WORTH NOTING ON TV

* THURSDAY

Viewer Call-in (C-Span, 8-8:45 a.m., E.T.): Journalists' Roundtable, with calls accepted from viewers. * FRIDAY

Investigative Reports (A&E, 9-10 p.m.): ``Bad Cops,'' a two-part edition of the award-winning series, suggests that police corruption is at an all-time high in the United States, making it a matter of broad and vital importance to viewers.

Even discounting a little hype in the promotion of this show, there is enough smoke to make this topic a good choice for what A&E is calling its ``premiere week.'' Through case studies and frank interviews with those who have been there - cops and former cops from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Sea Girt, N.J. - the show tries to understand the context that can lead to corruption among certain members of the force.

The program also offers an interview with Rudolph Giuliani, former US Attorney in New York (and not-so-coincidentally a candidate for mayor of that city); the FBI's chief of public corruption, Dennis Aiken; and John Straub, former head of the City of Philadelphia's Police Corruption Unit.

(Part 2 airs Fri., Sept. 17, at 9 p.m.).

Gangs: Dreams Under Fire

(PBS, 10-11 p.m.): People have gotten used to thinking of youth gangs as African-American and Hispanic, but that's already behind the times. The ranks of these violent groups have swollen to include white, Asian, and Middle Eastern members, operating in both inner cities and suburban neighborhoods.

This film won the Golden Hugo Award for Documentary in the 1992 Chicago International Film Festival for its look into the dynamics of gangs in two California locations: the Los Angeles area, where gangs first arose, and the mainstream American L.A. suburban community of Granada Hills.

Please check local listings for these programs.