Law enforcement officers and other members of the criminal justice system must be trained to recognize borderline mentally retarded individuals, and to distinguish their masking and possibly belligerent behavior from mental illness and ordinary uncooperativeness. How well the police respond to and understand the dimensions of mental retardation will determine the quality of the police and the community's response to mentally retarded suspects and offenders. It is important that principals in the mental health and criminal justice professions meet to dispel myths, illuminate data, confront the unknown, and take on the hard choices that exist in mental retardation policy with respect to criminal justice policy.