Men under the age of 25 were responsible for 60% of offences detected by police in 2002.

Chief Officer Graham Power predicts youth crime will rise as the island's population of youngsters increases.

In his Policing Plan for 2004, he says a youth action team will be formed to work with other agencies to address the problem.

He said: "The population is shifting in such a way that the number of young men will grow by about 20% over the next few years and so if everything else stays the same there will be a lot more crime and disorder.

"We are planning and targeting this problem to try and contain it so that the island's quality of life doesn't suffer in the way that it would if we weren't getting under this problem early."