The use of surveys of public attitudes to monitor the performance of the police and to set policing priorities is limited by which questions are asked and how they are framed, particularly regarding issues about which most people have little direct experience. Surveys between 1982 and 1988 found that public confidence in the police declined even among groups that have traditionally been most supportive. By 1992 general satisfaction with the police had not risen above the 1988 level. People who have had contacts with the police, either by reporting an incident or by being stopped, are more likely to be satisfied with the police response if they were kept informed of any action taken, feel they were treated politely and fairly and that the police were interested in what they said. People are more satisfied with the police and are likely to be less fearful of crime the more police they see on foot patrol. In setting operational priorities, the public wants the police to focus on traditional crime concerns by dealing with serious violence, burglary, and vehicle-related thefts, and they want the police to come quickly when called. The author advises that the priorities set by the public for the police may not be possible to fulfill with limited police resources. 19 references