DATA WERE COLLECTED BY A PAIR OF OBSERVERS ACCOMPANYING PATROLMEN ON SEVENTY EIGHT-HOUR UNIFORMED PATROLS IN TWO-MAN SQUAD CARS. A SAMPLE OF 373 RESPONSES TO ALL CALLS WERE EVALUATED ACCORDING TO A PRE-CODED, PRETESTED SCHEDULE OF 79 OBJECTIVE ITEMS AND ONE ITEM FOR RECORDING SUPPLEMENTARY SUBJECTIVE DATA. THE FINDINGS REVEAL THAT TO A LARGE EXTENT, THE PATROLMEN'S DECISIONS AS TO WHETHER TO REPORT OFFENSES WERE DETERMINED BY THE TERMS OF THE CALLS THEY HAD RECEIVED FROM THE DISPATCHERS. THE STUDY SUPPORTS THE SUGGESTION THAT THE ORGANIZATION OF POLICE DEPARTMENTS WOULD BE FOUND TO DETERMINE OFFICIAL OFFENSE-REPORTING PRACTICES AND THE MAIN FINDING THAT PATROLMEN'S OFFENSE-REPORTING PRACTICES MEET THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE TERMS OF THEIR DISPATCHERS IS INTERPRETED AS A FORM OF GOAL DISPLACEMENT.