THE PROJECT PROGRESSED THROUGH SEVEN STAGES: (1) THE PERFORMANCE OF BACKGROUND RESEARCH, INCLUDING A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE IN THE AREAS OF JOB ANALYSIS AND POLICE WORK; (2) THE COLLECTION OF STAFFING INFORMATION ON POLICE AGENCIES; (3) THE OBSERVATION OF AND INTERVIEWS WITH JOB INCUMBENTS AND SUPERVISORS; (4) THE DEVELOPMENT OF JOB TASKS FOR EACH LEVEL; (5) THE COLLECTION OF INCUMBENT OPINIONS OF THE PERFORMANCE OF, CRITICALITY OF, AND TIME SPENT ON EACH JOB TASK; (6) THE DEVELOPMENT OF REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES, AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS FOR EACH JOB LEVEL; AND (7) THE CONDUCT OF MEETING WITH JOB INCUMBENTS AND SUPERVISORS TO OBTAIN THEIR OPINIONS ON NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES, AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS. A STAFFING INFORMATION QUESTIONNAIRE WAS SENT TO EACH MUNICIPAL POLICE AGENCY REQUESTING INFORMATION ON THE NUMBER OF INCUMBENTS AT EACH LEVEL BROKEN DOWN BY SEX AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND. SIX STAFFING PATTERNS WERE REVEALED IN RESPONSES TO THIS QUESTIONNAIRE: OFFICER, SERGEANT, LIEUTENANT, CAPTAIN; OFFICER, SERGEANT, LIEUTENANT; OFFICER, SERGEANT, CAPTAIN; OFFICER, LIEUTENANT, CAPTAIN; OFFICER AND ONE SUPERVISORY LEVEL PERSON; AND OFFICERS ONLY. NEARLY 200 INTERVIEWS SUBSEQUENTLY WERE CONDUCTED TO CONSOLIDATE INFORMATION INTO A JOB DESCRIPTION FOR EACH LEVEL AND TO PROVIDE A BASIS FOR TASK DESCRIPTIONS LISTED ON JOB TASK CHECKLISTS. TASK CHECKLIST DATA WERE COMPUTERIZED, AND DATA WERE COMPILED ON A STATEWIDE BASIS AS WELL AS BY AGENCY SIZE AND STAFFING PATTERN. THE TASK CHECKLIST QUESTIONNAIRE WAS USED THEN AS THE BASIS FOR DEVELOPING REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES, AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS FOR EACH POSITION LEVEL. THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE TASK DATA FOR STAFFING PATTERNS, TASK SPECIALIZATION, AND THE TRAINING OF POLICE PERSONNEL ARE DISCUSSED. EXTENSIVE SUPPORTING DATA ARE PROVIDED, AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. APPENDIXES CONTAIN AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, THE PROJECT QUESTIONNAIRES AND FORMS, AND RELATED DATA. (DEP)