WARWICKHIRE Police has been praised for its work with minority groups over the past year, although the hard work has been going on longer in the county than it has for many forces, according to a senior officer.

The Winning The Race: Embracing Diversity report published last week showed the force had successfully addressed issues of community and race relations and highlighted the provision for the gay, lesbian and transgender community as an area of national good practice. However, Insp Chris Ward, of Stratford police, said the force had worked hard to ensure all incidents involving minority groups had been dealt with very seriously, despite the area's image as a problem-free zone, and initiatives combating racism, homophobia and other prejudices had been going on for some time.

The report follows a rigorous inspection of all national forces intended to measure the progress since the first inspection since 1997 and the Stephen Lawrence inquiry in 1999.

During this time the force has tried to tackle equality issues by implementing a number of initiatives, including the training of 35 managers in diversity issues, and over the next few months all staff will receive full training.

Insp Ward said that although it was hard to believe that an area like Stratford District, which has a very low population of ethnic minorities, had a problem with racism, that was far from the case.

"It can often be worse than it is in cities or large towns because that person can feel very isolated without the support of agencies based in the larger conurbations," he said.

He added that in a bid to stamp out prejudice, every incident that could be seen to be racist, whether by the victim, a witness or a police officer, was recorded to ensure the police were aware of the scale of the problem.

Chief constable John Burbeck said although he was pleased with the progress, there was still more work to be done.

"We will continue to hold these issues at the forefront of our agenda to make sure that we fulfil our obligations to all Warwickshire people," he said.