A PIONEERING system to help police keep track of sex offenders and violent criminals is to be piloted in the North-East.

From next month, Durham Police will be able to access a national database containing the details of about 53,000 criminals, including a number of unconvicted suspects.

The Violent Offender and Sex Offenders' Register (Visor) will include the details of 21,413 registered sex offenders, including 2,843 paedophiles and dangerous criminals.

It will be used to track offenders and to help investigating officers compile lists of possible suspects by accessing information that will include everything from the type of vehicle they drive and criminal behaviour to unusual mannerisms, birthmarks and tattoos.

Durham Police and the county's probation office will launch the pilot scheme in November, with the rest of England and Wales expected to be on board in spring next year.

It is one of only two forces in the country to be selected.

Sue Hine, Durham 's assistant chief probation officer, said Durham was unique because police and probation officers already worked together in the same premises and were responsible for setting up the country's first specialised public protection unit.

She said: "I think that was an influence, and the fact that we are forward in terms of some of our thinking. This is an excellent programme because everything will be under one system."

At present, police do not have a shared database of criminals - allowing many criminals to go undetected.

A minority of people included on the database will be those who police believe pose a threat to the public but do not have a criminal conviction, such as people cautioned under the Mental Health Act.

Human rights organisation Liberty has expressed concern over the inclusion of this group.

A spokesman said: "We would want very serious guarantees about the confidentiality of the material, who is going to have access to it and what rights the people who are on it have to challenge the fact they are on it.