Jacks (and Jills) of all trades: the gentle art of policing rural Iceland

Oddsson, Guðmundur; Hill, Andrew Paul; Bjarnason, Þóroddur

doi:10.1080/2578983x.2021.1979867

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…communicators and have the skills to de-escalate situations through dialogue. The strong informal social control present in rural areas helps officers in this regard(Oddsson et al, 2021). The fact that police work is much more social in rural areas and must therefore be understood in that context is also confirmed in a recent article focusing on the situation in Sweden(Hällgren et al, 2021).…”

mentioning

confidence: 85%

Essential rural services in the Nordic Region – Challenges and opportunities

Slätmo¹,

Bogason²,

Vasilevskaya³

et al. 2022

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mentioning

confidence: 85%

Essential rural services in the Nordic Region – Challenges and opportunities

Slätmo¹,

Bogason²,

Vasilevskaya³

et al. 2022

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“…Similarly, in an Icelandic context, Oddsson et al (2021) found that understaffing and overwork pose challenges however there are unique opportunities which emphasise "soft policing" as officers must develop a range of skills to police rural spaces, including leveraging community social capital and minimal use of force. Finally, Terpstra et al (2023) focus on officer perspectives of changes in rural policing in the Netherlands in recent decades, with attention to organisation shifts.…”

Section: Francementioning

confidence: 99%

Police relationships and engagement with rural citizens: perspectives of front-line police in the United Kingdom, Australia, and France

Mulrooney,

Bullock,

Mouhanna

et al. 2024

PIJPSM

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PurposeThis article examines challenges and strategies related to police relationships and engagement with rural communities in England and Wales, Australia and France. It aims to bridge a gap in knowledge around how police balance public demands with organisational and contextual constraints, exploring the role of communication technology in overcoming geographical and cultural barriers in rural policing.Design/methodology/approachThe research draws upon 121 semi-structured interviews conducted across three distinct jurisdictions. In the United Kingdom and Australia, interviews were conducted via Microsoft Teams, while face-to-face interviews were conducted in France. Participants were recruited through the purposive sampling of police working in rural areas. The data were thematically analysed using NVivo Software.FindingsRural communities have low expectations of policing services, a consequence of geography, organisational structures and limited resource allocation. Building relationships can be challenging owing to isolation and terrain, the need for officers to have local and cultural knowledge, and difficulties in recruiting officers in rural posts. Technology-mediated communication has played a part in the solutions (e.g. social media). However, this may not always be suitable owing to limited connectivity, citizen and police preferences for communication and engagement, and the institutional and cultural nuances surrounding the application of technology.Originality/valueThis article provides empirical insights into the attitudes and experiences of rural police officers, highlighting the distinctive policing context and engagement needs of rural communities. The research underscores the necessity for contextually aware engagement. It suggests that while technology-mediated communication offers some solutions to spatial challenges, its effectiveness may be limited by access, generational preferences and the adaptability of police institutions and cultures.

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“…In Slovenia, Meško and Hacin (2022) show differences in police legitimacy between rural and urban police and these differences were found in relation to organizational commitment, relations with colleagues, and audience legitimacy. Oddsson et al. (2021), in their study of rural policing in Iceland, found officers reported understaffing, overwork, many tasks with little backup, and blurring of work-life boundaries as the main challenges of rural policing.…”

Section: Social Capital Rural Space and Policingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“It's kind of preventative maintenance”: social capital and policing in rural schools

Spencer,

Ricciardelli,

Hepburn

2024

PIJPSM

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PurposeThe purpose of this article is to examine the expectations, challenges and tensions officers describe while engaged with public schools to demonstrate that officers engage with students in public schools in a conscious, goal-oriented process to establish and maintain useful relationships.Design/methodology/approachData collection involved 104 semi-structured interviews (including follow up interviews) and 31 focus groups, conducted between 2014 and 2018 with police officers working in rural areas of a province in Atlantic Canada.FindingsUtilizing the concept of social capital, we analyze practices of investments alongside the understanding of rurality as socially interconnected and the rural school as a particular site of interconnectedness for police officers. We demonstrate how, while accumulating social capital, officers face role tension and fundamental barriers when trying to integrate into rural school communities.Originality/valueBy demonstrating the specificities of building social capital in schools and community environments in a rural setting, we contribute to understandings regarding the unique opportunities and challenges faced by police in rural schools in integrating effectively into schools and responding to youth-specific problems.

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Jacks (and Jills) of all trades: the gentle art of policing rural Iceland

Cited by 7 publications

References 35 publications

Essential rural services in the Nordic Region – Challenges and opportunities

Essential rural services in the Nordic Region – Challenges and opportunities

Police relationships and engagement with rural citizens: perspectives of front-line police in the United Kingdom, Australia, and France

“It's kind of preventative maintenance”: social capital and policing in rural schools

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