BIG Brother is listening — a computerised ear will ensure there is no hiding place for young thugs in Greater Manchester.

Convicted yobs under supervision orders will have to report by phone to an electronic voice recognition system which will be able to pinpoint exactly where they are.

It is a further development of the electronic tagging scheme, which has already proved successful in the region as an alternative to prison.

Phil Lloyd, the manager of Manchester’s Youth Offending Team which will run the voice recognition scheme, said: ‘‘This is as near as we can get to custody without the bars.

‘‘The restrictions on the young people are intense, but so is the attention to education and social skills.’’

The system will be officially unveiled in Manchester next week by Withington MP Keith Bradley. But it is already keeping track of 10 troublesome youngsters, including one 15-year-old tearaway with a history of burglary and car crime.

The teenager, tagged under a supervision order imposed by Manchester magistrates, wears an electronic bracelet which sends an alarm signal to his supervisors if he leaves home during curfew hours.

Monitoring

Now the voice verification system is allowing monitoring to continue when he leaves for education and work experience.

The individual reports by phone at certain times of day and the computer verifies both the voice pattern and the place from which the call is being made.

The computer will raise the alarm if there is any variation in the voice pattern or problems with the location.

The American-designed computer system has been under test for several months and is now about to be introduced on a wider scale as part of the government‘s £45 million Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP).

Mr Lloyd said only one of the youths on the Manchester trial scheme has re-offended in the past three months.

The Youth Offending Team now has funding to put 100 young people on the scheme every year for the next three years.

Youngsters who are recommended for the ISSP are repeat offenders and are usually about to be returned to custody.

Home Secretary David Blunkett said: ‘‘ISSPs will ensure that persistent young offenders are not just punished but also made to take responsibility for their actions.’’

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