To best respond to the changing nature of policing services, law enforcement agencies need to employ long-term plans that incorporate strategic approaches to anticipate both the demand for service and personnel requirements. Greater cultural diversity in America means that police officers must be able to work with all types of people. This is particularly important under the popular paradigm of community policing, which requires that officers be more representative of and responsive to the communities they serve. Further, since the terrorist attacks of September 11, new homeland security missions for local and State police have increased the importance of interagency operations. All of these demands on policing must be confronted under budget constraints. A study of the Long Beach Police Department focuses on the demands placed on officers' time and skills before and after September 11. Attention is given to officers' perceptions of the quality and characteristics of fellow officers, the various positions they have held in the department, and the current methods of recruiting and retaining officers. In looking for models that might help police agencies in their personnel planning, this study turned to military organizations, which have organizational structures similar to police agencies and draw from the same labor pool. 4 figures and 32 references