A REVIEW WAS CONDUCTED OF THE PRACTICAL CONSTRAINTS THAT ENTER INTO THE EVALUATION OF PUBLIC PROGRAMS, SUCH AS TIMELINESS, RELEVANCE, VALIDITY OF CONCLUSIONS, AND ADMINISTRATIVE CONCERN FOR THESE CONCEPTS. THE PAPER ALSO IDENTIFIES THOSE PRACTICAL PROBLEMS IN MULTNOMAH COUNTY THAT MAY HELP TO EXPLAIN THE PAST AND CURRENT NTP EVALUATION EXPERIENCES. NTP IS A BROAD-BASED, LONG-TERM PROGRAM AIMED AT LARGE-SCALE CHANGES IN THE DELIVERY OF POLICE SERVICES, CONCENTRATING ON RESTRUCTURING TRADITIONAL POLICE ORGANIZATIONS INTO A MORE DESPECIALIZED COMMUNITY-ORIENTED FORCE. OTHER TEAM POLICING PROJECTS WERE EVALUATED TO DETERMINE IF MULTNOMAH COUNTY'S EXPERIENCES WERE UNIQUE AND TO SEE IF EXPERIENCES IN OTHER PROGRAMS ARE RELEVANT TO A PROPOSED EVALUATION OF NTP. SIGNIFICANT EVALUATIVE ASPECTS OF OTHER TEAM POLICING PROGRAMS WERE EXAMINED. A DESCRIPTION IS GIVEN OF THE SETTING AND THE 0PERATIONAL CONCEPTS OF TEAM POLICING AS PRACTICED IN THE OREGON COUNTY AND PROVIDES A PERSPECTIVE FROM WHICH TO VIEW THE ACTUAL EVALUATION EXPERIENCES RELATED TO NTP. A CASE STUDY OF THE COUNTY PROGRAM FOLLOWS, WHICH FOCUSES ON THE ORIGINAL EVALUATION PROPOSAL PRESENTED IN THE PROGRAM'S CONCEPT PAPER, AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO AN EVALUATION GRANT AND POST-GRANT APPRAISAL. DATA NEEDS AND THE FEASIBILITY OF GENERATING, CAPTURING, AND ANALYZING THAT DATA ARE ASSESSED. AN EVALUATION DESIGN THAT RELIES ON MORE THAN ONE APPROACH, AND IS SENSITIVE TO CHANGES IN SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND VALUE CONTEXTS IS SUGGESTED. PROBLEM AREAS IN EVALUATION RESEARCH ARE DEPARTMENT POLITICAL TIES, THE VALUES OF OFFICERS INVOLVED IN THE NTP PROGRAM, MULTIPLICITY CAUSED BY RIGID AND UNADAPTABLE PROGRAM DESIGNS, AND RELEVANCE AND VALIDITY. SOME PROBLEMS IN MULTNOMAH COUNTY WERE PLANNING, ADMINISTRATIVE DEFENSIVENESS, AND LACK OF FUNDS TO CONDUCT EVALUATION ACTIVITIES. THE OUTLOOK FOR APPLICATION OF EVALUATION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES IN POLICE PROGRAMS IS GOOD AS OFFICERS COME TO ACCEPT THE PROCESS. NOTES, TABLES, FIGURES, AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE INCLUDED.