Gap analysis is a technique, originally developed in marketing, to measure customer expectations and perceptions of service. This study of three police examples of a gap analysis approach identifies three ways that forces might use gap analysis to identify public priorities for policing: to judge quality of service in routine service encounters, such as at station enquiry counters; to complement quality of service surveys; and to compare force service standards against public expectations and perceptions of service delivery. Gap analysis differs in two significant ways from traditional public surveys to identify priorities. First, it provides a more comprehensive, inclusive and detailed picture of public priorities for many very specific services. In addition, it can identify areas where the police are failing to match public expectations and measure levels of public knowledge about policing. Notes, figures, table, references