The book demonstrates how the police gather crime-relevant information from people in the local community, how they apply informal social control to public disorder situations, and how they manipulate the police organization itself in order to obtain resources and advancement. The examination is set within a conceptual framework which attempts to advance the understanding of community policing and the ability to evaluate its success in achieving policymakers’ objectives. The book’s largest chapter, Negotiating Order, discusses: A Sociolegal Perspective on Community Policing, Police in Community, Police and Culture, Differentiating the Community and Relief Policing. The book also examines the claims made for community policing, contemporary community policing practice, settings and sources, first contacts, keeping community contacts, tactics, policing a hostile community, local knowledge and informants, and information exchange and teamwork. Notes, figures, bibliography, index