Intertwined rural and urban policing in the local communities of the Pomurje region in Slovenia

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to present the results of research in the region covered by the Murska Sobota Police Directorate based on semi-structured interviews we conducted with community policing officers in the rural and urban areas of Pomurje.Design/methodology/approachCommunity policing is one of the more recent (yet hardly new) ways of ensuring security. It focuses on collaboration between citizens and the police, the joint identification of security issues and resolving them. Not long ago, it was established that policing varies depending on geographical criteria, specifically the urbanisation of the environment since police work in cities is often very narrowly specialised compared to in a rural environment. We were therefore interested in whether the Pomurje region also shows that it is easier to practise community policing in rural areas compared to cities.FindingsThe research results confirm previous findings; namely, that in urban areas approximately two-thirds of the population does not know the community policing officer, leading to the mutual cooperation between residents and the police being poorer than in rural areas. The conclusion describes ways of improving the established situation facing Pomurje.Research limitations/implicationsWe see the limitations of the study in the peculiarities of the Pomurje region; therefore the results cannot be generalised and applied in areas of other police directorates.Originality/valueThe survey offers insight into rural and urban policing in the Pomurje region at the same time, focusing on possibilities for improvements.