PERSISTENT young criminals in the North-East will be placed under intensive supervision and surveillance as part of two new pilot schemes.

The three-year Home Office programmes will target the three per cent of young offenders who commit about 25 per cent of all crimes.

Sunderland, Gateshead and South Tyneside Youth Offending Teams have been jointly allocated £1.8m, while the Durham Youth Offending Service has received £900,000.

A total of 22 schemes nationwide were unveiled by Home Secretary Jack Straw yesterday, as part of a range of new measures to tackle youth crime.

Under the programme, each offender will be monitored by either electronic tagging or computer voice verification, allowing regular checks.

County Durham Youth Offending Service head Christina Blythe said: "Our scheme will target between 25 and 30 of the most persistent young offenders in the county.

"In addition to monitoring them and ensuring they are in approved locations, to prevent further offending, it will engage them in 25 hours a week of constructive activity and education."

She said swift action would be taken against young offenders unwilling or unable to cooperate.

In Sunderland, Gateshead and South Tyneside, 109 youths, aged from ten to 17 years, will take part in the scheme. Some of them have been arrested up to 19 times.

It will tackle young offenders appearing in court who have been charged with or convicted of an imprisonable offence on four or more occasions within the previous 12 months.

It is based on a youth advocate programme which has produced encouraging results in the US.

The programmes, which will be monitored rigorously through contracts set up by the Youth Justice Board, are expected to be in operational by July 2001.