A SUMMARY OF SOCIOLOGICAL STUDIES INCLUDES FINDINGS FROM THREE EARLY EFFORTS WHICH SUGGEST THAT PATROL OFFICERS EXERCISE CONSIDERABLE DISCRETION, AND BELONG TO A SUBCULTURE WITH POWERFUL NORMS OF SOLIDARITY AND SECRECY; THE STUDIES CONCLUDE THAT POLICE ARE SOMEWHAT ISOLATED, DEVELOP A WORKING PERSONALITY IN RESPONSE TO THE DEMAND OF DISCRETION, DANGER, AND EFFICIENCY, AND ARE SOCIALIZED IN COMPLEX WAYS BY THEIR ENVIRONMENT. DIFFERENT PATROL WORKLOAD, STUDY METHODS, PROBLEMS OF INTERPRETATION, AND SOME GENERALIZATIONS, HOWEVER, IMPINGE UPON VALIDITY OF THESE FINDINGS. THE KANSAS CITY PREVENTIVE PATROL EXPERIMENT, WHICH CHALLENGES THE ASSUMPTION THAT PREVENTIVE PATROL IS AN EFFECTIVE METHOD OF CRIME DETERRENCE AND DETECTION, IS DISCUSSED, AND FINDINGS OF KANSAS CITY'S REPONSE TIME ANALYSES AND OTHER EFFECTIVENESS STUDIES ARE ANALYZED. THE TEXT VIEWS RESEARCH AS USEFUL BECAUSE OF ITS SCIENTIFIC VALIDITY, PRACTICAL FEASIBILITY, AND INTELLECTUAL IMPACT ON THE GENERAL THOUGHTS AND BELIEFS HELD IN SOCIETY, AND IT IDENTIFIES NEWLY-DEVELOPED POLICE POLICIES AND PROGRAMS THAT SEEM TO BE PARTIALLY RESEARCH-BASED. THESE INCLUDE TEAM POLICING, AND THE LEAA PATROL EMPHASIS PROGRAM (PEP), THE INTEGRATED CRIMINAL APPREHENSION PROGRAM (ICAP), AND THE MANAGING PATROL OPERATIONS (MPO). A CAUTION THAT POLICING KNOWLEDGE IS HIGHLY CONDITIONAL IS DELIVERED, HOWEVER, ALONG WITH NEED FOR COMPARATIVE AND MULTISITE STUDIES AND FOR RESEARCH PROJECT REPLICATIONS TO STRENGTHEN THE VALIDITY OF RESEARCH KNOWLEDGE. NOTES ARE PROVIDED. (AOP)