Although Tayside Police is seeking to improve its record, recruitment manager Paul Cairnie said he is optimistic, given the level of applications for voluntary and support positions.

Keith Jarrett, president of the National Black Police Association, has branded the current level of employment of ethnic police officers as “woeful, piecemeal and pitiful”.

“There are significant black communities in our major cities, and you need to have forces reflecting that,” Mr Jarrett said.

“The best information about a community will come from the community itself, but this relationship can only happen if there is dialogue and a level of trust between the two parties.

“But where do you start if there is under-representation?”

Mr Cairnie said the force in Tayside is greatly encouraged by the level of applications for special constables, who are volunteers with police powers, but emphasised much needs to be done to get ethnic minorities to apply.

He said, “Things are very different up here, compared with England and Wales. I wouldn’t say we are perfect, and we can always do better.

“However, recently we have seen an increase in applications from ethnic minorities, particularly through our special constables. We currently have eight people from minority groups going through the recruitment process.

“We are doing well in voluntary and support staff, and are hoping to target ethnic groups a lot more in the future. We have been advertising in the minority Press and have been out trying to target people and encourage them to apply.”

Mr Cairnie added, “I am currently conducting a review of the way Tayside Police recruits from these groups, and we are looking at ways to improve.

“One of the main ways we can do this is to let people know about the opportunities available.

“We have leaflets which provide this information, but one of my recommendations will be printing more leaflets like these.

“The message is that we are not simply about police officers — we want people to know we have other opportunities as well.”