Winnipeg police have arrested a chronic car thief who had removed his electronic ankle bracelet last month and has been eluding officers ever since.

Police say the 17-year-old was arrested Wednesday on Magnus Avenue while allegedly attempting to steal another vehicle.

As officers attempted to arrest the youth he allegedly attempted to assault one of the officers and fled the area. He was arrested after a brief foot pursuit. There were no reports of any serious injuries.

This is the same youth that officers from the Stolen Auto Unit were looking for the night a police member was struck by a stolen SUV.

On April 27 officers attempting to make an arrest in a stolen auto incident were attacked when the driver began ramming the police cruisers and also hit an officer. The officer recieved minor injuries.

CTV News has learned that one of the girls who was a passenger in the vehicle that night was arrested with the youth Wednesday, who is facing a number of charges and remains in custody.

"They have their own culture," said Winnipeg police Const. Jacqueline Chaput. "They have their own groups of kids that commit these crimes. They're constantly together [even though] they're bound by conditions not to be together."

Justice officials wouldn't say how the ankle bracelet was removed and say it's too soon to see how well the program is working.

"We did anticipate at some point a youth would remove a bracelet," said Brent Apter of the Winnipeg Auto Theft Strategy. "We did anticipate a youth would violate conditions. We don't think a bracelet alone is going to stop offending patters or behaviours."

The youth who removed the ankle bracelet is considered a Level 4 thief, which describes a chronic, high-risk car thief in Winnipeg.

Under new provincial rules, high risk car thieves can be outfitted with an electronic monitoring device which is secured to the individual's ankle.

The device allows police to track car thieves and determine if they are breaking their probabtion rules.

CTV News has learned another car thief was caught in the act of stealing a car because he was wearing an ankle bracelet.

Police used the the GPS technology in the bracelets to make the arrest. The youth is in custody.

Justice officials say six Level 4 car thieves are now wearing the ankle bracelets. They expect that to ramp up to 20 in the coming months.

CTV Crimewatch reporter Kelly Dehn is following this story. Visit ctvwinnipeg.ca for updates throughout the afternoon. See the full story tonight on CTV New at Six.