The Cook Islands police commissioner is expecting a scoping team from New Zealand to help establish a youth rehabilitation programme.
It comes as petty crime has soared on Rarotonga.
The Commissioner, Ma'ara Tetava, says he envisages a leadership-style programme, perhaps with a bit of military boot camp training built into it.
He says the police want to look at a similar New Zealand scheme, but he does not want a cut and paste job, rather an adaptation for the Cook Islands environment.
Commissioner Tetava says they already have a version of New Zealand's long running Blue Light programme, targetting at-risk children, but he wants to go one step further.
"The programme that I am looking at at the moment is more addressing those who have gone over the borderline, but can still be worked on to get them back on the right track."
The Cook Islands police commissioner, Ma'ara Tetava.