Traditional policing is primarily reactive, whereas community policing takes a more proactive stance toward crime. Concern about community policing centers around society's expectations of police officers. Recognizing that confusion surrounds what community policing means and general functions of police officers, the National Institute of Justice supported a research effort to define community policing. Police departments were selected for the study based on their proclaimed statements about community policing efforts. Police agencies in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Oregon, California, and New York were selected for study. Interviews with police officers showed varying definitions of community policing. The 16 police officers who said they engaged in community policing differed significantly from traditional police officers in describing what they did. Community policing appeared to involve different philosophies and strategies and seemed to represent a way of improving police-community relations. 8 references