It would seem that this schedule responds to certain requirements better than others. On balance, however, the 12-hour shift schedule seems to have many advantages over the more traditional 8-hour rotating shift schedule common to policing. With regard to the 12-hour schedule, managers expressed concern about the opportunity to communicate with their staff, citizen complaints, deployment flexibility, potential costs, the long period of time away from the organization, continuity of investigations, and identification with the police profession. Some of these concerns are more serious than others, and some evolve from a failure to adjust the organizational and administrative structures. It must be recognized that some individuals are not able to tolerate shift work and that the intensity and type of police duty and the age of the police officers need to be more fully considered. 1 figure, 2 tables, and 61 references