SUPERVISION of sex offenders and violent criminals who pose a risk to the public could be threatened in West Yorkshire, says a union.

The county's branch of the probation officers' union Napo spoke out as the Government goes ahead with reforms.

Ministers want to set up a new National Offender Management Service.

But union leaders say it would be a backward step.

Mick Hooson, chairman of the West Yorkshire branch, said the change would be a costly and bureaucratic failure.

He added: "The Government's obsession with the command and control model will not deliver.

"Staff would become alienated and recruitment and retention would suffer."