6. To facilitate access to justice for national minorities, States should ensure that law-enforcement agencies work to build trust with minority communities and enforce the law in an impartial and nondiscriminatory manner, free of prejudice and gender bias. The police are usually the first point of contact for persons who wish to report an incident or a crime. As such, they provide an entry point into the criminal justice system and police officers are key actors in facilitating access to justice for persons belonging to minority communities. But if persons belonging to a national minority are disproportionately victims of ill-treatment during arrest, questioning and detention, then minority communities will fear, distrust and shun law-enforcement bodies. In such circumstances, access to justice is denied because crimes committed against minorities either go unreported or are not investigated fairly and rigorously, and therefore do not lead to successful prosecutions. They can significantly increase tensions between law-enforcement agencies and minority communities. The Recommendations on Policing in Multi-Ethnic Societies point out that “good policing in multi-ethnic societies is dependent on the establishment of a relationship of trust and confidence, built on regular communication and practical co-operation, between the police and the minorities. […] Effective policing in a democratic society must be based not on fear, but on consent.”43 Ensuring that lawenforcement agencies reflect the diversity of society, communicate and co-operate with minority communities in their daily work and apply the law in an impartial and non-discriminatory manner is critical for the development of a relationship of trust with minorities. Such a relationship is beneficial for several reasons. Minority communities benefit from law-enforcement agencies that are responsive to their complaints, concerned about their safety and facilitate their access to justice. Policing, in turn, is more effective because law-enforcement agencies can rely upon the co-operation of national minorities in their daily work. Such co-operation also enhances the ability of law-enforcement agencies to prevent crime. States also benefit when societies are better integrated, policing is more effective and communities can co-exist peacefully with each other. Establishing a relationship of trust with national minorities – a core tenet of community policing – rests on the ability and willingness of law-enforcement bodies to 43 28 HCNM (2006) Recommendations on Policing in Multi-Ethnic Societies, introduction and explanatory note to Recommendation 12. The Graz Recommendations on Access to Justice and National Minorities