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Abstract
Historically, personal experience led many people to believe gangs were a serious problem; however, official reports generally presented the problem as not being severe. Research on gangs concluded that a 2009 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report confirmed the existence of more than 28,100 gangs, with some 731,000 members nationwide. The primary goal of this study was to explore the phenomenon of gang violence in rural communities and the innovative strategies rural police organizations adopt to address the problem. The overarching questions for this study were: How does a rural police organization with limited organizational complexity (limited personnel, technological capability, and funding) complicated by general crimes (traffic violation, domestic violence, drugs, juvenile delinquency, etc.) respond to gang violence? And, How has gang violence in rural communities altered the organizational structure of rural police organization? The generic qualitative study explored how ten rural police organization in South Carolina respond to gang violence and the influence of gang violence on their organizational structure. The results of the study captured themes that related to innovative practices, officer awareness, community interfacing, community relations, proactive policing, gang prevention programs, collaboration between specialized units, funding and manpower, education, and gang violence influence. Currently in existence is a scant of empirical research on rural police and gang violence. The findings of this study may bridge this gap in the literature and provide a knowledge base other researchers might use to further discussion on gang violence and rural police organization.
