THE tide in the battle against the burglar in York and North Yorkshire is beginning to turn thanks to a scheme to stop convicted house-breakers falling into crime again.

The Home Office brought in new community orders in April 2004 - which meant probation officers had to work closely with offenders to try to break their habits.

The county's work with burglars to prevent them re-offending on release from prison is already giving it a head start.

The Government predicts that if one burglar changes for the better, nine further crimes can be prevented.

The new community orders - which replaced previous community service and probation orders - are designed to be tailored to the needs of individual offenders.

Roz Brown, North Yorkshire's chief probation officer, said: "A report produced by the Home Office shows that, if the new sentencing framework is successful, it will have a big impact on reducing crime.

"If an offender can be rehabilitated there will be less victims of crime in the future."

She said a project in York, which involved the Prison Service and probation officers working with burglars to monitor their behaviour after release, had reduced the number of house break-ins by 30 per cent.

The new community orders allow courts to set up to 12 requirements for offenders when they are sentenced.

This can include any combination of community service, probation, curfew orders, tagging, drug treatment and testing orders, special programmes for people with alcohol problems or sex offenders, and courses in basic skills.

Ms Brown said: "The new sentences are being monitored in terms of re-offending rates but we won't know how successful they are until about two years' time."

Predictions on how the new orders will help prevent crime are contained in a report Cracking A Criminal Cycle - Why Tailored Community Sentences Help To Reduce Crime In Yorkshire And Humberside, produced by the Home Office in association with James McGuire, professor of clinical psychology at the University Of Liverpool.

The principles of the new community orders have already been tested in York on previous programmes such as the Intensive Change And Control scheme, which helped 18-20-year-olds undergo 25 hours a week of structured activities in employment, drugs or alcohol.

Another scheme, called Think First, which provides guidance to criminals on how to avoid slipping into old habits, has been taken up as part of the new community orders.

Ms Brown said: "I am confident that we can play an important role addressing the wider issues that cause offending behaviour and helping offenders to live constructive and crime-free lives in the future."

Case study

KIM, 23, used to smoke crack and live on the proceeds of petty theft and burglarly with her then boyfriend.

But 18 months ago she was given a community sentence, including compulsory drug treatment and testing. She was supervised, received counselling and was helped to sit basic literacy exams which has led to her staying out of crime.

She said: "The community sentence wasn't an easy option, but my life has completely changed."

Updated: 09:43 Monday, November 28, 2005