A NEW crime-fighting initiative will tackle teenage tearaways responsible for hundreds of crimes in County Durham.

In March, Durham Youth Offending Service was allocated £900,000 as part of a Government scheme to tackle youth crime.

The service has developed a surveillance and supervision programme to clamp down on the activities of 40 to 50 persistent criminals nicknamed the "Shifty Fifty".

The youngsters, who are aged between ten and 17, have been singled out by specialists from the county's Youth Offending Service, working with police.

They will face a range of tailor-made restrictions designed to break their cycle of offending, and will have to tackle supervised activities for five hours each working day.

At night, they will be subject to curfews backed by electronic tagging, and voice verification security checks.

All the offenders have been convicted or charged on more than four occasions in the past 12 months with offences that warrant custodial sentences.

These range from persistent shoplifting and burglary to serious violent attacks.

Service head Christina Blythe said: "Many of these youngsters have multiple problems, and we will concentrate our efforts on keeping them usefully occupied with education and training activities, with the ultimate aim of re-integrating them back into their communities."

Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Scott, head of Durham Constabulary's CID, said: "This is no soft option. For many of the youngsters, the majority of them boys in their mid to late teens, it is a last chance.

"Repeat offenders are given expert help to confront and change their criminal behaviour, but stepping out of line means they will go back to court where they face every likelihood of going behind bars."

The three-week programme will be run by officers from the Youth Offending Service, and each offender will have a mentor to guide them.

County Durham is one of the first areas chosen to operate the scheme, which is backed by the county council, County Durham and Darlington Health Authority, and County Durham Probation Service.

Mr Scott said: "All the agencies believe this programme has the potential to make a substantial contribution in reducing repeat offending."