A COUNTY DURHAM woman has been appointed as the first race issues co-ordinator for the North-East's criminal justice system.

Fiona Linney, of Shotley Bridge, will look at how ethnic and minority groups are represented in the criminal justice system and address the fear of crime among them.

She will also develop a joint plan with other agencies including Northumbria Police and the probation service to improve the groups' recruitment, retention and career progression in the system.

Ms Linney was formerly part of the Northumbria community police and enforcement team, which encourages witnesses of crime to provide information, and has also worked with asylum seekers and served as a police officer.

She will gather information from throughout the criminal justice system including the Crown Prosecution Service, police, courts, prison and probation services, and find out how ethnic minority groups feel about it.

She said: "The job has never been done before, and with such an important subject this is bound to be an exciting and far-reaching challenge."

Alan Brown, regional director for the Home Office in the North-East, which is funding the first year of Ms Linney's post, said: "We feel this is a major step forward to ensure that victims and witnesses from ethnic groups feel they are being treated fairly when confronted by the British legal system.

"This is the only way to gain the confidence of ethnic minority groups in the North-East."

Ms Linney is based at Newcastle Magistrates' Court.