The importance of the rural police function is likely to mount due to increasing urban to rural migration and a climbing crime rate (up as much as 30 percent in some parts of the midwest). Although 92 percent of police departments in the U.S. are comprised of less than 10 officers, there is little information available on the organization and management of small police departments. Many problems of small departments stem from size and lack of budgetary resources. These guidelines offer suggestions in each of 10 sections: alternatives to municipal police service, police supervision/oversight, role of the chief of police, internal organization of the police department (including a simple organizational chart), line activities, manpower staffing and utilization, personnel policies--emphasizing additional training through inservice programs (also includes pay ranges for patrolmen, sergeants, and police chiefs, an employee performance rating sheet, and possible subjects for inclusion in a police manual), police records administration, police-community relations, and police planning assistance. Appendices give names and addresses of state criminal justice planning agencies and of Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) regional offices, and a summary of general conditions of the LEAA contract for short-term police consultant services, and a sheet listing sources of information on police management. (RS)