Children are jailed too easily and at too young an age in the UK, Europe's human rights watchdog said today.
Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, told Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke that the UK's justice system for juveniles was "excessively punitive".
He warned that the system might breach human rights laws and is "counter-productive", suggesting it contributed to high reoffending rates.
Mr Hammarberg also called for the age of criminal responsibility in the UK to be raised from 10 to the European average of 15, saying the current "very low age... remains a serious concern".
And he criticised the UK for dealing with breaches of anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) in criminal courts, saying: "Children should not be imprisoned as a result of breaching a civil order."
Mr Hammarberg called for stronger protection of the privacy of young suspects, preventing cases of vilification of children in the press and avoiding the disclosure of criminal records.
In a letter to Mr Clarke, he wrote: "Despite some progress, the system of juvenile justice in the United Kingdom remains excessively punitive.
Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg said UK justice system is "counter productive"
"The state's response to juvenile crime should focus more on rehabilitation.
"The relative ease with which children are put in custody raises questions as to the compatibility of this approach with the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child."
He went on: "This approach is counter-productive.
"Youngsters who are imprisoned tend to re-offend upon release; the re-offending rates remaining above 70% in the United Kingdom.
"Arrest, detention and imprisonment are in principle possible for minors above the minimum age of criminal responsibility, but should only be used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest period possible.
"Alternatives to imprisonment should be sought in order to improve the response to juvenile crime and violence."
On Asbos, Mr Hammarberg went on: "Children should not be imprisoned as a result of breaching a civil order. The authorities should adopt alternative approaches."
In his reply, Mr Clarke said the UK has no plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility, but accepted that prosecution "was not always the most appropriate response to youth offending".
He added that, in relation to children, "courts can only give custody after they have considered a community sentence with a high intensity requirement set as an alternative to custody".
But Mr Clarke also admitted that the number of children held in secure remand was "disproportionately high" and said that measures being introduced in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill would treat 17-year-olds as juveniles for the purpose of remand for the first time.
The Bill will also give the police more flexibility in their response to juvenile offending, he said.