Big cities beef up their forces with hi-tech, military-style stuff. Small towns shut the doors and turn to county sheriffs or even the state police to replace them. Good or bad? What happened to the cops who knew everyone in town and could settle disputes because they were neighbors? That knew who was likely to blow before they did? Who were an integral part of the community. Read this Aljazeera story @ http://america.aljazeera.com/articl...ckuponshowyweaponryothersaredisappearing.html
I cannot speak for every community but have observed that this problem has occurred here in Minnesota and other parts of the Upper Midwest farm belt. The problem is that people in those areas hate to pay taxes. Sure, they take full advantage of rural electrification, farm subsidies, taxpayer financed ethanol, highways and rail tracks paid for by your tax dollars which facilitate truck and rail car hauling of commodities. But they refuse to pay for local taxes so that many communities lose their incorporation and they have no means of paying for police services. Then, the county and state send in their police to cover their butts. Who pays for it? The state and county taxpayers while once again the farm belt gets a free ride as they do with the other luxuries mentioned above.
So we don't just bash the rural folks, many of the true owners of farms in rural areas actually live in the cities. Banks that hold the farm mortgage and collect interest. Wealthy account holders in those banks. Agriculture corporations.
