Law enforcement officials often project the image that a police force is a
             closed society. Some officers are male and some female; some Black and
             some white, but when they join the force, the image presented is that they
             view themselves as "blue through and through."
             Privately, though, some Black-American police officers do not feel
             that they are consistently treated with respect, without regard to their
             racial background, and many feel that police bureaucracy is riddled with
             institutional racism -- that is, habits and patterns that result in racism
             that is not consciously intended -- that makes casual racism both part of
             every day life as a police officer and unnoticed by those who are not of
             the minority race. Others may feel that at least some racism within police
             forces involves intent to act in a bigoted way.
             To discuss the topic intelligently, the term "institutional racism"
             needs to be clarified. That term acknowledges the fact that every
             organization tends to develop its own subculture, or informal and unstated
             beliefs generally shared by most. An organization's subculture might
             include a variety of positive beliefs. For instance, if an organization
             adopts the view that it is good for employees to volunteer in the
             community, when an employee occasionally takes time off for charitable
             work, this might be viewed positively, while in another company it might be
             used as an invalid use of personal days. However, these beliefs can also
             be negative, and result in a general belief that women should not be in
             positions of authority, or that most minority employees are there because
             they got preferential treatment during the employment process. This could
             result in the person having to prove him or herself, or being informally
             held to a higher performance standard.
             In a study done recently in England, an investigation of the London
             police department found tha...