The criminal justice system itself is not the panacea for crime control, and it is unlikely to fulfill this role in the foreseeable future. This necessitates rethinking and rationalization within the criminal justice enterprise. Police cannot and ought not to see themselves being involved in a 'war on crime.' They must begin to more explicitly recognize and understand that the drive toward control is inevitably to be tempered by system considerations, protection of rights, and the need to control system abuse. The police must be encouraged to engage in public debate about these issues, perhaps initially expressing views they have heretofore kept private. When they have begun to contribute to academic and public level debates on criminal justice issues, enormous opportunities will be opened for dialogues between system components, between the system and the public, and between the police as a separate entity and the public. Greater 'crime control' is not guaranteed by these endeavors, but greater understanding may be attained of the complexity of the crime control notion, of the role of the system in its attempts to control crime, as well as of the complex and onerous task of the police in the whole exercise. Thirty-five notes are provided. (Author abstract modified)