This article is concerned with perceived differences between rural and urban policing in New Zealand. More specifically with how officers view the effect that rural and urban policing has on their private lives and those of their family members. Using grounded theory as a research method because of its reflexivity in regard to generating questions from emergent data, 16 participants were interviewed. Seven of these participants were stationed in an urban location while nine were recruited from rural stations. The results suggest that rural policing has a greater and often more stressful impact on the private lives of police officers and their families. This suggests a need for the New Zealand Police as an organization to engage in policymaking that gives greater recognition to the rural aspects of policing, with a particular focus being the provision of support for the families of rural officers. (Published Abstract) References