February 2006 6. Initiatives to increase recruitment of underrepresented minorities will need to be introduced. These should include special measures to encourage applicants and to assist them to achieve the required standards, together with actions to remove any direct or indirect discriminatory barriers. 7. Measures will also need to be introduced to ensure that police officers from a minority background are accepted and treated equally inside the police organization, which should provide a neutral working environment, and have equal opportunities for progression in their careers. III. TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 8. Police need to receive training and other forms of professional support required to understand and respond appropriately to the sensitivities of minorities, and so that they are able to carry out their policing roles effectively in ways which promote harmony and reduce tensions. 9. It is recommended that training in minority issues and inter-ethnic relations is included in both initial and in-service training, and provided for senior as well as junior police officers. Representatives of minorities should be involved in both the planning and delivery of training. 10. Police codes of conduct should include professional standards for policing in multi-ethnic societies, and police training programmes should include components specifically designed to achieve these standards. Breaches of these standards should be subject to remedial action, and exemplary good practice should receive professional and public recognition. 11. It is recommended that police managers and supervisors are clearly tasked with the responsibility to ensure that their staff achieve these standards in their dealings with minorities, and should provide leadership and set examples of good practice in their own work. 6