New boot camp bid to target jailbirds.

BURGLARS and car thieves will be sent to a new boot camp in a bid to keep them out of jail.

Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson will today unveil plans for the camp - which will handle up to 500 yobs at a time.

The move is part of new Executive measures aimed at cutting re-offending.

The prison population hit a record 7000 in March and is expected to reach 10,000 within a decade.

The Tories and the SNP welcomed the camp plan but the Nats said it was a U-turn.

SNP justice spokesman Kenny MacAskill said the Executive were 'taking one step forward and two back' after closing a similar camp, Lanarkshire's Airborne Initiative.

He added: 'Rehabilitation in the community is a far more effective way to achieve our target of a significant reduction in crime across Scotland.'

Airborne was shut after a TV documentary showed youths there smoking cannabis and throwing violent tantrums.

Offenders will spend six to eight weeks at the Constructs camp in Dunbartonshire.

They will have sessions on issues such as victim awareness and drugs misuse.

Jamieson will also reveal plans to increase electronic tagging, even using it to allow some offenders out of jail early.

She said: 'More police and the threat of prison will remain part of the picture. But they can't do it alone. Tightening up on those who offend means tightening up on those services whose job it is to protect us.'

She will also announce a shake-up of the Scottish Prison Service and council-run criminal justice social work services.