YOUNGSTERS committing crime in Lancashire are set to feel the tough 'grip' of the law under a new scheme being launched this month.

The police, fire service, Railtrack, Lancashire County Council, Barnardos and the county's youth justice teams have come together to launch a Group Intervention Panel, (GRIP), a crime reduction initiative which will work closely with young people in an effort to reduce the risk of them breaking the law.

Under the scheme, agencies such as local youth offending teams, the police, education services and various voluntary organisations will pool resources and share information so that the panel can focus on helping young people. They will aim to identify those who persistently behave unacceptably and who are at risk of becoming involved in criminal activity.

Youngsters will be referred to GRIP when normal attempts to prevent criminal activity have failed, such as sending a letter to parents or a visit from the police.

The panel will then put into place a support programme in an effort to prevent the youngster becoming involved in a criminal lifestyle, hopefully keeping them on the straight and narrow. A spokesman for the Lancashire Police Authority said: "Grip has been piloted in Blackpool and Fleetwood and its success has led to the scheme being rolled out across other areas of the county.

"People involved will be given the chance to see how it works at a special one-day conference being held at Preston North End's Deepdale ground on 26 September.

"The event has been sponsored by Railtrack and Government Office North West.

"There will be speakers from the police, the education and health services, Barnardos and the Youth Justice Board.

"They will deal with a variety of issues, including social inclusion, early intervention, community and race relations, the role of education in crime and working with families."

Jennifer Martinez, from the Lancashire Youth Offending team, will be giving a presentation on the pilot Grip.

She said: "The conference will be an ideal opportunity for everybody involved to study just how the scheme works.

"Those of us working on the pilot have been pleased with the way it has gone.

"And our multi-agency approach has allowed us all to get a much clearer picture of some of the problems facing these youngsters.

"At the same time to develop some of the solutions needed to help them."