Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative

RVCRI provides 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.

Project Overview

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. Many rural law enforcement agencies lack the number of sworn personnel needed to adequately cover their jurisdiction. This project is designed to support the development and implementation of problem-solving strategies that specifically address violent crime occurring in rural and affecting rural populations.

The Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative (RVCRI) is an effort, funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), to aid rural law enforcement agencies with improving investigations, implementing violent crime reduction strategies, and 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.

Methodology

The National Policing Institute (NPI) 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

Project Resources

Visit the project’s website at www.RuralVCRI.org.

Project Publications

Coming soon

Strategic Priority Area(s)

Staff Contact(s)

Samantha Rhinerson

Samantha Rhinerson, M.A.

Program Manager

Reginald Thomas

Reginald Thomas, M.S.

Project Associate

Media Contact

Media inquiries should be directed to our Communications team at:

media@policinginstitute.org
202-833-1460

More Information

Project Status: Active

Project Period:  November 2021 -

Location(s): National

Strategic Priority Area(s)

Staff Contact(s)

Samantha Rhinerson

Samantha Rhinerson, M.A.

Program Manager

Reginald Thomas

Reginald Thomas, M.S.

Project Associate

Media Contact

 

Media inquiries should be directed to our Communications team at:

media@policinginstitute.org
202-833-1460