THE STUDY PROVIDES TWO EXPLANATIONS ON THE QUESTION OF THE CRIME-CONTROL-RESOURCES DISTRIBUTION. THE FIRST MAINTAINS THAT THE POLICE DEVELOPED AS A RESPONSE TO DISORDER IN A RAPIDLY EVOLVING URBAN ENVIRONMENT; THE SECOND HOLDS THAT THE POLICE DEVELOPED IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE SOCIAL ORDER IN A HETEROGENEOUS SOCIETY. POPULATION AND DIFFERENTIATION VARIABLES WERE ANALYZED IN RELATION TO CRIME CONTROL VARIABLES. DATA WERE COLLECTED ON A LONGITUDINAL BASIS FOR 150 AMERICAN CITIES. THE ANALYSES SHOW THAT THE POPULATION VARIABLES ARE BETTER PREDICTORS OF THE POLICE EMPLOYEE RATE, WHILE THE DIFFERENTIATION VARIABLES ARE BETTER PREDICTORS OF THE PERCENT BUDGETARY ALLOCATION FOR POLICE PROTECTION. HOWEVER, THE PATH MODEL ACCOUNTS FOR ONLY HALF THE VARIATION IN THE POLICE-EMPLOYEE RATE AND DEMONSTRATES SPORADIC RESULTS WHEN THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE IS THE PERCENTAGE OF CITY BUDGET SPENT ON POLICE PROTECTION. THE EXAMINATION OF RESIDUALIZED CHANGE SCORES REMAINS UNACCOUNTED FOR WITH THE SET OF VARIABLES USED. THE RESULTS INDICATE THAT THE SYSTEM IS NOT CLOSED, THAT THERE IS A DEMAND FOR MORE REFINED MEASURES OF THE DIFFERENTIATION VARIABLES, AND THAT THERE IS A NEED FOR TESTING THE CAUSAL ASSUMPTIONS BEHIND THE POLICE-CRIME RATE RELATIONSHIP. TABLES ILLUSTRATE DATA AND ANALYSIS PROCEDURES, AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--DG)