Why should they trust the police?

After a few sniggers at the simplicity of the question and a slightly uneasy joke by Divisional Commander Simon Adams, there was a pause.

The question was repeated and five simple words seemed to sum up the enormous impact on the community of the BBC's startling documentary.

Trust that had been carefully built over the years had been shattered in just one hour.

The week before the documentary was first screened, in October 2003, a successful recruitment drive had convinced six Asian men to apply to join the south Worcestershire police force.

The week after the film, all six withdrew their applications.

Judging by the turnout at Thursday evening's discussion at Stanley Road Primary School, off Wyld's Lane, the police remain some way short of regaining the trust of Worcester's Asian community.

As the group of teenagers and young adults watched the film, which showed officers wearing Ku Klux Klan-style hoods and freely using racist abuse, shoulders slumped lower and heads shook more vigorously.

The most worrying aspect of the discussion was when one viewer said he was not surprised by the racial abuse, while another added "that sort of thing happens all the time".

This set the tone for the first question for the assembled police trio with Divisional Commander Adams being asked whether there was racism in the West Mercia force.

"If I said we don't have any racist police officers in our force I'd be being nave," he replied.

"But I can say that I've never seen anything like what was in that video in my 30 years in the force.

"This was a wake up call because I know the feeling among many senior officers was that they had racism under control."

Dr Mohammed Aslam, chief executive of the county's racial equality council chaired the meeting and the questions came thick and fast.

Why was a "wake up call" needed? Was the Stephen Lawrence tragedy not a high profile enough racial incident? What steps are being taken to rid the force of racism?

Every officer goes through strict training and there are clear misconduct guidelines to punish racism but Det Insp Jerry Reakes-Williams said it was still impossible to stop.

"We have to look at our recruiting process to make sure we get the right people," he said.

"But it is very difficult to stamp out because people can hide their thoughts. Hopefully in these cases it comes out sooner rather than later.

"What's important is that we understand the Asian community so that when we go to deal with an issue we know how to deal with it sensitively.

"When we get one or two more Asian officers in the force they can spread the word that the police force is okay and it is a good career."

Although south Worcestershire's force hits its targets in terms of number of officers from ethnic groups, it only has one Asian policeman.

One member of the audience asked why the police force had to see racial problems before they tackled it. Another, worringly, felt the BNP "represented the view of Britain".

After the session, the group had mixed views on the impact of the meeting.

"It was worthwhile because it will help smooth over the relationship," said 20-year-old, Sajjad Ishaq.

"Worcestershire Racial Equality Council organised the meeting, not the police, so we went with an air of scepticism but they brought along their main guy and it was good the police took it seriously."

However, Ausman Shaukat, aged 19, added: "The police seemed as though they didn't really want to be here.

"They weren't giving much feedback and I will be surprised if it makes much difference."

West Mercia Police did not feature in the documentary but it is clear they still face an uphill battle to restore confidence among the Asian community.

However, acting Supt Howard Owen did not shirk the challenge.

"It's a never-ending battle and this programme was a milestone rather than a turning point in that," he said. "We have to keep going.