Using 5 measures of police behavior and 11 neighborhood characteristics, this study analyzed data from 60 neighborhoods in Rochester, N.Y.; St. Louis, Mo.; and Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.; that were collected in 1977. The results showed that police offered more assistance to residents and initiated more contacts with suspicious persons and suspected violators in racially heterogeneous neighborhoods. They were less likely to stop suspicious persons in high-crime areas. Suspects encountered by police in lower-status neighborhoods ran three times the risk of arrest compared with offenders encountered in higher status neighborhoods, regardless of crime type, offender's race and demeanor, and victim preferences for arrest. Variation in police use of coercive authority was linked to the racial composition of the neighborhood, but was not attributable to the race of individuals confronted by the police. Officers were less likely to file incident reports in higher-crime neighborhoods. Tables and 29 references. (Author abstract modified)