Policing not only occurs within ecological contexts, it also occurs in the context of formal organizations. Understanding how police action turns on the interplay between the two has formed the basis for this study. Drawing specifically on David Klingers (1997) theory of social ecology and utilizing data from the Project on Policing Neigh­borhoods, this study examined whether police occupational outlooks covary with district and beat crime levels and whether crime levels vary inversely with the vigor with which formal police authority is applied. While police were more cynical and...