It would be nice if everyone could feel as confident as Bradford probation service about the Home Secretary's new proposals to put dangerous offenders under tougher supervision to prevent them re-offending. The plans, including new powers to enable high-risk offenders on parole to be recalled to prison at any time during their sentence rather than up to the three-quarters point as now, and for the introduction of a violent offender order similar to a sexual offenders register, sound impressive on first hearing but are really merely an extension of existing measures.

Maxine Myatt, a director with the West Yorkshire Probation Service, has acknowledged this, saying that what has been proposed builds on existing measures. That would be well and good if the existing measures had not been found to be lacking in so many instances, suggesting that the new ones might not make a great deal of difference.

Would they, for instance, have prevented the murder in London of financier John Monckton by high-risk offender Damien Hanson, released on parole halfway through a 12-year sentence for attempted murder? Or would they have prevented the abduction and rape of a ten-year-old Shipley boy by Stephen Ayre while he was free under licence after serving 20 years for rape and abduction? Or would they have prevented the tragic death of Paddy Barker who was stabbed to death by his teenage brother Daniel just two weeks after the 15-year-old was released from custody?

If the release of dangerous criminals on parole is to continue, there clearly needs to be increased investment in the probation service to enable it to monitor them round the clock. If that is not to happen, they should be kept in prison.