IT IS INDICATED THAT INCREASING COST CONSTRAINTS ON POLICE WORK REQUIRE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MOST COST-EFFECTIVE COORDINATION OF POLICE SERVICES POSSIBLE. BECAUSE OF THE FUNCTIONAL SEPARATION OF PATROL AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IN MOST POLICE ORGANIZATIONS, IT IS BELIEVED THAT THEY ARE FAILING TO EXPLOIT THE FULL POTENTIAL OF RESOURCES AVAILABLE. THE FUNCTIONAL ALTERNATIVES OF THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION AND PATROL FORCES ARE IDENTIFIED, AND TWO PRINCIPAL MODELS ARE CONSIDERED WHICH WOULD SERVE TO COORDINATE THESE FUNCTIONS IN A COST-EFFECTIVE MANNER. THE MODEL REQUIRING THE LEAST RADICAL ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IS CALLED THE 'MODIFIED-SEPARATION' APPROACH. THIS APPROACH REORGANIZES AND REGROUPS MEMBERS AND UNITS IN PREPARATION FOR TOTAL INTEGRATION OF THE PATROL AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION SUBSYSTEMS. THIS WOULD INVOLVE THE REALIGNMENT OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION FORCES, LEADING TO A REDUCTON IN DUPLICATION OF INVESTIGATION FOR SERIOUS CRIME OCCURRENCES BY THE USE OF AN INITIAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION RESPONSE GROUP; HOWEVER, THE SEPARATION OF INVESTIGATIVE RESPONSIBILITY AND THE LACK OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE INVESTIGATIVE AND PATROL SUBSYSTEMS STILL EXISTS, THEREBY REDUCING OVERALL SYSTEM EFFECTIVENESS. THE SECOND PREFERRED MODEL IS CALLED THE 'MERGE' APPROACH; ITS UNDERLYING OBJECTIVE IS TO BRING RESOURCES TOGETHER WHERE REQUIRED TO INVESTIGATE AND RESOLVE PROBLEMS. WITH THE MERGE APPROACH, THE POLICE GENERALIST IDENTIFIES A PROBLEM, FORMULATES A PLAN OF ACTION, AND DETERMINES THE NEED FOR CONSULTATIVE ASSISTANCE. THIS UNIFIED APPROACH BRINGS TOGETHER THE REQUISITE SKILLS AND EXPERTISE OF RESOURCE PERSONS WHO ACT IN CONCERT WITH THE GENERALIST. STEPS FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION ARE OUTLINED. DIAGRAMS ARE INCLUDED TO SHOW THE OPERATIONS OF THE EXISTING AND PROPOSED SYSTEMS. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)