Local officials can improve their police departments by: (1) aggressively recruiting police officers from the ranks of the military; (2) improving techniques used to detect and prevent crime; (3) targeting the small number of criminals responsible for most of the serious crime; (4) making salaries commensurate with responsibilities and performance; (5) privatizing and civilianizing non-police administrative functions; (6) promoting community policing; and (7) demanding direct accountability of police commanders in the field. Congress can help by: (8) providing more flexible funding for local law enforcement; (9) reforming criminal procedure; (10) replacing failed federal urban policies with neighborhood empowerment strategies; (11) blocking the appointment of Federal judges who demonstrate an insensitivity to public safety; (12) repealing laws which impinge on the legitimate authority of local and State law enforcement officials; (13) reforming the exclusionary rule; (14) reviewing the impact of the Miranda ruling; and (15) pursuing an innovative empowerment strategy to revitalize inner-city neighborhoods plagued by crime and disorder. Notes, tables