THE SOCIAL ROLE OF THE POLICE IN PREVENTING CRIME IN A MODERN SOCIETY, AND ESPECIALLY IN PREVENTING JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, IS EXAMINED (SEE NCJ-60344). THE SOCIAL ROLE OF POLICE IS DEFINED AS ENCOMPASSING PREVENTIVE MEASURES BOTH AGAINST THE POTENTIAL CRIMINAL AND THE POSSIBLE VICTIM. SPECIFIC PLANS FOR ORGANIZING A SPECIAL CRIME PREVENTION BRANCH OF A POLICE FORCE ARE DISCUSSED, WITH THE PROPOSAL BEING APPLICABLE MAINLY TO COUNTRIES WITH A CENTRALIZED POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM. PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD THE POLICE ARE DISCUSSED BY A NORWEGIAN CRIMINOLOGIST (SEE NCJ-46293). IT IS ASSUMED THAT AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE POLICE AND THE PUBLIC WILL ENABLE THE POLICE TO PERFORM THEIR REQUIRED TASKS BETTER. HOWEVER, ARGUMENTS SUPPORTING AND CONDEMNING THIS ASSUMPTION ARE OFFERED FROM AN EMPIRICAL POINT OF VIEW. VARIOUS THEORIES ABOUT PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF THE POLICE ALSO ARE DISCUSSED, BUT NO SUBSTANTIAL CONCLUSIONS ARE DRAWN. THE POLICE ROLE IN PREVENTING VIOLENCE IS DISCUSSED IN THE LAST REPORT (NCJ-46290), WITH MOST INFORMATION BASED ON GERMAN AND ENGLISH-LANGUAGE LITERATURE. THE TERM 'VIOLENCE' IS EXAMINED AS IT IS PERCEIVED BY PERSONS IN VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS. THE BASIC DUTIES OF THE POLICE IN EUROPE ARE DEFINED AND VARIOUS TECHNIQUES OF CRIME PREVENTION ARE DISCUSSED, AS POLICE DEAL WITH ACTS SUCH AS THE TERRORIST ATTACKS THAT OCCURRED IN WEST GERMANY. FOOTNOTES, TABULAR DATA, APPENDIXES, AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES ARE PROVIDED FOR THE ARTICLES. (PRG)