Sixteen superintendents and 24 sergeants were asked to express how they see themselves as a group, how they see the other group, and how the other group sees them. Although the sergeants saw themselves as generally hardworking and effective, the superintendents had some harsh criticisms of sergeants which the sergeants did not express in their perceptions of the superintendents' views of them. The superintendents, on the other hand, were fairly accurate in assessing the sergeants' views of them, perhaps because the superintendents had once been sergeants themselves. The study established that sergeants and superintendents do have stereotypical perceptions of themselves and one another, often without the awareness of the other group (particularly sergeants). These stereotypical perceptions can contribute to (1) difficulties in agreeing on what problems are; (2) difficulties in agreeing on solutions to problems; (3) communication difficulties; (4) problems of evaluation; (5) problems of team management; (6) time and energy spent on problems raised by the stereotypes, as opposed to problems raised by the job; and (7) relationship problems getting in the way of improved task performance. The data show the need for a more sophisticated program of interventions in police management than is possible under the discipline code. The problem requires a more thoughtful and flexible approach than would be possible by strictly following the discipline code. Five footnotes are listed.