The agencies were selected on the basis of their self- described participation in community policing and the variation of their approaches to community policing. Data were collected in 1993 by means of a literature review and site visits, which gathered information through document reviews and interviews with police personnel, city officials, and community members. Results revealed three models of community policing: the efficiency-based model, the equity-based model, and the effectiveness-based model. In addition, the two main factors that motivated the development of community policing were problems in police- minority relations and increasing crime problems coupled with difficulty in handling workload demands. Moreover, a police leader who pushed the agency toward community policing was important in each city. Furthermore, the police agencies used a wide variety of organizational configurations to carry out community policing. Findings suggested that the concept of community policing makes sense only within the local context. Thus, the only appropriate method by which to evaluate community policing is to look within a single police agency to determine changes over time, rather than comparing one police agency with another. Appended methodological information and 43 references