THE KANSAS CITY DEPARTMENT WAS HAVING DIFFICULTY DECIDING HOW TO USE ITS 300 NEW PATROL OFFICERS. SOME THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO DIVERT RESOURCES FROM PREVENTIVE PATROL TO DEAL WITH YOUTH PROBLEMS, WHILE OTHERS FELT THAT PREVENTIVE PATROL SIMPLY WAS TOO ESSENTIAL FOR SUCH A REALLOCATION TO BE CONSIDERED. TO DETERMINE HOW IMPORTANT PREVENTIVE PATROL IS, THE POLICE FOUNDATION DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED AN EXPERIMENT IN WHICH CRIME REDUCTION, CITIZEN SATISFACTION WITH POLICE SERVICES, REDUCTION IN FEAR OF CRIME, AND OTHER VARIABLES WERE MEASURED IN THREE AREAS OF KANSAS CITY, WHICH DIFFERED IN THE LEVEL OF PREVENTIVE PATROL ACTIVITIES (NUMBER OF PATROL CARS). THE STUDY FOUND THAT THE LEVEL OF PREVENTIVE PATROL DID NOT AFFECT THE VARIABLES TESTED. IT ALSO FOUND THAT CITIZEN SATISIFACTION WITH POLICE SERVICES WAS NOT A DIRECT FUNCTION OF RESPONSE TIME, BUT RATHER A REFLECTION OF AN INTERVENING VARIABLE: CITIZENS' EXPECTATIONS REGARDING RESPONSE TIME. THE POLICE FOUNDATION DISSEMINATED THE STUDY FINDINGS, WHICH HAVE GENERATED CONSIDERABLE CONTROVERSY AND SOME CONCRETE ACTION. THE STUDY HAS MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR KANSAS CITY AND OTHER POLICE DEPARTMENTS TO EXPERIMENT WITH ALTERNATIVES TO THE PREVIOUSLY SACROSANCT INSTITUTION OF ROUTINE PREVENTICE PATROL. (LKM)