Rural policing and territorial accessibility: An analysis of the Guardia Civil operational deployment model in the province of Cáceres, Spain

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Abstract
Although rural criminology has become internationally established, it remains at an early stage of development in Spain, where a significant knowledge gap persists regarding the provision of public safety in rural areas. This article addresses that gap by analysing the operational deployment of the Guardia Civil in the province of Cáceres, a vast, sparsely populated territory with complex topography that severely constrains mobility.Traditionally based on a static structure consisting of physical posts in most municipalities, reductions in personnel and ongoing depopulation have compelled the Guardia Civil to transition towards a dynamic management model centred on “operational hubs” (núcleos operativos). This system groups local posts under a coordinated territorial command. While it aims to guarantee minimum service provision through 24-hour operational patrol coverage, its actual impact on territorial equity and citizens’ access to police services remains unknown. To evaluate this impact, the study applies an original quantitative methodology based on geographic information systems (GIS) to estimate the potential distribution of police service hours per municipality (HPM). This theoretical indicator combines demographic variables, the locations of operational hubs and road-network impedance – derived from origin–destination matrices – to measure public safety in terms of actual accessibility and accounting for the friction imposed by distance and topography.The results reveal a structural inequality in the distribution of police services. The geospatial analysis identifies extreme disparities, with the potential allocation of resources varying by as much as 26-fold between the best-connected and the most isolated municipalities. Clear centre–periphery patterns emerge, heavily disadvantaging mountainous areas. Furthermore, the frequency analysis demonstrates that operational precariousness is the norm: the vast majority of rural municipalities subsist with only minimal police presence, while optimal accessibility is reserved for a small administrative minority.In conclusion, this study diagnoses a latent territorial inequality and provides a replicable GIS-based tool for public planning. It demonstrates that resource allocation based exclusively on demographic criteria is insufficient in depopulated territories and proposes incorporating geospatial accessibility indicators to advance a more equitable model of rural policing.