THE PROCEDURES FOR ADMINISTERING COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE POLICE FALL INTO FOUR MAJOR CATEGORIES: (1) COMPLETE ADMINISTRATION OF ALL COMPLAINTS ENTIRELY BY POLICE WITH NO EXTERNAL SCRUTINY; (2) COMPLETE ADMINISTRATION OF ALL COMPLAINTS BY POLICE WITH OFFICIAL EXTERNAL SCRUTINY OF CRIMINAL COMPLAINTS; (3) PARTIAL ADMINISTRATION OF ALL COMPLAINTS BY POLICE WITH OFFICIAL EXTERNAL SCRUTINY OF CRIMINAL AND SOME NONCRIMINAL COMPLAINTS; AND (4) BILATERAL ADMINISTRATION OF COMPLAINTS BY POLICE OR AN OFFICIAL ORGANIZATION. GENERALLY, COMPLAINT ADMINISTRATION SYSTEMS INCLUDE RECEPTION, RECORDING, INVESTIGATION, ADJUDICATION, AND NOTIFICATION OF RESULTS. SOME SYSTEMS ADD EXTERNAL REVIEW AND/OR SANCTIONS. THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIAL DEPARTMENTS TO HANDLE CITIZEN COMPLAINTS FREQUENTLY HAS BEEN A RESPONSE TO POLITICAL PRESSURES. MAJOR SURVEY FINDINGS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: THE ABSENCE OF MODELS, FOR FORCES OF DIFFERENT SIZES, WHICH STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN PUBLIC INTEREST AND POLICE EFFICIENCY; RELUCTANCE TO EXPERIMENT WITH PROCEDURES; INCREASING AVAILABILITY OF FORMAL MECHANISMS FOR DISPOSING OF MINOR COMPLAINTS THROUGH MEETINGS BETWEEN THE COMPLAINANT AND THE POLICE OFFICER INVOLVED; GROWTH OF SPECIALIZED DEPARTMENTS FOR PROCESSING COMPLAINTS; LACK OF DATA WITH WHICH TO COMPARE PROGRAMS; AND LACK OF APPRECIATION FOR THE MUTUAL VALUE TO POLICE AND COMMUNITY OF A SATISFACTORY COMPLAINT SYSTEM. FLOW CHARTS AND SUPPORTING DATA ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)