THIS IS THE FIRST FULL-SCALE IMPLEMENTATION OF AN AVM SYSTEM BY A MAJOR POLICE DEPARTMENT. THE PHASE ONE EVALUATION PROVIDES ANSWERS TO SOME IMPORTANT ISSUES CONCERNING AVM SUCH AS THE EFFECT ON RESPONSE TIMES AND THE FREQUENCY OF AND PROCEDURES OF THE SYSTEM FOR DEALING WITH 'LOST CARS'. IN ADDITION, NEW ISSUES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED WHICH WILL REQUIRE FURTHER STUDY WHEN THE PHASE TWO SYSTEM IS INSTALLED CITY-WIDE. IN DESCRIBING AVM A COMPARISON IS MADE BETWEEN SEVERAL AVM TECHNOLOGIES, AND THEN THE PRIMARY PORTION OF THE EVALUATION IS DEVOTED TO A THREE-PART ANALYSIS OF THE OPERATIONS (INCLUDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF TWO COMPUTER MODELS), THE TECHNOLOGY, AND THE ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE SYSTEM. THE REPORT INCLUDES A GENERAL METHODOLOGY FOR EVALUATION, AND BASED ON THIS METHODOLOGY THE CONCLUDING CHAPTERS PRESENT A SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS IN ST. LOUIS AND OUTLINE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN PURSUING AVM AND OTHER NEW TECHNOLOGIES. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)