Recommendations on Policing in Multi-Ethnic Societies of minorities often gives rise to complaints of unfairness and risks lowering standards and should be avoided if possible. However the use of quotas may be appropriate and justifiable in special circumstances. Where, for example, as part of a police reform programme in a multiethnic State an entirely or largely new cadre of police personnel is being established, it may be essential for legitimacy and effectiveness that this cadre is from the outset ethnically representative of the population as a whole. In such circumstances it may be justifiable to set and fill ethnic quotas, especially at the initial stage of selection and training, provided that the proper minimum professional standards are required for members of all groups at the stage at which they become confirmed as police officers. However, the use of ethnic quotas should be considered only for a transitional period after which the aim should be to achieve the targets by other means. Data need to be collected on a regular basis to test whether these targets are being met. Governments need to determine what bodies are responsible for each of these tasks, and assign responsibilities accordingly. Such 'ethnic monitoring' should be linked to, or integrated with, more general monitoring of the workforce to ensure compliance with international law and the state's wider employment policies. The collection of ethnic data is a sensitive and controversial issue, and data protection laws appear to hinder the collection of data on ethnicity in some countries. However, States should not avoid this issue, and such data should be collected and processed with due regard to European standards concerning the protection of personal data and the right to self-identification (every person's right to choose whether to be treated or not to be treated as belonging to a minority). Ethnic data should be anonymised, converted into statistical data, and any possibility of its being traced back to the personal databases should be avoided. Provided these safeguards are met, the rights of individuals should not be violated. But without such data, it will not be possible for States to monitor whether actions taken to improve the ethnic representativeness of the police are having the desired effect. 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. 15