Cameras!
I too live in a rural area. We have very limited law enforcement resources. The homeowners in the area have formed a neighborhood watch program & we meet four times a year to discuss "the hood". The Sheriff was kind enough to attend one of our meetings to answer questions and make suggestions. It was very informative to say the least.
I thought he offered two very good suggestions:
1. Own a gun and know the law about self defense. He passed out pamphlets on the local gun laws. The response time to our area averages 40 minutes at night. The Sheriff knows we are on our own to some degree and has the sense to acknowledge our needs.
2. Buy cheap disposable cameras and pass them out to anyone in the neighborhood willing to take them. Anytime you see something suspicious, take a picture. If something is "going down", take lots of pictures. All you can.
He said his department can and will prosecute based on pictorial evidence & he will even pay to have the film developed if need be. Thugs don't like cameras, and if they notice people taking pictures they might find somewhere else to do their thing.
I've since been out front with a camera (no cheapo one here) taking pictures of suspicious cars and can say the reaction has been good - they leave real fast and don't come back.