More black and Asian recruits are being sought by the probation service as it seeks to redress an imbalance within its trainee officer scheme.

Probation chiefs have revealed there are only five ethnic minority trainees across West Yorkshire, with none at all based in Bradford.

The drive came as Yorkshire and Humberside prepares to take on 100 new trainee officers to begin work and training in October 2001 - almost four times as many as last year.

Probation chiefs stressed that minorities were better represented in its general workforce but they wanted to increase numbers on the trainee officer scheme which is only in its fourth year. There are currently seven ethnic minority trainees from Yorkshire and Humberside in a total of 53.

Under the two-year scheme, candidates study towards a combined award - including a degree and Level 4 NVQ in Community Justice - as they work.

Vanessa Stirum, NVQ co-ordinator for West Yorkshire, said: "We hope to make our next intake of trainee probation officers more diverse and more representative by encouraging more people from ethnic minorities to apply."

She said they were looking for people more than 20 years old, preferably with some experience of offenders or people who had "experienced personal or social difficulties."

Mike Ashe, director of the Yorkshire and Humberside Probation Services' training consortium, said: "In the past our trainees were students on full-time university courses. Now they are employees, working from probation offices getting practical knowledge of the real world of probation."

The large intake reflected extra work and funding from Central Government as well as a need to replace older, retiring officers, he said.

The recruitment drive came as West Yorkshire probation officers began a new supervision scheme claimed to have reduced re-offending rates.

The Enhanced Thinking Skills programme involves offenders attending two sessions a week learning such aspects as 'controlling impulsive actions' and 'changing rigid thinking'. When the programme has been used in prisons, it is said to have cut re-offending rates by between 14 per cent and 30 per cent.

Randel Barrows, assistant chief probation officer, said: "This programme will systematically teach offenders to stop and think about their behaviour and reduce the likelihood of re-offending."

Anyone wishing to know more about probation officer training should contact (0113) 2344 962 or visit its website at www.yhpc.co.uk