GWENT people are being invited to join a panel that decides on how the area's 319 sex offenders are dealt with in the community.

Two posts for 'lay advisers' on a multi-agency strategic management board are to be advertised next month.

Police say the role of the advisers is to bring an outsider's viewpoint to the management of sex offenders and other potentially dangerous criminals.

The lay advisers will join representatives from Gwent Police, the Probation Service, the Prison Service, Victim Support, drug action teams and youth offending teams to decide on policy for supervising the offenders.

Superintendent Alun Thomas said: "It's about striking a balance between giving information to the public about offenders and ensuring they are not driven underground."

He said parents or other residents committed to making their community safer would be ideal candidates.

Supt Thomas said the adviser would not deal with specific cases but would have input on the overall process.

He added: "If mistakes are made they will look at what lessons can be learnt and see how procedures can be changed if necessary."

Supt Thomas said current legislation allowed the courts to restrict the movements of high-risk sex offenders so they could not go within a certain distance of schools.

He said the lay adviser job was a part-time role that would develop with time.

Training for the two successful applicants will take place in September and October, and the job will start in the new year.

South Wales Police successfully piloted the lay adviser scheme last year.

Latest figures show there are 319 Gwent people on the Sex Offenders' Register, some of whom are in custody.

None of them has gone on to re-offend, say police.

Data for 2002 revealed there were 234 registered sex offenders living in Gwent.