Violent crime is on the rise in many jurisdictions, including rural communities. Rural law enforcement agencies are left to tackle these issues, often with a decreasing tax base, personnel shortages, expansive geographic territory, and lack of access to medical treatment that can make violent crimes more fatal than in urban settings.

The Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative (RVCRI) is an effort, funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), to provide funding and assistance to rural law enforcement agencies seeking to reduce violent crime and address problems associated with violent crime. Funding and support are available for implementing violent crime reduction strategies, improving investigations, improving services to victims, and for enhancing collaboration between local stakeholders. This will be achieved through the provision of training; deployment of technology; improvement of communication and collaboration between stakeholders; and expansion of community-based crime prevention programs and partnerships with victim services providers.

The National Policing Institute (the Institute) partnered with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the Small and Rural Law Enforcement Executives Association (SREELA) to provide training and technical assistance (TTA) to rural law enforcement agencies implementing and enhancing resources such as personnel, equipment, services, and analytical tools to address rural violent crime; document how personnel and/or resources will be used to reduce violent crime; and track outcomes to determine the impact each violent crime reduction strategy had on operations.

The RVCRI Team will work with grantees to establish, implement, and measure the success of their strategies and strategic plans by:

  • Providing comprehensive recommendations to ensure key strategic elements are addressed;
  • Creating a repository of evidence-based best practices and communities of practice;
  • Supporting the establishment of clear data collection processes to measure outcomes in a manner consistent with the SARA Model; and
  • Conducting regular meetings to track progress and identify TTA and peer learning opportunities
RVCRI One-Pager