Police in Wiltshire have embarked on a three-year project to ensure the force is not 'institutionally racist'.

The racism audit is required as part of the Race Relations Amendment Act, 2000.

It is one of the recommendations to come out of the 1999 Macpherson Report into the death of black teenager Stephen Lawrence.

The 18-year-old was murdered by a gang of white youths as he walked home with a friend in south London in April 1993.

The Metropolitan Police failed to track down his murderers despite receiving various tip-offs, and their investigation was accused of being lacklustre.

In 1999 the Macpherson Report condemned the Metropolitan Police as institutionally racist and accused officers of making fundamental errors during their inquiry into the Lawrence murder.

Priorities of the audit include staff representation of minorities, deployment, response times and bail procedures.

Acting Superintendent Kevin Maidment is in charge of the project.

He said: "It's not a case of going through a process of just ticking off a lot of boxes we are taking this very seriously.

"It's about changing hearts and minds we may have some way to go in some areas."

Wiltshire Constabulary now wants to hear from representatives of any minority groups who have suggestions on how police can improve.

All public authorities are required to carry out a review of their race policies under the Race Relations Amendment Act, which places a duty on them to work towards the elimination of unlawful discrimination and promote equality of opportunity and good relations between people of different racial groups.

The idea of the audit is to remove any policies or procedures which, perhaps inadvertently, have the effect of discriminating against a minority.

Wiltshire police aim to produce an action plan by the end of this month to detail the priority areas which will be dealt with under the audit.

Anyone interested in commenting or contributing to Wiltshire Police's racism audit should write to: Racial Equality Scheme, Best Value Unit, Police Headquarters, London Road, Devizes, SN10 2DN or email Race.Equality @wiltshire.police.uk