A NORTH-EAST probation service is at the forefront of two projects at the centre of the Government's modernisation of the service.

The pilot schemes, in County Durham, are designed to cut re-offending in women leaving prison after a short sentence and to help offenders on community service to improve their job prospects.

The results of these schemes will be used nationally under the What Works initiative to standardise probation work across the country.

The 1999-2000 annual report for the County Durham service, published yesterday, reveals that two forensic psychologists have been appointed to a specialist unit dedicated to tracking the movement of sex offenders and other dangerous criminals.

The Public Protection Unit, which is believed to be the first in Britain, has been jointly set up with Durham Police.

A probation service spokeswoman said public safety was a main priority, especially as feelings have boiled over following the death of schoolgirl Sarah Payne.

She said: "The protection of the public has remained at the top of the service's agenda at a time when there has been major public concern about dangerous and sex offenders."

The report also refers to the work of teams supervising community sentences in Darlington, South West Durham, North West Durham and Easington, as well as two teams in Darlington and Chester-le-Street who manage prisoners on licence.

The community service department supervised 65,000 hours of work on projects. Based on the current minimum wage, this amounted to £234,000 in unpaid work.

The county's chief probation officer, Pam McPhee, said: "I would like to thank staff for their hard work, imagination and perseverance.

"We have worked hard this year to ensure that both our workforce and business planning equip us to deliver a high quality service to the local community.