THE MAJOR FOCUS OF THE REPORT IS ON SERIOUS OR INDEX CRIMES, INCLUDING MURDER AND NONNEGLIGENT MANSLAUGHTER, FORCIBLE RAPE, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, ROBBERY, BURGLARY, LARCENY, AND AUTOMOBILE THEFT. CRIME DATA FOR THESE OFFENSES ARE ANALYZED USING THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION'S UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING SYSTEM. IN 1974, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT AN OFFENSE OCCURRED EVERY 8 MINUTES WITH A TOTAL OF 37,449 SERIOUS AND 27,282 NONSERIOUS CRIMES REPORTED IN THE COUNTY. VANDALISM, DISORDERLY CONDUCT, OFFENSES TO THE FAMILY, AND SIMPLE ASSAULT COMPRISED 75 PERCENT OF THE NONSERIOUS CRIME TOTAL. NINE OUT OF EVERY TEN SERIOUS CRIMES WERE PROPERTY OFFENSES. MALES REPRESENTED THREE OUT OF EVERY FOUR SERIOUS CRIME DEFENDANTS, AND BLACKS CONSTITUTED 58 PERCENT OF ALL SERIOUS CRIME DEFENDANTS. OVER 45 PERCENT OF THE DEFENDANTS WERE BETWEEN 15 AND 19 YEARS OF AGE. PEOPLE BETWEEN 18 AND 25 YEARS OF AGE WERE MOST VICTIMIZED BY SERIOUS OFFENSES. THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF PATROLMEN AVAILABLE PER WATCH WAS 120, AND THE RATIO OF POLICE PER 1,000 POPULATION WAS 1.36. BASED ON A STANDARD OF 2 POLICE PER 1,000 POPULATION, THE COUNTY SHOULD MAINTAIN A POLICE FORCE OF APPROXIMATELY 1,420 MEN, WHICH WOULD MEAN AN ADDITIONAL 455 POLICE OFFICERS. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERN UNIFORM CRIME REPORT ISSUANCE, MANPOWER ALLOCATION, SPECIAL OPERATIONS FOR HIGH CRIME AREAS, MONTHLY AND/OR WEEKLY MONITORING OF SELECTED OFFENSE TYPES, INFORMATION PROCESSING, PHYSICAL CRIME PREVENTION MEASURES, JUVENILE CRIME, POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS, AND PLANNING AND COLLABORATION IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE. DEMOGRAPHIC AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COUNTY AND THE STRUCTURE OF POLICE DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS ARE DESCRIBED. A GLOSSARY AND SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION IN APPENDIXES ARE INCLUDED, ALONG WITH SUPPORTING TABLES AND FIGURES.