Police administrators have pursued police professionalism earnestly but unsucessfully, in large part, because of the concept's ambiguity. There is a lack of clarity, even in general usage, of the designation 'professional.' Also, the initially imprecise definitions have been further clouded when modified for application to the police. Furthermore, the specific environments of given police departments limit the potential for development of general concepts of police professionalization. Finally, there has been a failure to distinguish between professionalization as achieving professionalism and as obtaining professional perquisities. In view of these factors, police professionalism must be seen more as an illusory goal than as a flawed programmatic objective. Sixteen references are appended. (Author abstract modified)