Source: Orange County Register (CA) Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Pubdate: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 RURAL AREAS DEADLIER FOR POLICE THAN CITIES While the mean streets of big cities may be dangerous for civilians, it's the rural areas that appear the most deadly for police officers, according to FBI statistics. In a study of American police officers killed in the line of duty between 1988 and 1995, the fatality rate for rural officers was 12 per 100,000 officers. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, the comparable death rate for officers in cities with populations of 250,000 or more was 6.5 per 100,000. "These numbers not only refute conventional wisdom and perception but are particularly striking when the overall crime rate in general is much lower in rural areas than in cities," said Ralph A. Weisheit, a professor of criminal justice at Illinois State University. The shock of an officer's slaying is that much more difficult for rural residents to grasp in part because many moved away from cities to escape such big-city type crime. Weisheit, who has co-written a book called "Crime and Policing in Rural and Small-Town America," suggested that officers in smaller police departments may be lulled into a casual attitude when investigating calls because of the familiar routine and feeling at home in their patrol areas.