LANCASHIRE'S Chief Constable Pauline Clare claims that the county's force is on the brink of a major overhaul which will see it change for good.

Mrs Clare has been handed the task of taking charge of the constabulary as it faces up to the challenges posed by the new Millennium and Britain's changing society.

The country's first woman chief constable sees the recruitment of more Asian and black officers as a major objective.

She has already underlined the need to change her force to make sure it properly reflects the community it serves.

And the Macpherson Report, published in the wake of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, has helped highlight the need for change.

Jack Straw, Home Secretary, and MP for Blackburn, has also announced tough new targets for the recruitment of ethnic minority officers. Lancashire has more than 3,000 serving officers and just 39 of them are black and Asian.

Mr Straw is insisting the number should be increased to more than 120 over the next 10 years.

Even before the targets were set, specialists were brought in to take at look at the force's recruitment policies and procedures.

New recruitment techniques have been put in place and a hard-hitting and high-profile advertising campaign which actively targets black and Asian people has also been launched. Mrs Clare said: "Our campaign is about clearly stating our standards for new recruits but at the same time making sure we encourage interest from those communities who have previously felt excluded.

"Our message is 'we only admit the best' regardless of colour, gender or anything else.

"We make no apologises that we are actively advertising in parts of our county where there are significant black and Asian communities.

"Recruiting more Asians and blacks is a very important area to us because we have to reflect more genuinely the diversity of the communities we serve." The chief constable added: "This is a new approach for us because what we have done before has failed and we must change our tactics to succeed - future failure is unacceptable to our communities.

"The Macpherson report has allowed us to draw a line in the sand, to start again with common definitions and goals.

"I see this as an opportunity and not a threat and I am confident that the constabulary will meet the challenges positively."

Mrs Clare has also thrown down the gauntlet to her officers to adapt to the change. She said: "It is not enough for us to be confident that we as individuals are not racists. The findings off the Stephen Lawrence inquiry challenge us to look again at actions, policies and procedures to make sure we do not treat anyone unfairly."

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