State and other rural police agencies use relatively few officers to handle a variety of assignments over large geographic areas. Typical models for staffing patrols have been designed for urban departments and are not applicable to rural policing. The proposed model for staffing rural police patrols derives its calculations from variable parameters, which include expected percent of calls served, the desired response time, policing level, and patrolling rates. The model's output indicates the number of officers needed to handle service calls and any additional officers required to police and patrol. The model can also determine the distribution of a fixed staff to geographic areas. Model calculations can be done manually or through a computer program. 20 references and appended mathematics for computing staffing. (Author abstract modified)