YOUTH crime is in the spotlight after plans have been unveiled to invest £700,000 to tackle the problem.

The Redcar and Cleveland Children's Trust and the Redcar and Cleveland Community Safety Partnership are joining forces to implement a Youth Crime Action Plan, a Government-backed initiative which is being adopted in 69 areas nationwide.

Spread over the next two years, the Plan has seven key elements, all aimed at tackling youth crime and anti-social behaviour.

At the core of the strategy is a concerted effort to convince families that they have a major role to play in diverting young people away from offending.

Councillor Dave McLuckie, Redcar and Cleveland Council's Cabinet Member for Community Protection said: "The great thing about this project is it aims to meet the expectations of all our young people.

"Those who want to be included in youth club activities will be catered for and those who don't want to be involved in organised events won't be ignored, either.

"It's long been my belief, too, that intervention at the youngest possible age will have the deepest impact and be the most effective way of ensuring young people become the kind of citizens we want them to be in the future."

The biggest investments, totalling £175,000 each year, will be to develop family intervention projects and the implementation of 'think family' reforms.

The projects will provide a dedicated key worker for families with children, aged five-ten, known to have problems linked to youth offending, while the 'think family' reforms are designed to build on family strengths.

The plan also wants to tackle reparation in leisure time, concentrating on Friday and Saturday nights, with innovative sessions to get young offenders constructively engaged in repairing harm and delivering benefit to the community.

Other commitments will cover sweeps of antisocial hotspots, removing children and young people if they are at risk, taking them to a 'safe place' and street based working to identify young people at risk of engaging in crime who won't engage in mainstream provision.

There will also be increased police patrols at school closing time and transport interchanges and the placing of Youth Offending Team workers in police custody suites, in partnership with Stockton and Middlesbrough.