YOUNG people from ethnic minorities see Scots police as racist, according to a new Glasgow study.

YOUNG people from ethnic minorities see Scots police as racist, according to a new Glasgow study.

Most youths polled said they felt unfairly targeted by police officers who lacked "cultural sensitivity".

And the research revealed the majority of young people from ethnic minorities would not bother reporting racist incidents because of fears of prejudice and a lack of confidence in the system.

Youths also said they felt "under siege" from staring white neighbours and the media and described racism as an everyday reality.

The research was carried out by Glasgow Caledonian University for Strathclyde and Lothian police forces.

Academics spent months interviewing young people aged 16-25 from a variety of backgrounds. And researchers discovered a huge gulf between how police saw themselves and how young people saw the police.

One participant said: "Sometimes you feel as though you're getting watched by the FBI."

Another said: "You could never stand and have a friendly chat with a police officer."

However, young people reported positive experiences with the police, particularly community officers. And youths said they felt attitudes by police in Scotland were better than in England.

But researchers found most youths had negative experiences of police and saw "good" officers as an exception to the rule.

Scotland's two largest forces have welcomed the report findings.

John Neilson, assistant chief constable of Strathclyde Police, said: "Although there's been a great deal of positive feedback, it was felt the good relationship we have with the black and ethnic community has generally been with the older generation."