Police reform must consider the underlying public service context of police work. The politicized atmosphere in which police problems must be resolved is a result of the interaction between external pressures for diverse services and internal response to these conflicting demands. Lack of clarity in police responsibility lowers efficiency by impending the translation of information into action and vice versa; also it has a negative effect on the morale of patrolmen, which in turn lowers the effectiveness of their work. Efforts to increase minority representation on police forces have not been successful because of negative attitudes toward the police. Increasing criticism of the police has reinforced their feeling of separation from the rest of the community. Finally, the growth of unionism can help alleviate the problems, since the formation of genuine police associations involved in collective bargaining about such conditions as employment and personnel policy will help management understand the problems of their agencies, and ensure the cooperation of police workers in agency decisions. Footnotes and approximately 60 references are included.