HOME Office Minister Paul Boateng has pledged new measures to help victims of violent or sexual crimes in the wake of schoolgirl Sarah Payne's murder.

The proposals will pave the way for more information about known violent or sex offenders to be made public. And, crucially, more victims will be made aware of when criminals are due for release from prison.

Current laws allow families to be notified when an offender sentenced to more than four years in jail is up for parole.

But this net could be widened in future to ensure that the Probation Service notifies victims of criminals given a 12-month sentence or more.

A letter from Mr Boateng, made public at the annual conference of the North of England Victims Association on Saturday, outlined the proposal.

It said: "I am proposing a new duty on the Probation Service to consult the victims of sexual or violent offenders sentenced to more than 12 months and to keep them informed, if they ask for it, about the release arrangements for the offender and about licence conditions restricting his movements."

It takes on board recommendations made after a recent review of the sex offenders' register.

The Government will also extend powers to judges to place restrictions on offenders at the time of sentencing.

Under the conditions, judges will have the power to ban criminals from returning to live near their victims upon their release from prison.

Labour peer and senior Government advisor, Lord Mackenzie, said: "It is part of a programme to tackle child abuse. The Sarah Payne campaign added something to that."

Northumbria chief probation officer Stephen Murphy praised campaigners for victims' rights, saying their efforts had a profound impact on Government moves to improve the disclosure of information.

But he warned it would be some time before greater access to information is available.

"It will take time, I suspect, to get beyond controlled disclosure. But you are starting to open the doors and lift the veils on how the system works," he said.

It is unlikely that campaigners will be given unlimited access to records such as the sex offenders' register