Shock figures on charges for offenders under watch

They included 32 violent criminals and sex offenders from Yorkshire, who were being watched by Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (Mappa) panels made up of police, probation officers, councils and other agencies.

The figures were published in a Ministry of Justice report which showed that, nationwide, more than 1,200 offenders deemed a risk to the public were jailed after they either committed new offences or breached their licence conditions.

Of the 196 dangerous offenders charged with murder or another serious offence between April 2009 and March this year, 16 were being monitored by West Yorkshire's Mappa panel.

Eight were being watched by Humberside's Mappa panel, five were in North Yorkshire and three were in South Yorkshire.

Across the region, there were 3,618 registered sex offenders at March 31 this year, of whom 1,564 were in West Yorkshire, 899 in South Yorkshire, 746 in Humberside and 409 in North Yorkshire.

Almost 130 violent criminals and sex offenders were returned to custody for breaching licence conditions during 2009-10, and six were sent back to prison for breaking the terms of a sexual offences prevention order.

Failing to notify the authorities of changes in their circumstances landed 136 sex offenders in trouble with the law again.

Prisons minister Crispin Blunt said: "The number of individuals who reoffend seriously has historically been a very small percentage of those offenders managed under Mappa."

The probation union Napo said it was clear that the number of serious offences committed by those at the highest risk levels was falling.