BEYOND THE JOB ANALYSES THEMSELVES, THE PROJECT FOCUSED ON USE OF THESE ANALYSES TO DEVELOP VALID AND DEPENDABLE EXAMINATIONS FOR THE POSITIONS. WORK BEGAN IN 1975 WITH THE PROJECT STAFF COMPRISING PERSONS WITH BACKGROUNDS IN TESTING, CLASSIFICATION, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT. PRIVATE CONTRACTORS AND CONSULTANTS WERE EMPLOYED. A STAFFING QUESTIONNAIRE TO DETERMINE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ACTUALLY EMPLOYED IN EACH OF THE FOUR RANKS WAS SENT TO ALL POLICE DEPARTMENTS IN NEW YORK; RESPONSES WERE RECEIVED FROM 363. TO DEVELOP TASK INFORMATION AND PROJECT DATA, AN INTERVIEW PLAN WAS DESIGNED. LONG-TERM, SHORT-TERM, AND GROUP INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED. FROM INFORMATION OBTAINED DURING THESE INTERVIEWS, TASK LISTS WERE DEVELOPED AND ORGANIZED ACCORDING TO JOB ACTIVITY AREA. SOME 3,600 QUESTIONNAIRES WERE SENT OUT FOR COMPLETION, AND THE RETURN RATE WAS 50 PERCENT. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS WERE EVALUATED AS WELL. POLICE PERSONNEL WERE ASKED TO RATE THE EXTENT TO WHICH BARELY ACCEPTABLE WORKERS WOULD POSSES SUCH TRAITS AS DEPENDABILITY AND ORAL COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS. AFTER MEETINGS WITH POLICE PERSONNEL, CONDUCTED THROUGHOUT THE STATE, RATINGS FOR EACH RANK WERE CONSOLIDATED. THE STUDY FINDINGS STRONGLY INDICATE THAT THE PATTERN OF SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED OF THE PATROL OFFICER IS UNIFORM THROUGHOUT THE STATE. A DISCRETE BODY OF KNOWLEDGE, ESSENTIAL TO THE COMPETENCE OF THE OFFICER, CAN BE IDENTIFIED, AND DATA GENERATED CONCERNING THE OFFICER'S COMMON TASKS CAN BE USED AS A BASIS FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT. APPENDIXES ARE INCLUDED IN THE PAPER. (LWM)