The sixth edition of this overview of police-community relations continues the theme that citizen participation is critical to the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. It focuses on the importance of and strategies for positive interaction which affect crime control in America today. It addresses the internal and external communities served by the police and discusses past, present, and future practices that can create and sustain meaningful and successful police-community relations. Its comprehensive coverage includes such topics as: public relations, community policing, relations within the police organization, the communication process, police discretion, the media, special populations, cultural contexts of community, dissent and political response, conflict management, community control, and police-community relations in the 21st century. For those working in law enforcement, the justice system, or in community organizations.