THE SAMPLE CONSISTED OF 556 COMMANDING OFFICERS WITH A RANK OF CAPTAIN OR ABOVE IN THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: 364 CAPTAINS, 102 DEPUTY INSPECTORS, 43 INSPECTORS, 24 DEPUTY CHIEFS, 22 ASSISTANT CHIEFS, AND 1 CHIEF OF OPERATIONS. DATA WERE OBTAINED FROM THE RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT AND CITY PERSONNEL OFFICES. VARIABLES ASSESSED INCLUDED ALL ASSIGNMENTS HELD SINCE TIME OF APPOINTMENT, CAREER ADVANCEMENT, COMMENDATIONS, DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS AND ALLEGATIONS/COMPLAINTS, WRITTEN TEST SCORES ON CIVIL SERVICE PROMOTION EXAMINATIONS, SUPERVISORY ACTIVITIES, MANAGEMENT ABILITY AS MEASURED BY TESTING, DEPARTMENTAL EVALUATIONS, CURRENT AGE, AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT. COMMANDING OFFICERS WERE GROUPED INTO SEVERAL APPROPRIATE CAREER PATHS DEPENDING ON THEIR PARTICULAR EXPERIENCES PRIOR TO ACHIEVING THE RANK OF CAPTAIN. SPECIFIC FACTORS EXAMINED INCLUDED THE TIME SPENT BY EACH OFFICER IN THE RANKS OF PATROL OFFICER, SERGEANT, AND LIEUTENANT; AND THE EXTENT OF EXPERIENCE ACQUIRED IN OPERATIONS, STAFF, PLAINCLOTHES INVESTIGATION, AND/OR DETECTIVE INVESTIGATION. ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT, ON THE AVERAGE, OFFICERS SPENT 46 PERCENT OF THEIR CAREERS AS PATROL OFFICERS, 23 PERCENT AS SERGEANTS, AND 31 PERCENT AS LIEUTENANTS. IN GENERAL, ABOUT 75 PERCENT OF A TYPICAL OFFICER'S CAREER WAS SPENT IN OPERATIONS, 12 PERCENT IN STAFF ASSIGNMENTS, 10 PERCENT IN THE DETECTIVE DIVISION, AND 2 PERCENT IN PLAINCLOTHES INVESTIGATION. REGRESSION ANALYSIS USING TIME-IN-RANK AS THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE AND VARIOUS PERFORMANCE MEASURES AS THE DEPENDENT VARIABLES INDICATED THAT COMMANDING OFFICERS WHO ENTERED THE DEPARTMENT IN RECENT YEARS OR WHO WERE YOUNGER AT TIME OF APPOINTMENT ADVANCED MORE RAPIDLY THROUGH CIVIL SERVICE. MOREOVER, THOSE WHO SPENT RELATIVELY SHORT PERIODS OF THEIR CAREERS AS LIEUTENANTS WERE MORE LIKELY TO PERFORM WELL ON INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE MANAGEMENT TESTS. ALL OTHER PERFORMANCE MEASURES WERE NOT RELATED TO TIME SPENT IN VARIOUS RANKS. DIFFERENT PERIODS OF TIME IN DIFFERENT ASSIGNMENTS WERE RELATED TO POLICE PERFORMANCE MEASURES USED IN THE STUDY WITH THE EXCEPTION THAT OFFICERS APPOINTED TO THE DETECTION DIVISION TENDED TO WIN MORE DEPARTMENTAL REWARDS THAN THEIR NONDETECTIVE COUNTERPARTS. EXTENSIVE TABULAR DATA ARE PRESENTED. ON THE BASIS OF FINDINGS, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT COMMANDING OFFICERS SHOULD BE SELECTED FOR MANAGEMENT POSITIONS ON THE BASIS OF THEIR COMMAND POTENTIAL REGARDLESS OF THEIR PRIOR ASSIGNMENTS OR CAREER PATHS BECAUSE SUCH EXPERIENCES APPEAR NOT TO BE RELATED TO MANAGERIAL ABILITY. IT IS ALSO SUGGESTED THAT A NEW SYSTEM OF CAREER PATHS SHOULD BE DEVISED WHICH WOULD PROVIDE MORE MEANINGFUL TRAINING FOR POTENTIAL COMMANDERS. (JAP)