NORTH-EAST police last night said they had already tightened up procedures on the sharing of criminal intelligence in a bid to prevent another case like that of Ian Huntley.

In the wake of the Bichard report's findings, which recommended the introduction of a national IT intelligence system, both Cleveland and Northumbria police said they were involved in a pilot scheme which merges information on offenders between forces.

A spokesman for Northumbria police said: "We will, of course, be looking at all the recommendations of the Bichard report.

"We are currently one of the pilot forces involved with the Cross Regional Information Sharing Project (Crisp).

"It is a system which enables police forces' computers to share information by collating all data within a single force then joining data from one force to another."

Chief Superintendent John Kelly, head of crime at Cleveland police, said: "The protocols we have in place in relation to record management and information sharing are very good.

"Our intelligence in relation to record keeping and data sharing has also been recognised as good practice."

Det Chief Inspector Andy Reddick, head of intelligence at Durham police, said: "During the Bichard Inquiry, we noted some of the shortcomings identified in the tragic Soham case and launched an internal 'health check' of our own procedures.

"Changes have now been put in place and, without being complacent, we feel our systems are as robust and effective as they can be."

One of the main failings that allowed Ian Huntley to go unchecked was the policy by Humberside police of "weeding out" allegations of rape and under-age sex made against him because officers thought they were required to do so by the Data Protection Act.

In this region all four police forces - Durham, Cleveland, North Yorkshire and Northumbria - have a policy where they keep records of allegations and cautions on file for at least a year and renew them annually.

Details of convictions are held for longer - indefinitely in the cases of murder, sexual and other serious offences.

Meanwhile, recommendations from the Bichard inquiry will have implications for council education and social services departments.

One of the biggest local authorities, North Yorkshire County Council, said it would now be reviewing its safety procedures.

Jeremy Walker, the county council's chief executive, said: "We have been carrying out an audit of existing procedures in advance of the Bichard report being published so that we have a clear picture to start with and can respond promptly."