TAYSIDE POLICE aims to eliminate racial discrimination and promote equal opportunity under its new Race Equality Scheme document, which was published yesterday.

Under the scheme the force will promote race equality in the way it recruits, treats its staff and in its service delivery.

It aims to give training to officers so they value cultural diversity, provide culturally sensitive services, remove any barriers to police services and create an environment of equal opportunity for service users and staff.

To achieve these aims the force will consult communities over proposed policies and monitor activities policies for any likely impact on race equality and ensure the whole community has access to the full range of information and policing services.

It also hopes to create a workforce that is more representative of the diverse communities the force serves, which it will do by monitoring racial group employment applications and the employment processes to avoid any unfair discrimination.

The document, which will be in place for the next three years, has been produced following consultation with the minority ethnic communities of Tayside and feedback from more than 100 people via a number of consultation exercises held in October and last month.

In its foreword, Chief Constable John Vine said equality and diversity issues could not be treated as “afterthoughts.”

He said, “The scheme demonstrates our continued commitment to further equal opportunities in employment so that our workforce reflects the diversity of our communities.

“It also sets out our framework of standards and principles that are applied by Tayside Police both internally and to relevant external functions and partnerships.

“We recognise that equality and diversity issues cannot be ‘bolted on’ or considered as afterthoughts. They must be an integral part of all decision-making and policy development processes.”

Police diversity adviser Nasreen Mohammed said, “We are very pleased that so many people took the opportunity to express their views about the draft document. Valuable feedback has been used in fin-alising the publication.

“It is a living document and we would encourage people to make comment or raise any concerns in relation to the delivery of this scheme at any time.”

The force intends to publish information annually indicating progress and review the scheme in three years.