SCOTS police forces are failing to attract new officers from ethnic minority groups.
Figures show only 118 officers out of 15,963 in Scotland, around 0.7%, are black or Asian.
An independent race relations review out today calls for a major recruitment overhaul and urges senior police to reach out to ethnic communities.
The report, by the Commission for Racial Equality, was commissioned in the wake of a BBC documentary which showed racist behaviour among officers in England.
It states: "Despite recruitment efforts it is unlikely the under representation will be addressed through current measures."
The low numbers of black and ethnic minority officers is a major problem forces must overcome, according to the review.
Researchers for the CRE have made 67 recommendations for forces to implement in the next six months.
The report said Scotland's forces were ahead of counterparts in England in dealing with race relations.
But Law at Work, the company which compiled the report, found there was still a perception that racism exists in the police.
The report claims many young people from ethnic minorities would not consider applying to join the police force as a result.
Ali Jarvis, director of CRE Scotland, said all Scottish forces had to review their recruitment policies. She said: "Doing more of the same is not enough because that is going to take
another 50 years."
The review also said police chiefs were trying to stamp out racism but policies were not always carried out in practice.
It added forces needed to look at whether the training given to officers actually made a difference to the way they dealt with people on the ground.
Doris Littlejohn, chair of the review team, said: "Police forces in Scotland are clearly committed to eradicating racial discrimination and engaging positively with ethnic minority communities.
"Considerable efforts are being made to attract police officers from ethnic minority backgrounds but there are still barriers to recruitment which the police, in partnership with community organisations, must overcome."
Trevor Philips, national chair of CRE, said: "Police forces must remember that it only takes one negative experience with one individual member of staff to shape a person's perception of the whole service."
Publication date 15/07/05