THE 1971 SURVEY, INITIATED BY THE INTERNATIONAL CITY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION, REVEALED THAT 39 PERCENT OF 498 POLICE DEPARTMENTS USED COMPUTERS. FOR CITIES WITH A POPULATION OF 100,000 OR MORE, THE FIGURE ROSE TO 69.8 PERCENT. NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OF ALL DEPARTMENTS INDICATED THAT THEY WOULD BE USING A COMPUTER BY 1974. A MAILED SURVEY FORM AND TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS WERE EMPLOYED IN THE 1974 FOLLOWUP SURVEY. A QUESTIONNAIRE WAS SENT TO 410 POLICE DEPARTMENTS IN CITIES WITH A POPULATION OF 50,000 OR MORE; 326 OR 80 PERCENT RESPONDED. TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED WITH THE POLICE CHIEF OR A DEPARTMENT STAFF MEMBER IN 28 CITIES. INFORMATION WAS OBTAINED ON COMPUTER USE BY THE POLICE, COMPUTER IMPLEMENTATION, AND COMPUTER IMPACT. EIGHT BROAD COMPUTER APPLICATION AREAS WERE POLICE PATROL AND INQUIRY, TRAFFIC, POLICE ADMINISTRATION, CRIME STATISTICAL FILES, MISCELLANEOUS OPERATIONS, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION, AND COMPUTER-AIDED DISPATCH. THE ASSESSMENT OF COMPUTER IMPLEMENTATION WAS CONCERNED WITH PROBLEMS IN COMPUTER OPERATION, INTEGRATION OF COMPUTER USE WITH POLICE DEPARTMENT OPERATION, POLICE DATA PROCESSING FACILITY STAFFING, COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, AND DIFFERENCES IN IMPLEMENTING STRUCTURED AND UNSTRUCTURED POLICE COMPUTER USES. THE ISSUE OF PRIVACY AND THE NATURE OF POLICE WORK WERE IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS IN EVALUATING COMPUTER IMPACT. THE RESULTS OF UNSTRUCTURED COMPUTER APPLICATIONS WERE MUCH LESS CLEAR THAN STRUCTURED APPLICATIONS. THE LATTER GENERALLY WORKED AND DID WHAT THEIR SPONSORS SAID THEY WOULD DO AND, IN A NARROW SENSE, PROVED TO BE COST EFFECTIVE. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THERE IS POTENTIAL IN USING COMPUTERS TO ATTAIN MORE EFFECTIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT THROUGH RAPID COMMUNICATION AND A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO DECISIONMAKING. THESE BENEFITS, IF NOT PROPERLY PLANNED OR CONTROLLED, MAY RESULT IN MISUSE, UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, WASTED RESOURCES, AND UNMET EXPECTATIONS. SUPPORTING DATA ARE PROVIDED IN TABULAR AND GRAPHIC FORM. THE QUESTIONNAIRE IS NOT INCLUDED. (DEP)