RESEARCHERS DEVELOPED A TYPOLOGY OF ELEMENTS OF THE POLICE ROLE AND HELD INTERVIEWS WITH 102 POLICE AGENCIES IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PA., ON TIME SPENT ON EACH OF THE ASPECTS OF THIS ROLE. NEXT THEY CONSTRUCTED 59 VARIABLES RELATING TO POLICE OPERATIONS AND CRIME AND PERFORMED FACTOR AND CORRELATION ANALYSIS ON THE VARIABLES. THE ELEMENTS OF THE POLICE ROLE WERE ROUTINE PATROL, TRAFFIC PATROL, EMERGENCY SOCIAL SERVICES, PEACEKEEPING, LAW ENFORCEMENT, FAMILY CRISIS INTERVENTION, AND VICE CONTROL. THE FACTORS DISCOVERED INDICATING COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND CHARACTERISTICS, WERE SOCIAL RANK, URBAN ANOMIE, RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, WEALTHY POPULOUSNESS, CASH FLOW, RESIDENTIAL INSTABILITY, FAMILY RETENTION, EMPLOYMENT RATE, MIDDLE CLASS SERVICE SUBURB, AND YOUNG FAMILISM. RANKED IN ORDER OF STRENGTH, THE SEVEN PATTERNED ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN THE AGGREGATE POLICE ROLE AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE WERE PRODUCED BY THE CORRELATION ANALYSIS. FAMILY CRISIS INTERVENTION AND PEACEKEEPING CORRELATED AT .80 WITH VERY LOW SOCIAL RANK AND HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT. HIGH VICE CONTROL AND FAMILY CRISIS INTERVENTION, PLUS LOW LAW ENFORCEMENT AND TRAFFIC PATROL CORRELATED AT .45 WITH VERY LOW SOCIAL RANK AND LOW URBAN ANOMIE. HIGH PEACEKEEPING, PLUS LOW SOCIAL SERVICES AND VERY LOW LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRELATED AT .60 WITH VERY HIGH URBAN ANOMIE AND LOW SOCIAL RANK. VERY HIGH PEACEKEEPING AND HIGH TRAFFIC PATROL, PLUS LOW LAW ENFORCEMENT AND FAMILY CRISIS INTERVENTION CORRELATED AT .75 WITH VERY HIGH URBAN ANOMIE AND HIGH WEALTHY POPULOUSNESS. VERY HIGH LAW ENFORCEMENT AND HIGH TRAFFIC PATROL, PLUS VERY LOW FAMILY CRISIS INTERVENTION CORRELATED AT .42 WITH VERY HIGH SOCIAL RANK, LOW URBAN ANOMIE, AND LOW RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT. HIGH VICE CONTROL, LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND SOCIAL SERVICES, PLUS LOW TRAFFIC PATROL CORRELATED AT .37 WITH MODERATE SOCIAL RANK AND RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, PLUS LOW URBAN ANOMIE. EQUALLY HIGH PEACEKEEPING AND FAMILY CRISIS INTERVENTION, PLUS LOW TRAFFIC PATROL CORRELATED AT .36 WITH VERY HIGH RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, SLIGHTLY NEGATIVE SOCIAL RANK AND LOW WEALTHY POPULOUSNESS. THE STUDY CONCLUDED THAT PATTERNS OF POLICING IN SUBURBS ARE DIFFERENT FROM THOSE IN URBAN AREAS AND SPECIFIC COMBINATIONS OF COMMUNITY STRUCTURE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE POLICE ROLE. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)