CLEVELAND Police have reviewed their working practices to ensure ethnic minorities are treated fairly on Teesside.

Everything from 999 calls to assisting victims of violent incidents and domestic disturbances has been looked at, along with the force's employment policy.

A drive to recruit more people from ethnic minorities has been undertaken with adverts appearing in the Asian News.

Those from multi-cultural backgrounds are also encouraged and supported to help them get through police training and the probationary period once they have decided on a career with the force.

Anyone experiencing problems is able to talk to the Cleveland Black Police Association, which has been set up to offer advice to recruits.

"The police have been accused of being institutionally racist and what we have done is look at our practices to eliminate any qualities that may be interpreted as prejudicial," said community safety officer Inspector Harry Simpson.

"It is extremely important for us and this is the first time anything like this has ever been done."

Officers have visited community groups made up of ethnic minorities to get feedback on ways they can improve race relations in the region.

About 1.3 per cent of Cleveland's 1,475 officers have non-white origins, while only one per cent of Teesside's 500,000 population are ethnic minorities of working age, which means they are being fairly represented in the police force, officers say.

Insp Simpson said: "This is a tremendous step forward for a police force and hopefully no stone will have been left unturned.