UNTIL NOW, POLICE CYNICISM RESEARCH STUDIES HAVE FOCUSED ON THE DETERMINANTS, NATURE, AND CONSEQUENCES OF POLICE CYNICISM FOR BOTH THE POLICE OFFICER AND POLICE AGENCY. THEY HAVE BEEN BASED PRIMARILY UPON THE UNPROVEN THEORY OF NIEDERHOFFER (1967) THAT POLICE CYNICISM IS THE ATTITUDINAL MECHANISM THROUGH WHICH POLICE ADAPT TO AN ANOMIC CONDITION--THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE POLICE OCCUPATION INTO A PROFESSION. THE RESEARCH REPORTED HERE INTENDS TO TEST EMPIRICALLY WHETHER THERE IS AN ACTUAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CYNICISM AND WORK ALIENATION AMONG POLICE OFFICERS. SELF-ADMINISTERED QUESTIONNAIRES WERE DISTRIBUTED TO 324 POLICE OFFICERS REPRESENTING 9 POLICE AGENCIES IN WASHINGTON AND IDAHO THAT RANGE IN SIZE FROM 13 TO 116 LINE-LEVEL OFFICERS. A TOTAL OF 242 RETURNED USABLE QUESTIONNAIRES (74.7 PERCENT). POLICE CYNICISM WAS MEASURED BY REGOLI'S (1976) FIVE-POINT, 20-ITEM LIKERT SCALE, AND WORK ALIENATION WAS ESTIMATED BY MILLER'S (1967) 5-POINT, 5-ITEM LIKERT SCALE. RESULTS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT GENERAL, ALBEIT MODERATE, RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLICE CYNICISM AND WORK ALIENATION. WHEN SECONDARY CONTROLS WERE USED, THE STUDY SHOWED SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN WORK ALIENATION AND CYNICISM IN SEVERAL OFFICER CATEGORIES: (1) THOSE WITH MORE THAN 2 YEARS OF POLICE SERVICE AND HAVING LOW SOCIAL CLASS STANDING; (2) THOSE LESS-EDUCATED WITH LESS THAN 2 YEARS OF SERVICE; (3) THOSE BETTER-EDUCATED WITH MORE THAN 2 YEARS OF SERVICE; AND (4) THOSE MEMBERS OF SMALL DEPARTMENTS WITH LESS THAN 2 YEARS OF SERVICE. THE LATTER GROUP SHOWED THE STRONGEST RELATIONSHIP. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD INVOLVE LARGER SAMPLES, MORE REFINED AND STATISTICALLY RELIABLE MEASUREMENTS, AND LONGITUDINAL DESIGN. TABULAR DATA AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)