THE AUTHOR, A PSYCHOLOGIST AT THE DOUGLAS INCH CENTRE FOR FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY IN GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, WAS VISITING CHICAGO IN 1976; SHE FIRST BECAME AWARE OF ITS ATMOSPHERE OF TENSION THROUGH THE REPEATED WARNINGS OF HER HOST NOT TO VISIT DOWNTOWN CHICAGO AFTER 5 P.M. AND NEVER TO USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AFTER THAT HOUR. THIS FEAR OF VIOLENCE IN THE CITY HAS CAUSED A WITHDRAWAL OF PEOPLE FROM CERTAIN AREAS AT CERTAIN TIMES, WHICH IN TURN HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE CRIME PROBLEM IN THESE PLACES. ANOTHER FACTOR IN THIS FEAR IS THE KNOWLEDGE THAT SO MANY PEOPLE ARE ARMED; GUNS ARE EXTREMELY EASY OF OBTAIN IN MANY AMERICAN CITIES. IN ORDER TO GET THE FEEL OF VIOLENCE FROM THE POLICE POINT OF VIEW, THE AUTHOR SPENT A SATURDAY EVENING IN A SQUAD CAR IN A HIGH-RISK GHETTO AREA IN CHICAGO . THE PATROL AREA WAS APPROXIMATELY ONE MILE SQUARE, LARGELY COVERED BY HIGH RISE APARTMENTS WHICH THE POLICE DESCRIBED AS 'ARSENALS OF WEAPONS.' SHOOTINGS WERE COMMON, EVEN IN DOMESTIC DISPUTES, AND SOME CALLS WERE MADE IN ORDER TO GET THE POLICE TO COME TO THE HOUSE WHERE GANGS WOULD MOUNT AN AMBUSH. FROM THE CALLS RECEIVED DURING THE EVENING, THE AUTHOR WAS ABLE TO GET A FEEL FOR THE TENSIONS TO WHICH POLICE ARE EXPOSED AND TO DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHY THERE ARE INCIDENTS OF POLICE OVERREACTING TO THREATS, SHOOTING FIRST AND ASKING QUESTIONS LATER. THE AUTHOR GIVES EXAMPLES OF THE INFECTIOUS NATURE OF THE TENSION THAT AMERICAN CITY DWELLERS FEEL. IN GLASGOW, SHE NEVER NOTICED WHETHER A STREET WAS FULL OR EMPTY, BUT WALKING AROUND IN NEW YORK SHE FOUND HERSELF CONSTANTLY ALERT AND AWARE OF THE PEOPLE AROUND HER, NOTICING WHEN A STREET BECAME EMPTY AND BECOMING TENSE. SHE SUGGESTS THREE MAIN CAUSES OF THE ESCALATION OF VIOLENCE IN AMERICA: (1) THE RACIAL MIX OF AMERICAN CITIES, WHERE BLACKS, PUERTO RICANS, AND OTHER MINORITIES TEND TO BECOME ISOLATED IN THEIR OWN RACIAL GHETTOS; (2) THE PREVALENCE OF GUNS IN AMERICA AND THE EASE WITH WHICH THEY ARE OBTAINED -- PETTY QUARRELS WHICH IN BRITAIN WOULD END IN A FISTFIGHT, FREQUENTLY RESULT IN SHOOTINGS IN AMERICA; AND (3) THE FEAR WHICH INHIBITS THE URBAN DWELLER FROM GOING INTO THE CITIES AT NIGHT AND FROM USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND MANY PARKS -- THE FEWER PEOPLE THERE ARE AROUND, THE MORE DANGEROUS THE STREETS BECOME, A SITUATION WHICH LEADS TO A VICIOUS CIRCLE OF TENSION AND FEAR. THE AUTHOR CONCLUDES BY CAUTIONING BRITONS AGAINST A COMPLACENT ATTITUDE ABOUT THE GROWTH OF VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. THERE ARE GHETTOS IN GREAT BRITAIN, AND THE USE OF GUNS HAS BEEN INCREASING FOR SEVERAL YEARS. SHE URGES REALISTIC ATTEMPTS AT COMBATING URBAN DEPRIVATION AND POVERTY AS WELL AS A POLITICAL COMMITMENT TO SUPPORT THE POLICE IN THE CONTROL OF WEAPONS. (VDA)