Persistent young offenders in Oxfordshire will be monitored 24 hours a day to break their cycle of crime.
A ground-breaking project will use hi-tech surveillance equipment and introduce an intensive rehabilitation scheme to keep 40 of the county's most serious juvenile offenders out of jail and help them to find work.
The Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP) begins in June after the county's youth offending team won a fierce battle to bring in the scheme.
It will cost £250,000 over three years.
The targeted group of 13-to-17-year-olds will spend six hours each day on an intensive activity programme aimed to encourage them back into education, training and take them off the streets. If they reoffend, the penalty is harsh - they will go straight to jail.
Maggie Blyth, head of Oxford's Youth Offending Team, says: "We are very excited about this and do believe it is going to work.
"All of my team are delighted and welcome the chance to tackle the deep-rooted reasons why some young people reoffend."
Read more: Breaking the cycle of crime
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