The operations of community policing constitute four associated elements: (1) community-based crime prevention; (2) proactive servicing as opposed to emergency response; (3) public participation in the planning and supervision of police operations; and (4) shifting of command responsibility to lower level ranks. Selected police departments were studied to determine whether there are similarities in the ways they have conceptualized the goals and objectives of the community policing process. It is apparent that although there is a strong commitment to the philosophy of community policing, there has been limited effort to establish how successful it is in dealing with problems encountered. A major impediment to an ongoing monitoring and evaluation of new community-based programs is the lack of resources within police organizations. The most important challenge will be to change the organizational style of policing through job enrichment, participative decisionmaking, and new corporate style. 10 references