IN RESPONSE TO THE NEEDS OF A PATROL DIVISION IN A MEDIUM-SIZED POLICE DEPARTMENT (BOULDER, COLORADO), A CRISIS INTERVENTION TRAINING PROGRAM WAS DESIGNED WHICH WAS INEXPENSIVE, ACCEPTABLE AND AVAILABLE TO ALL PATROL OFFICERS, AND RELATIVELY SHORT (3 8-HOUR DAYS). THE CONTENT OF TRAINING INCLUDED A SUGGESTED PROCEDURE FOR INTERVENING IN DOMESTIC CRISES, ISSUES RELATED TO OFFICER SAFETY, AND INFORMATION REGARDING LEGAL ISSUES IN DOMESTIC DISTURBANCES. COMPONENTS OF THE SUGGESTED INTERVENTION PROCEDURE INCLUDED PHYSICAL AND VERBAL TECHNIQUES FOR CALMING UPSET PERSONS, THE USE OF GROUND RULES TO KEEP THEM CALM, TECHNIQUES FOR BRIEF INTERVIEWING, AND OPTIONS FOR RESOLVING DOMESTIC CRISES WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON MEDIATION AND REFERRAL. IN ADDITION TO CLASSROOM TECHNIQUES, THE TRAINING MADE USE OF SIMULATED DISTURBANCES IN RESIDENTIAL LOCATIONS. OFFICERS INTERVENED IN THESE SIMULATED DISTURBANCES AND THEN PARTICIPATED IN A DISCUSSION OF THE VIDEOTAPE REPLAY IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING EACH. THE EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT CONTINUED OVER 5 MONTHS AND MEASURED: (1) POLICE LEARNING, ACCEPTANCE, AND UTILIZATION OF THE CONTENT MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUES OF TRAINING; (2) POLICE SATISFACTION IN DISTURBANCE INTERVENTIONS; AND (3) DISPUTANT SATISFACTION WITH POLICE INTERVENTIONS. THE DATA COLLECTED ON DISTURBANCE CALLS IN BOULDER SHOWED THEM TO BE SIMILAR TO THOSE OF MAJOR CITIES. THE RESULTS INDICATED THAT OFFICERS DID LEARN ABOUT DISTURBANCES AND CRISIS INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES, THAT THE TRAINING WAS WELL ACCEPTED BY THE OFFICERS, AND THAT MOST INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES WERE LATER USED IN FIELD DISTURBANCES. POLICE ATTITUDES TOWARD INTERVENTION, SELF-RATING OF PERFORMANCE IN FIELD INTERVENTIONS, AND CLIENT RATINGS OF POLICE PERFORMANCE GENERALLY SHOWED NO DIFFERENCE AFTER TRAINING. A RELATIVELY HIGH LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE BEFORE TRAINING WAS PARTIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LACK OF PERFORMANCE RESULTS. FINALLY, OFFICERS INDICATED A STRONG INTEREST IN REVIEW SESSIONS OF CRISIS INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES IN THE SAME FORMAT AS THE 3-DAY TRAINING. APPENDIXES CONTAIN COURSE MATERIALS, THE FINAL TEST USED, AND QUESTIONNAIRES GIVEN TO POLICE AND CLIENTS REGARDING INTERVENTION SERVICES. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--VDA)