The report highlighted under-reporting of racist incidents

The two-year study suggested that 50% of violent incidents and up to 20% of verbal abuse against Glasgow's Asian communities were not reported.

The Glasgow University study said that people found it difficult to identify and report racist incidents when they had never done so formally before.

But there was praise for the force's work with refugees and asylum seekers.

The report said that "supportive and proactive policing" had led to an increase in the number of incidents reported by people within those communities.

Major barrier

"The force's work with asylum seekers has been innovative and exemplary. It should be publicised widely," said the report.

However, researchers said that the reporting of racist incidents was generally seen as a last rather than a first resort.

The report said that a "great many" incidents were never reported.

One of the major barriers was a negative expectation of the police response.

For many the fear of being conspicuous and risking revenge was greater than the fear of victimisation Report's findings

There was a widespread fear among those from ethnic minorities of racism from individual officers, or institutional racism within the force.

There was also a perception that those responsible would not be dealt with effectively in court.

A "significant number" of people said they were afraid that it would be thought they were "playing the race card" when reporting an incident.

Some people said they were reluctant to use the term racism.

"Some participants feared being labelled as a victim of racism, feeling that it would single them out further," said the report.

"For many the fear of being conspicuous and risking revenge was greater than the fear of victimisation, even where the racist activity involved serious violence or intense psychological maltreatment.

Verbal abuse

"This was mentioned particularly by young school students."

In more than two fifths of the racist incidents which were reported, the victims were frontline staff in small businesses.

The vast majority of victims were Asian men and the vast majority of those responsible were white.

Most of the incidents involved verbal abuse, often accompanied by threats or assault, and about three quarters of the incidents took place in shops.

In some areas of the report the perception of participants makes for difficult reading Willie Rae Chief Constable

People working in restaurants and takeaways were also targeted.

There was praise for the "sensitivity" shown by some officers, who picked up "relatively subtle" clues which suggested a racist motive.

The report identified "serious deficiencies" in the Strathclyde force's recording of racist incidents.

However, it noted that there are plans to move from a paper-based to an electronic system, which should lead to more accurate analysis.

Many police officers expressed resentment at the workload which was caused by the policies and procedures to deal with racist incidents.

The researchers made 18 recommendations for action, suggesting that the force should "radically re-focus training on interaction with the public".

Liaison officer

"Brusque manner, rudeness and lack of knowledge have a negative effect on public trust and confidence," report said.

Other recommendations included additional training for frontline officers and the appointment of an ethnic liaison officer within each division.

They suggested the creation of a dedicated phone line for reporting racist incidents.

Chief Constable Willie Rae said the force planned to incorporate the findings into its Race Equality Scheme.

Some aspects of the force's performance won praise

He said the full implications were still being assessed.

"In some areas of the report the perception of participants makes for difficult reading.

"However, it was never our intention to commission this report to endorse the things we do well.

"That said, it is heartening to record that the report highlights a number of areas of excellent practice and recommends that the force should publicise these widely.

"In particular, our innovative work with asylum seeker communities has clearly been well received in that community and more widely."

Crime figures

He said the "brave and imaginative" initiative had produced a report of insight and potential importance.

"We will do all we can to ensure that its findings are incorporated quickly into the services we provide," he said.

Meanwhile, a separate report identified a 29% increase in the number of rapes reported to the force last year, a rise of 70 cases.

Overall, crime in the Strathclyde area fell by 4.7% from the previous year's figure.