HAMPSHIRE'S chief of police has appealed to his officers to report anyone who does not promote a culture of respect within the force.

In a speech on diversity to the Police Federation Annual General Meeting, Chief Constable Paul Kernaghan said they must represent and reflect the communities they police.

"There is no place in the force for anyone who does not treat colleagues with respect," he said.

"I would ask you all to ensure that, by word and deed, you promote a culture of mutual respect and alert supervisors to any action or policy which appears to deviate from that central principle of how we do business in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight."

He added: "Respect for diversity does not include any toleration of dishonesty or of those who seek to manipulate the good intentions of the force for personal gain. Integrity is non-negotiable and, in Hampshire Constabulary, 'integrity first' is the gold standard."

The police chief's comments came just days before an undercover BBC television documentary revealed racism among police recruits.

Mr Kernaghan told the meeting that assessors from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) visited the force recently and raised the issue of diversity with him afterwards.

"HMIC do not believe that we take diversity as a force seriously or, alternatively, that all our hard work has not been truly embraced by the whole force," he said.

"I would dispute that analysis, but have to accept their sincerity when they say some officers have reported concerns about our approach to diversity matters."

He said he did not want a politically correct force but wanted to champion courtesy and good manners, and said the constabulary has actively sought to support initiatives and colleagues in the context of promoting a positive culture of diversity.

As an example of this, he cited the "Gender Agenda", launched in Hampshire this month to enable police officers to balance their personal lives with their professional lives and including the introduction of a childcare co-ordinator.

He said women are still under-represented throughout the ranks and in specialist departments.

Mr Kernaghan added that the force is supporting the introduction of the lesbian, gay and bisexual resource group in October, which will include the launch of the new homophobic incident reporting scheme.