The Community Patrol Officer Program began in July 1984. It sought to create new roles for individual police officers to perform in their beat areas, for which they were assigned permanent responsibilities. Each officer was to function as a planner, problem solver, community organizer, and information link between the community and the police. Observations and interviews with the officers and the sergeant showed that the community policing philosophy requires operational and organizational changes that are inconsistent with the military model of police organization. Thus, a community policing sergeant must use methods of supervision that are more systemic than bureaucratic in character. In New York, the sergeant shifted emphasis from the criteria of legality to those of workmanship, helping each officer prepare a work plan that identified problems, established goals, and defined action strategies. This approach recognized community diversity and permitted supervision to take account of the diversity in judging performance. 25 references.