When Hamish Cormack joined the police in 1970 there were only eight women in a class of almost 100 officers, and the young faces taking the oath were uniformly white.

When Hamish Cormack joined the police in 1970 there were only eight women in a class of almost 100 officers, and the young faces taking the oath were uniformly white.

This week, as Strathclyde Police celebrated its biggest-ever intake, the men and women lining up to pledge their service reflect a broader range of Scotland's population than ever before. From Mandeep and Manpreet Jassal, the first female Asian twins to join the force, to Angus McKay, at 44 the oldest new recruit, it is clear things are changing.

But if Scotland's biggest force is to become fully representative, it still has a long way to go.

Mr Cormack, now Acting Chief Constable (Personnel), acknowledged that work remains to be done.

"Strathclyde Police has a bit of a way to go in terms of what we would like to achieve," he said.

"But compared to the rest of Scotland and the UK we're doing well. It's a long-term objective to have a workforce that mirrors the communities we serve. We think that will lead automatically to an improvement in the service we deliver."

The recruits sworn in this week at the force's training centre in Jackton, East Kilbride, displayed a zeal and confidence that should serve their new employers well.

Mandeep Jassal, 23, who joined alongside her twin sister, Manpreet, said she was very enthusiastic about her prospects.

Ms Jassal, raised by Indian parents in the Glasgow suburb of Newton Mearns, said: "I'm glad to be given this opportunity, and my family are just ecstatic about it. I think I can give a lot to the community.

"I've only worked with a minority of the population before in her previous job as a care worker, and now I just want to be a good policewoman."

Manpreet shared her sister's enthusiasm. She said: "This is probably the best job I've ever had, and the long term career prospects are great. I don't know whether I want to be a detective or anything like that - you've just got to put in 100% in the training and other doors will open."

Other black and minority ethnic (BME) officers may come from farther afield, with Strathclyde Police revealing this week that it plans to "poach" officers from south of the border to augment the low numbers of recruits from minority communities.

Senior recruitment figures, including Chief Inspector Neil Kerr, will support staff association Semper Scotland to appeal to non-white officers at the National Black Police Association conference in York later this month. At present, Strathclyde is the only force to have outlined such a plan.

Dilawer Singh, honorary chair of Semper, will be among a delegation from Strathclyde at the conference later this month.

He said: "At the conference we will take the stance that we could maybe poach some officers from England. We suggested to the chief that it would be a good idea to see if we can't tempt some of their officers up here, and he agreed."

At a time when certain English police forces stand accused of institutional racism - a staff association this month urged minority officers to boycott Metropolitan Police over claims of racial bias - a move to Scotland may seem appealing to many BME officers.

Mr Singh, speaking personally, said he believed the Metropolitan Police boycott was unlikely to achieve anything positive.

He said: "I don't agree with them - I would say that if you want to make a difference you should become part of it. Getting more people from BME communities to join is one way we can make a difference."

As Scotland's largest force works to achieve full representation on its staff, divisions across Scotland are hoping to increase their numbers in line with the SNP's election pledge to put 1000 new police officers on the streets.

Figures obtained yesterday from the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos) show an increase of 248 officers between March 2007 and the end of September 2008, although forces in Fife, Central and Dumfries and Galloway did not provide details.

The overall figure of 248 is achieved by subtracting the number of officers who have left, for any reason, from the total of new recruits and incomers from other divisions. The 154 recruits sworn in this week are not included, nor are officers who have left since September.

Chief Inspector Donald Thomson, representing Acpos, said: "All forces have recruited the additional 150 officers provided by the Scottish Government in 2007-2008 and are on track to recruit the additional 450 over the current financial year."

The new recruits at Strathclyde, representing so many different backgrounds, have been taken by police chiefs as proof that it is possible to effect change and draw officers from all backgrounds. The recruits themselves are certainly enthusiastic about their new employer.

Lance Pereira, 35, who moved to Scotland from Sri Lanka in 2002, has been a police support worker for two years. He will join a class that includes a former lawyer and a Czech national.

Mr Pereira urged other people from ethnic minority backgrounds to ignore the "myth" of institutional racism, and embrace the challenge of police work. "I've never experienced any discrimination here.

"I'd say the popular perception is unfair," he said.

For other recruits, the realisation that they now form part of the thin blue line is particularly emotional.

Angus McKay, who first tried to join the police two decades ago, aged 24, said: "It's the job that I've wanted to do all my life. To get there in the end feels amazing. You get up in the morning and just look forward to going into work. We just want to be the best that we can be."