THE AUTHOR FOUND THAT MALE AND FEMALE OFICERS DIFFER IN THEIR STYLES OF POLICING, WITH MEN MORE APT TO BE AGGRESSIVE AND WOMEN LIKELY TO ENGAGE IN SYMPATHY AND HUMOR. GIVEN THE ASSUMPTION THAT BEHAVIOR AND INTERACTIONS ARE MEDIATED BY MEANING, THE AUTHOR SUGGESTED THAT SITUATIONS ARE DIFFERENTLY INTERPRETED BY MALE AND FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS. MALES FEEL THAT THEY CAN BEST CONTROL THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH CITIZENS BY RESORTING TO POWER DISPLAYS AND PROJECTING AN IMAGE OF AUTHORITY. FEMALE OFFICERS, ON THE OTHER HAND, PROJECT A SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT SOCIAL IDENTITY. MOREOVER, THE DIFFERENT STYLES ADOPTED BY MALE AND FEMALE OFFICERS SEEM TO REFLECT DIFFERENCES IN THE WAY THEY DEFINE THEIR ROLE. WOMEN VIEW THE SERVICE COMPONENT OF THEIR ROLE AS MORE LEGITIMATE THAN DO MEN. CLEARLY, THESE NOTIONS REGARDING OFFICERS' DEFINITIONS OF SITUATIONS ARE INFERENCES MADE BY THE AUTHOR. ALTHOUGH THEY ARE INFORMED BY THE OPINIONS OF POLICE OFFICERS, THEY DERIVE, FOR THE MOST PART, FROM OBSERVATIONS OF THE BEHAVIOR OF POLICE OFFICERS IN VARIOUS SITUATIONAL CONTEXTS. FURTHER RESEARCH MIGHT WELL FOCUS ON THE WAYS IN WHICH POLICE OFFICERS, THEMSELVES, EXPERIENCE THE SITUATIONS WHICH THEY ENCOUNTER.(AUTHOR ABSTRACT)....BDS