Under a legal bureaucratic model of authority for policing, police exercise their authority by rigidly enforcing the law through the power granted them under the law. Under the traditional model of authority for policing, authority stems from the public's holding a respectful view of the police that gives them special persuasive powers with citizens. Under the legal bureaucratic model, the police are not interested in public acceptance, public satisfaction, or public trust in the police. The police orientation is toward gaining compliance with the law rather than serving the public. Under the model of traditional policing, the aim of policing is to contribute to an improvement in the quality of community life by seeing that citizens' needs for safety and well-being are met. Under this model, police will exert their authority to elicit lawful and constructive citizen behavior through negotiation, persuasion, and nonlegal means of resolving conflict. The legal source of authority is less important than the personal authority and experience of the officer in interacting with citizens with wisdom and fairness. In the final analysis, policing must meet the needs of the public and establish its authority by the public's acceptance of the results achieved. This inevitably involves the setting of objectives derived from an assessment of the needs of the community served by a given force. This involves consultation with a wide range of community representatives who can provide input and feedback that will largely determine the priorities and styles of policing used. Fifteen references are listed.