In attempting to correct abuses in the politically vulnerable law enforcement structure earlier in this century, reforms were implemented that insulated police from political manipulation. In the process of developing an independent professional bureaucracy, however, the police lost communication and contact with their client communities. Further, the increase in crime has brought pressure on police to manifest their professional excellence by reducing crime, which has in turn tended to fuel repressive tactics of law enforcement, particularly in high-crime inner-city communities. Inner-city areas have also tended to see themselves as victims of an unjust political, economic, and criminal justice structure that is viewed as preserved and defended by the police. The police must undergo a basic reorientation of their structure and style if tensions are to be relieved. A major step should be the decentralization of policy authority and accountablility to permit responsiveness to neighborhood as well as larger jurisdictional needs. Team policing is an appropriate form for such decentralization. Team policing emphasizes (1) increased management responsibilities by team leaders, first-line supervisors, and patrol officers; (2) an expansion of services provided by the line officer; (3) a reduction in crime in a given community through increased police flexibility of response; and (4) attention to positive interaction with citizens to facilitate crime prevention and police accountabilty for meeting expressed citizen needs. Overall, the goal of team policing is to increase the responsiveness of the police to the will and needs of the citizens, thus reducing tensions. Seventy-four footnotes and a bibliography of 32 listings are provided.