The CPSU was first founded in 1976 as an alternative response to public demand for more punitive crime control measures to reduce growing crime rates. The CPSU approach is based on the assumption that proactive policing and return of the uniformed officer to a fixed local foot beat are the best means of reducing public fear of crime and increasing public support for the police. In addition, the community is expected to take an active role in strengthening informal social controls. The unit's first activities were to identify localities in which particular crimes were likely to be committed, plot offenses against area characteristics, and identify areas where juveniles were most at risk. The information was then used to stimulate the thinking of other police units about the required balance between proactive and reactive policing and to alert local organizations to mobilize local resources. Case studies illustrate how joint community-police action and unilateral police action served to heighten the sense of community and provide leisure activities for young people in Exeter. The CPSU formed a policing consultative group with representatives from 18 different agencies as a community forum for sharing problems and considering social and police tactics for crime control. Police-agency frictions were reduced by teaming officers with agency representatives to further understanding of each others' philosophy, structure, and work environment. Attitudes toward the project were gathered through surveys of community volunteers, agency workers, and levels of the police organization. Responses indicated general agreement that the problems facing British society require joint action, different problems may require either proactive or reactive policing solutions, and release of empirical data can enhance effectiveness of actions taken. The CPSU model suggests that the police may take the initiative in community crime control by gearing police priorities to community circumstances and by training police to be proactive, developing an analytical data system, and improving the status of the resident home beat. Notes, a bibliography, figures, and appendixes are included.