If the objective of American policy is to encourage and facilitate the reform of police forces abroad so as to smooth transitions to democracy, policymakers must recognize three unavoidable constraints on their efforts. First, unless a regime is dedicated to becoming democratic, there is little that reform of the police can achieve on its own to bring about democracy. Second, the connection between democracy and the forms of policing is weak, because democracy is compatible with many forms of policing; and policing may be organized and conducted similarly in both democratic and nondemocratic countries. Third, during transitions to democracy, democratic reform of the police is likely to be less important in the short term to emerging democratic governments than security. Taking into account both what foreign countries are most likely to accept and what donor governments are most likely to give, there are several reforms that the United States could advocate and support that would contribute to democratic development. These include the orientation of police toward serving the needs of the public rather than the interests of a particular political regime, removing political surveillance and counterinsurgency from police responsibilities, a reduction in the level of force used, and the development of appropriate strategic and managerial approaches rather than enhancing technical capacity. Further, foreign assistance should be contingent on effective efforts by police forces to eliminate all forms of corruption; and foreign assistance should incorporate evaluations of police efficacy and conduct implemented by indigenous scholars and consultants. In order to exploit the limited contribution that police reform can make to the development of democracy abroad, the United States should undertake such efforts only when there is a prior commitment to democracy by host regimes. The training of foreign police officers should be done primarily by local law enforcement personnel; and the implementation of police policy abroad should involve police specialists, area experts, management consultants, and private industry; the role of the Federal Government will be to enlist and coordinate these resources. 6 notes