Rural and suburban areas in the U.S. are experiencing a higher rate of police shootings than urban areas, according to a new study published in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
The study looked at police shootings from 2015 to 2020 and found that 45% occurred in rural areas and 22% in suburban areas.
Julie Ward, one of the study’s authors and a professor at Vanderbilt University, said the focus on urban shootings led researchers to examine the numbers in other areas.
“We wanted to see if that actually matches the per capita rates of shootings in these areas,” Ward said.
The findings reveal that police shootings affect rural areas at a higher rate than urban areas.
“When we look on a per capita basis, the rates of these shootings appear to be substantial in rural and suburban areas relative to urban areas,” Ward said.
Betsy Brantner Smith, spokesperson for the National Police Association, said that from a law enforcement perspective, working in rural and suburban areas involves significant risk.
“It’s actually more dangerous to be a rural or suburban law enforcement officer than to be an urban law enforcement officer,” Brantner Smith said.
Brantner Smith noted that so far this year, 41 police officers have been fatally shot, with nine in urban areas.
“The vast majority were either in rural or suburban areas,” Brantner Smith said.
She recommends examining crime against police in these areas, in addition to police shootings.
“Not only to look at crime and criminology but also to look at attacks on police officers,” Brantner Smith said.
Ward also noted that in rural areas, less than half of the shootings involved local police. She believes that any proposed reforms should apply to both local police and local sheriffs.
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