CRIME PATTERNS IN NINE CONTEMPORARY ALL-BLACK TOWNS WERE STUDIED, AND THREE TOWNS ARE VIEWED FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE IN TRACING THE EVOLUTION OF CRIME PATTERNS. THE POPULATIONS OF THE COMMUNITIES STUDIED RANGED FROM 1,500 TO 8,000. THE CRIME LEVEL INFORMATION AND COMPARISONS REPORTED FOR THE NINE CONTEMPORARY TOWNS ARE BASED ON EXPECTED CRIME RATES, EVALUATIONS BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES POLICING THE TOWN, INVIDIOUS DISTINCTIONS MADE BY RESIDENTS BETWEEN CRIME IN THE BLACK TOWN AND OTHER TOWNS, AND THE STEPS TAKEN BY PEOPLE TO PROTECT THEMSELVES AGAINST THE PERCEIVED THREAT OF CRIME. THE PATTERNS OF CRIME IN BLACK TOWNS FROM A HISTORIC PERSPECTIVE ARE REPORTED FROM RECORDED DATA. HISTORICALLY, CRIME IN ALL-BLACK TOWNS IS INDICATED TO BE QUITE LOW, ESPECIALLY ASSAULT AND HOMICIDE. IN CONTEMPORARY BLACK TOWNS, AN INCREASE IN YOUTH CRIME IS NOTED, AND LARCENY IS CONSIDERED THE MOST COMMON CRIME. IT IS BRIEFLY MENTIONED, WITHOUT SUPPORTING DATA, THAT SOCIAL PERFORMANCE IN THESE TOWNS IS HIGH, ALONG WITH DEGREE OF CIVILITY AND EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE. SOCIAL CHARACTER IS APPRAISED AS STRONG AND UNFRAGMENTED. GENERALIZATIONS ARE REPORTED FOR THE CONTEMPORARY TOWNS, AND INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO A DESCRIPTION OF THE THREE TOWNS VIEWED HISTORICALLY. ST. HELENA, SOUTH CAROLINA, IS DESCRIBED FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF CRIME PATTERNS WHEN WHITE POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC INTERESTS INTRUDED INTO AN ALL-BLACK TOWN. RIPON (A FICTIONAL NAME FOR A REAL TOWN) IS DISCUSSED AS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW A BLACK TOWN ESTABLISHED A POLITICAL BASE TO DEAL WITH CRIME DERIVED FROM WHITE INTRUSION, AND THE LOCAL BLACK COMMUNITY IN THE MIXED TOWN OF BALTIMORE IS EXAMINED FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF HOW THE BLACK COMMUNITY IS USED BY WHITE INTERESTS TO BREED SOCIAL CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO CRIME. A CONTEMPORARY BLACK TOWN CALLED BURWEN IS EXAMINED AS AN EXCEPTION TO THE GENERAL RULE FOR CRIME PATTERNS IN AN ALL-BLACK TOWN. PROBLEMS DERIVED FROM THE TOWN HAVING BEEN ESTABLISHED AS A COMMUNITY FOR BLACK EMPLOYEES OF A NATIONAL RAILWAY CORPORATION WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY MOVED TO AN URBAN AREA ARE CONSIDERED. IT IS GENERALLY CONCLUDED THAT LOW CRIME RATES IN ALL-BLACK TOWNS DEPEND ON THE EXISTENCE OF A CULTURAL BASE FOR STRUCTURING UNDERSTANDINGS AND NORMS AMONG MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, WITH AN ATTENDANT POLITICAL AND PROPERTY BASE THAT ALLOWS FOR PROTECTION OF ITS WAY OF LIFE. (RCB)