In contrast to the early efforts at community policing in the United States, which were usually limited to developing new approaches within the police agency and to increasing community involvement, the first efforts in Germany are striving for a more government-wide approach that focuses on community-based crime prevention. However, the German legal system, as a civil law system, is based on a systematically integrated set of rules and regulations in a structured system of codes that dictates the organization, structure, and operation of all Federal, State, and local government agencies. Police mandates shape and influence the scope of police work and the ability of police to engage in community policing activities. As a result, local police agencies have little room to develop their own approach to community policing. Another possible limiting factor is the reality that all local police are subdivisions of the State police. In addition, based on experiences in recent German history, the public is suspicious of police involvement in more proactive and preventive neighborhood work and of cooperative efforts in crime prevention, including neighborhood watch programs. These factors make it difficult to obtain the needed community support. Nevertheless, the recent efforts toward community policing are promising and indicate that much is already possible within the existing legal constraints, particularly if the public first experiences positive changes. 38 references