The study included interviews with 15 respondents who served as chief officers and senior managers from headquarters departments of 1 police force; all interviewees were involved in the policymaking process. Twenty-five senior police managers throughout the force and 12 ground-level managers from 1 area were also interviewed. The views of front-line staff (sergeants and constables) from the same area were also solicited. A total of 96 of the 240 officers responded with complete questionnaires. The study focused on the influence of the following governmental and quasi-governmental agencies on police policymaking and practice at various levels of the police organization: the Home Office, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Audit Commission, the Local Police Authority, and the Chief Constable. The influence of these groups was examined for three policy areas: the Citizens' Charter, annual policing plans, and domestic violence policy. Both policymakers and those who implemented policy believed that, with the exception of the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Local Police Authority, there was a strong influence from all the groups in all the policy areas considered. For police officers directly involved in implementing policy, however, the Citizens' Charter and annual policing plans made little difference in the way they conducted their daily work. In the policy areas examined, front-line officers considered that the greatest influence came from consumers of police services, public opinion, colleagues, and immediate supervisors. In the policy area of domestic violence, however, where there was greater top-down control, the influence of the governmental and quasi-governmental agencies was the strongest, overriding local autonomy both in policy and practice. 13 notes and 30 references