In a free and democratic society, law enforcement ideally is carried out in an environment in which law abiding citizens have nothing to fear from the police. Police officers serve the public good and are accountable for their actions; they must balance demands for the maintenance of order with respect for the law and the rights of the individual. In such an environment, citizens view the police as friends, not foes.

But how is such an environment created? What must be done to prepare law enforcement officials for the dual responsibility of both protecting and serving the public? There is no single, overarching answer to these questions, as Professor Otwin Marinen points out in his article on police training in the Commentary section of this issue: "police training in the United States does not address democracy directly.... Only practical training, what to do and how, translates democratic norms into effective policy."

In this issue, we examine the issue of law enforcement in a free society from various perspectives. In the lead article of the Focus section, FBI Director Louis J. Freeh examines the new, transnational challenges facing law enforcement officials, and the efforts being made by the FBI to confront them while maintaining respect for individual rights.

As a result of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the Department of Justice established the Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS). In our second Focus article, Joseph E. Brann, the director of COPS, shows how community-oriented policing has led to a reduction in crime in many American cities over the last few years. To complement Brann's article, we have included in the Commentary section an outline of the principles underlying the practice of community policing by Jack R. Greene, professor of criminal justice at Temple University.

Reporting from New Orleans, where the drop in crime this year has been more dramatic than in any other American city, contributing editor David Pitts ties various strands of the journal together with a look at how thoroughgoing reform of the New Orleans police department led directly -- and quickly -- to the reduction in crime there.

Finally, managing editor Stuart Gorin provides a look at how U.S. courts operate at the federal, state and local levels, emphasizing that the presumption of innocence and trial by a jury of one's peers remain fundamental tenets of the judicial system.