‘totality of rural space’, this chapter brings together data collected across two case studies in rural Scotland to consider the importance of different rural contexts for understanding rural policing and examine how organisational change and COVID-19 have impacted on police–community relations.