Data were collected from one evening shift of an inner- city district within the jurisdiction of the Houston (TX) Police Department in 1984. The amount of idle time that could be devoted to experimentation was the crucial factor. Researchers found that emergency service increases staffing demands the most, and also it creates the most idle time. Unless staff are being strained, reassignment of selected field officers to community policing functions does not adversely affect the remaining field officers' ability to handle the workload. Patrol time could be replaced with more productive, problem-oriented activities if field officers were provided such resources as daily, area-specific crime analysis information, lists of habitual truants, updates on outstanding warrants in their area, and monthly lists of crime hot spots. These things can be done without compromising response time to calls for service. 2 tables, 2 figures, 3 endnotes, and 17 references