A Five On Your Side Investigation has uncovered serious flaws in a multimillion-dollar monitoring system designed to keep track of juvenile offenders.

Investigator Ron Regan found that in some cases, juvenile offenders went days without being monitored and technicians were forced to make numerous repairs on electronic ankle monitors that are supposed to alert juvenile authorities if a teen leaves home or breaks curfew.

In one case, a Cleveland teenager was shot inside his own home while wearing his ankle monitor. But even though he was loaded into an ambulance and rushed to the hospital, an alarm never went off. Juvenile authorities had no idea the teen had been shot and was out of the home until his mother called them.

Ken Lusnia, Juvenile Court Administrator, called the malfunctions "serious."

"Absolutely. that's serious," said Lusnia. Anytime there's harm to the youth or family or member of the public, of course, that's serious."

The problems first surfaced just months after Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court awarded a $495,000 contract to G4S Justices Services Inc. based in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. G4S Justices Services was the low bidder for the county's electronic monitoring contract.

The company monitors nearly 800 teens charged with serious felonies including rape, robbery and assault under an agreement that began March 1, 2007.

By Labor Day weekend, the entire system was down -- "being overhauled" -- and no one told Juvenile authorities. An estimated 160 teens who are under court-ordered electronic monitoring were never tracked the entire weekend.

Cody Hatfield is another teen whose electronic monitor failed to work properly. According to Hatfield, "They screwed with the antenna, they looked in the bag, they pulled plugs, they looked at the wiring of it." His mother said her son remained at home as required, but she believes the malfunctions raise serious questions about their reliability. "They could be out running in the streets, doing God knows what," she said.

Another mother of a teen offender said it was a complete waste of taxpayer money.

The Five On Your Side Investigation also uncovered documents that prove juvenile officials knew they were hiring a firm that would save money but could sacrifice safety.

Internal documents from Juvenile Detention workers questioned whether G4S Justice Services should be awarded the contract.

One document warned, "Juvenile Court reviewed the equipment and determined it does not meet their specifications."

Len Munks of Cuyahoga Detention Services told Regan, "it was pretty much dollars and cents as required by the bid specifications."

Juvenile authorities insist the malfunctions have been repaired and the company has addressed the problems satisfactorily.

G4S Justice Services Inc. said, "Public safety is paramount" and it is "committed to superior customer service."