Two contributors each address six topics. A historian and a sociologist first discuss the colonial dimensions of the British police and police reform in the 18th and 19th centuries. Papers on the second topic examine the legal mandate of the police as embodied in the substantive criminal law. Two sociologists then consider the purposes and methods for police handling of public order problems with a political dimension. The demands made by the public on the police and the division between formal and informal social control are analyzed by criminologists who have conducted fieldwork in police-community relations. A summary of research on police effectiveness is coupled with a discussion of problems in evaluating police performance and assessment techniques for police managers. The final papers on accountability address constitutional limits on police powers and autonomy, as well as political processes and structures involved in setting goals for police and monitoring their activities. References.