A group of rappers from south London are producing a soundtrack and video for the Met that both criticizes the force and calls on black people to join it.

Police spokesman Tony Hodges said: "It is a very unusual idea, but we hope it will work."

The seven-minute video will be shown on television and in cinemas. It traces the wrongful arrest of a black man - an incident which many black people condemn as a commonplace event.

The soundtrack is in the final stages of production and the video will be shot on the streets of Brixton in the coming weeks.

'They must be serious'

The campaign was the idea of black music producer and filmmaker Charles Bailey.

In an interview with the Guardian newspaper Bailey said: "When people see the film, they will be saying if they sanctioned this, they must be serious" about winning black recruits."

Many black people in the UK have been angered at the police's failure to secure a conviction of five white men tried for the 1993 murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in London.

A public inquiry has raised serious questions of police incompetence and highlighted racial antagonism in some inner city areas.

The Metropolitan Police has acknowledged it failed to properly investigate in the Lawrence case and also apologised.

Bailey said he does not believe ethnic minorities will get the policing they deserve until they are properly represented on the force.