Young first offenders to get own jail wing

First-time young offenders are to be segregated from other prisoners in an innovative tactic to tackle crime.

Boris Johnson wants to halt the cycle of reoffending by making it harder for young people to learn from "career criminals" when they are first locked up.

The Mayor also wants to see first-time offenders given more support when they are released to divert them from a life of crime. The Ministry of Justice has agreed to dedicate a wing at Feltham Young Offender Institution as part of City Hall's trial, named project Daedalus. If successful, the two-year experiment could be rolled out across the country.

Under the £2.7million scheme the wing will hold 150 inmates annually over the next two years, for an average of three months each. They will be helped by a team of mentors, housing advisers and charities specialising in getting young people back to work. From those 300 inmates it is expected 75 will find a job lasting longer than a year and a further 60 will be in training for at least six months.

Deputy mayor for policing Kit Malthouse said he expects less than 50percent of the inmates to reoffend compared with the current level of 72percent. Mr Malthouse told London Assembly's budget and performance committee: "It's one of those ideas that people think 'why didn't I think about that before'."

He also wants further separation for even younger prisoners. He said: "If you look at 18-year-olds and 15-year-olds the difference is massive, mentally and physically. It's wrong for [15-year-olds] to be in those units. They have a hunted look about them. It's monstrous." A Ministry of Justice spokesman the plan will "enable young offenders to turn their lives around".