ALL AGENCIES CONDUCTING GENERAL AREA PATROL, TRAFFIC CONTROL, OR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION WERE INCLUDED IN THE SURVEY, WHICH TOOK PLACE FROM MID-1974 THROUGH FALL OF 1975. THE METROPOLITAN AREAS STUDIED RANGED IN POPULATION FROM UNDER 60,000 TO OVER 1,300,000. THE NUMBER OF POLICE AGENCIES PER METROPOLITAN AREA RANGED FROM 2 TO 91. SURVEY FINDINGS DISPUTE THE COMMON ASSUMPTION THAT METROPOLITAN POLICE AGENCIES ARE TOO NUMEROUS AND TOO DIVERSE TO WORK TOGETHER. DUPLICATION IN POLICE SERVICE DELIVERY IS NOT COMMON. FEW POLICE AGENCIES SERVING THE SAME COMMUNITY ACT IN ISOLATION FROM EACH OTHER. AGENCIES PATROLLING THE SAME AREA USUALLY ALTERNATE THEIR PATROLS BY TIME OF DAY, TYPE OF THOROUGHFARE OR PUBLIC PLACE, OR TYPE OF CLIENTELE. AGENCIES INVESTIGATING CRIMES WITHIN THE SAME JURISDICTION USUALLY COORDINATE THEIR INVESTIGATIONS. POLICE AGENCIES INTERACT IN THE SUPPLY AND USE OF AUXILIARY SERVICES. THE EXISTENCE OF NUMEROUS JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARIES IN METROPOLITAN AREAS NEED NOT LIMIT FRESH PURSUIT OF SUSPECTS OR INTERAGENCY ASSISTANCE IN A CRISIS. FORTY-ONE STATES HAVE LEGISLATION AUTHORIZING INTERSTATE FRESH PURSUIT. INTRASTATE FRESH PURSUIT IS AUTHORIZED IN 39 STATES AND PRACTICED UNDER THE INTERSTATE AUTHORIZATION IN OTHERS. MUTUAL AID IS COMMON. THE CONCEPT OF A SYSTEM IS NOT LIMITED TO THAT OF A SIMPLE HIERARCHY. ANY COLLECTION OF ENTITIES DEFINED BY A BOUNDARY AND BY REGULAR, PREDICTABLE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THEM IS A SYSTEM. POLICE INDUSTRIES IN MOST MUNICIPAL AREAS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED SYSTEMS. THOSE PROPOSING REORGANIZATION OF METROPOLITAN POLICE SERVICES SHOULD CONSIDER THAT A LARGE NUMBER OF SMALL AGENCIES DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN CHAOS AND LACK OF SYSTEM, NOR DOES A SINGLE AGENCY MEAN THAT CHAOS IS AVOIDED. SUPPORTING DATA ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED-LKM)