A/HRC/31/72 central element for community policing is the level of minority communities’ participation. Adding accountability systems to evidence-based policing make police more inclined to work with minority communities. C. Improving diversity throughout the system 82. The overrepresentation of minorities as perpetrators within the criminal justice can be challenged by the removal of obstacles to their participation in the administration of justice. Adopting inclusive strategies as part of an overall government policy for the promotion and protection of minority rights will multiply broader initiatives aimed at valuing diversity in society. Coherent and comprehensive minority policies require meaningful consultation that address the particular needs and circumstances of minorities in a given society, with their full and equal participation in all aspects of life of the State contributing to greater harmony and security. 83. States should ensure that the composition of law enforcement bodies at the local, regional and national levels reflect the diversity of the population. That requires concerted strategies, including legislative and administrative initiatives, organizational policies and processes to increase recruitment of women and men from underrepresented minorities from junior to senior ranks. That necessitates the removal of direct or indirect discriminatory barriers that hinder recruitment, retention and vertical mobility of minorities in police forces. 84. States should ensure that law enforcement patrols include the deployment of female officers and other personnel who, where possible, are trained in dealing with women who may be victims of sexual or other forms of gender-based violence. The role of minority women in police-community partnerships should not be underestimated and mixed patrol teams assist in creating cohesive relations between police and minority communities. 85. Experience in many countries has shown that legislation to outlaw discrimination and foster equality of opportunity has limited impact on patterns of recruitment and promotion of minorities in established State agencies. States should assess the composition of each relevant State agency, collecting and analysing figures disaggregated by gender, position type (junior/senior) and geographical location. 86. States should adopt a wide range of positive actions to overcome barriers of all kinds, including structural discrimination, that obstruct the recruitment, promotion and retention of male and female members of minorities in the police, the judiciary, prosecution services, the legal profession and prison personnel. 87. Adopting proactive recruitment strategies in minority areas contributes to the removal of formal and informal barriers to the recruitment, retention and vertical mobility of minorities. Those strategies need to include the removal of physical and/or educational requirements that exclude minorities; the elimination of culturally exclusive and antagonistic practices and emblems that contribute to a feeling of isolation; or actions to reduce or eliminate derogatory, discriminatory and stereotypical attitudes in the workplace. Practical and realistic targets with fixed timelines for achieving appropriate levels of participation in security, policing and justice agencies should be set, with such measures developed in consultation with minority groups and existing minority staff members. 88. States should encourage measures to increase the recruitment of minority officers and administrators, with the aim of building a diverse workforce in detention facilities, in particular in contexts where minorities are overrepresented in prison populations and detention personnel are largely culturally, linguistically or ethnically from the dominant group in society. 15