Examination of written documents and the process by which they are produced within the NYPD reveals a number of features which, while notable, may be common to large, complex, service-delivering public agencies. It is obvious that liberal arts and social science rhetorical standards do not operate here and are inappropriate. Factors affecting the writing style are (1) the sophistication of the organization, augmented by the relatively high level of education attained by the uniformed personnel; (2) the volume of highly varied but routine documents continuously produced; and (3) the tendency, through both overt and normative means, to regulate all forms of official behavior, anticipating every contingency and alternative. To manage the array of documents, the department has designed forms and formulas to respond to varying needs. There are explicit rules on order, format, and content of written material, and there are normative rules pertaining to content and style. As an example of explicit requirements, reports of unusual occurrences must adhere to the formula expressed by the acronym NEOTWY, derived from the last letters of when, where, who, what, how, and why. If police writing and those aspects of management that rely upon it are to be improved, officers' writing must be analyzed as a system of communication in which form, content, and style are intended to suit specific audiences and purposes. Police writing cannot be forced to conform arbitrarily to liberal arts or scholarly standards. Also, 'plain English' criteria need to be adapted to the structure and ethos of police departments. Practitioners and researchers alike should consider such factors as multiple authorship, the possibility of subpoena, the influence of supervisors' tastes, the rules and regulations governing the structure and writing processes of documents, and the nature of the organization itself. Six references are listed.