THE SCHEDULING METHOD IS PART OF THE SUPERBEAT SYSTEM, WHICH PROVIDES COMPUTERIZED MANPOWER DISTRIBUTION THROUGH TIME (SCHEDULING) AND SPACE (BEAT DESIGN) TO MINIMIZE THE TIME REQUIRED TO RESPOND TO CALLS FOR POLICE SERVICE. SUPERBEAT WAS DEVELOPED WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE POLICIES AND PATROL OPERATIONS OF THE AURORA, ILL., POLICE DEPARTMENT. THE SCHEDULING METHOD MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO DETERMINE THE NUMBER OF PATROL OFFICERS TO BE ASSIGNED TO EACH OF A LIMITED SET OF WORK PATTERNS SO AS TO MINIMIZE RESPONSE TIME FOR THE PERIOD BEING SCHEDULED. THE SET OF WORK PATTERNS IS DEFINED BY DEPARTMENTAL, POLICE UNION, AND GOVERNMENTAL POLICIES LIMITING SUCH FACTORS AS THE MAXIMUM OR MINIMUM NUMBER OF CONSECUTIVE WORKDAYS FOR ANY OFFICER. RESPONSE TIME WAS CHOSEN AS THE CRITERION TO BE MINIMIZED BECAUSE OF ITS ASSUMED RELATIONSHIP TO SUCH POLICE OBJECTIVES AS CRIME REDUCTION AND INCREASED APPREHENSION OF SUSPECTS. ALTHOUGH THE METHOD DOES NOT SCHEDULE VACATION PERIODS OR SPECIAL WORK ASSIGNMENTS FOR INDIVIDUAL OFFICERS, IT DOES TAKE THESE MANPOWER-REDUCING FACTORS, ALONG WITH DEPARTMENTAL POLICIES RELATING TO ALLOCATION OF TWO-OFFICER CARS, INTO ACCOUNT. THE FORMULATION OF THE SCHEDULING PROBLEM AS AN INTEGER PROGRAMMING PROBLEM AND THE DEVELOPMENT AND INTUITIVE JUSTIFICATION OF A MODEL FOR ESTIMATING WEIGHTED AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME ARE DOCUMENTED, AS ARE TEST OPTIMIZATION RUNS--COMPUTER OPERATIONS GENERATING OPTIMAL MANPOWER SCHEDULES--USING A MATHEMATICAL PROGRAMMING PACKAGE CALLED UMPIRE AND A HEURISTIC SOLUTION METHOD. THE HEURISTIC METHOD, WHICH IS SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR THE SCHEDULING PROBLEM, PRODUCES NEAR-OPTIMAL SCHEDULES AND USES LESS COMPUTER TIME THAN THE UMPIRE PROGRAM. COMPARISON OF SCHEDULES GENERATED BY THE RESPONSE TIME MINIMIZATION METHOD WITH TRADITIONAL TYPES OF SCHEDULES (E.G., THOSE THAT ASSIGN MANPOWER IN PROPORTION TO THE WORKLOAD) INDICATES THAT SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME CAN BE ATTAINED BY USING RESPONSE TIME MINIMIZATION METHODS. POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS FOR THE PROGRAMS, MODELS, FORMULATIONS, AND METHODS DESCRIBED ARE SUGGESTED, AS ARE DIRECTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH. TABULAR DATA, MATHEMATICAL FORMULATIONS, COPIES OF COMPUTER PRINTOUTS, AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)