CONCEIVED WITH THE IDEA THAT THE NATION'S POLICE, WHO ARE NOW THOUGHT OF IN LIGHT OF THE FEW METROPOLITAN LARGE POLICE FORCES, COULD BE BETTER KNOWN THROUGH AN IN-DEPTH STUDY OF A SINGLE FORCE OF LESS THAN 200 MEN AND WOMEN, THE BOOK PRESENTS THE VIEWS OF POLICE IN A COMPOSITE CITY CALLED 'EASTERN CITY.' THE SURVEY INSTRUMENTS, WHICH ARE NOT REPRODUCED, CONSISTED OF A PRETESTED SET OF OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS, A BACKGROUND INFORMATION FORM, AN OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONNAIRE FOR POLICE OFFICERS, ONE FOR THEIR SPOUSES, AND ONE FOR THEIR CHILDREN OVER THE AGE OF 13 (ARBITRARILY CHOSEN AGE LIMIT). INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED WITH OFFICERS AND THEIR FAMILIES WHO VOLUNTEERED TO ELABORATE ON THE SURVEY RESPONSES. MEMBERS OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S VICE SQUAD WERE ALSO QUESTIONED TO GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF THE COMPLEX DECISIONMAKING PROBLEMS FACED BY SUCH A UNIT AND BY OTHER OFFICERS. DISCUSSIONS FOLLOW OF POLICE-FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS (PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS), THE QUESTION OF THE 'NEW MORALITY' AND POLICE AS MORALS ENFORCERS, AND POLICE USE AND OVERUSE OF AUTHORITY. INTERDEPARTMENTAL MORALE PROBLEMS, EXEMPLIFIED BY COMPLAINTS ABOUT POLITICS, PROMOTION, DRINKING, AND AND FAVORITISM, CAN BE RESOLVED BY ADHERENCE TO CONFLICTS WHICH DEVELOP THROUGH THE OVERLAP OF FRIENDSHIP CONFLICTS WHICH DEVELOP THROUGH THE OVERLAP OF FRINDSHIP AND OCCUPATIONAL ACTIVITIES. BETTER RELATIONS WITH THE PUBLIC CAN ONLY BE ATTAINED THROUGH GREATER CONTACT WITH THE COMMUNITY AND THROUGH A GREATER OPENNESS ON THE PART OF THE POLICE. A BIBLIOGRAPHY AND AN INDEX ARE PROVIDED.