Speak to the teachers, they know EXACTLY what the problems are. I'm tired of hearing about how teachers are over paid and useless. Its a thankless job. Teachers come into contact with many who self-abuse, feel suicidal, take drugs, have horrible homelives and they also deal with the parents too.

Lucy, London,

i grew up in an average town in the US, a country where the kids supposedly behave terribly. the kids in the US looks like saints compared to the behavior i have seen from the kids here in the UK. what parent lets their kids go out dressed like thugs to hang out on street corners?

Alex, London, England

I am appalled by the level of hatred displayed in these comments. Is it so unreasonable to believe that children have rights? Clearly there is a problem with a minority of teenage offenders but I am more concerned about the number of children growing up in abusive households with no help and no hope

Jane, Bath,

Tom
Prisons DO prevent crime. If a yob who is breaking into (say) an average of 2 homes or cars every week is locked up for 12 months, that’s 100 crimes prevented.
Also, in my opinion first time prisoners should spend their sentences in solitary as this would remove the “breeding ground for crime” effect completely. It would also be a very unpleasant experience, making it less likely that the prisoner would want to reoffend and risk returning.

Michael, Maidstone, UK

more utter pc codswalop,asa male single parent on income support,child poverty is utter nonsense, i can manage fantasticly,its amazing how many of these single parents like me in so called poverty,smoke,drive cars,excetra

lorne, derby, england

Lets get real here. We are too soft. Break the law and you have to suffer the consequences. The breakdown of the family unit is what has caused thisproblem, so sort it by discipline in the home 1st. Re-educate parents before they have children so they are fit to be parents.

Robbie McAndrew, marford, wales

I've just been reading about six young Air Cadets who saved the lives of two Belgians injured while walking in the Pyrennees. I don't recall seeing this in any of the major dailies. I'm sure there are many such stories of quiet heroism by our young that the media chooses not to publish.

Angela Barratt, London, UK

The so called "underclass" exist simply as a result of government policies over the years. Alcohol - This is so easily available now, in my youth it was the pub, or the off licence, now it is sold in so many outlets, often staffed by young inexperienced people.

Wills, soton, uk

i dont know how on earth UN found only Britain of having this indifference to the youth. The fact is, we must admit, that Britain has one of the best justice systems in place in the world. Britain has been the pioneer of every freedom that the world is singing praise of today.

Tufail, Birmingham, UK

It's amusing how people are showing the precise attitude which drives this sort of report. Despite the realities of the situation, Britians want to be miserable, to blame everything on those of lower social status and to deny the objective evidence in the report.

Try actually reading it.

Leon Wolfeson, Oxford, UK

Radio 4 today commented on this story. It noted that adolescent crime was down since 2003. It then noted (critically) that, in spite of that, more adolescents were being arrested/criminalised. Duh!!! Maybe crime is down BECAUSE they get punished more and don't get away as much. Lock more up!!!

David L, Brussels,

So liberals create the problems by limiting parents, police and other authorites roles and then - when the problem gets worse they want more liberal policies. Traditional methods work and they work best. BTW: the UN is ONLY right when they are attacking America? Right.

Hotspur, ATL, USA

Quote - The number of crimes committed by children fell between 2002 and 2006, but, according to research cited by the report, convictions rose by 26 per cent- Unquote. Could convictions have possible been a cause for the drop ? Ah - too simple and explanation for the commissioners! Look at NY

chottu, Singapore, Singapore

What's this nonsense that refers to children as if they're little angels who don't make their own choices?

They know exactly what they're doing, they should have total responsibility for their actions. Children are the biggest danger facing this country, they are ruining our freedoms and our safety

James, London, United Kingdom

Utter nonsense! The age of criminal "competence" is too low now, and a very large proportion of violent crime IS committed by what are correctly termed 'yobs' - prison sentences however may not be the answer to the problem - National Service in one form or another may be.

Chris Robinson, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

"needlessly criminalised for misdemeanours"

So someone smashes your car window or steals your purse, or steals from a shop, or bullies and beats up your childs or steals your mobile etc and its your fault for making the thief a criminal.
They may be children but must be punished to stop crimes

Phil1, Edinburgh, UK

For 11 yrs Labour has prevented the education system from dealing with disruptive pupils; thrown welfare at the underclass which just creates more welfare dependents; allowed uncontrolled immigration so starter jobs are taken by foreigners & has led to 'ethnic' gangs. Labour rules - youngsters pay!

Donna Walker, Effingham, England

Parental attitude in this country has always been lax. The lack of parents general schooling education, is too blame. Their interest is only sport, drink, and to be drunk. TV is also to blame, when most soap programmes are programmed around the pub, when the scripts show drunkenness

victor arram, wesycliff,

I was on holiday in Spain recently ,and what surprised me most was no matter where we went we didn't see youngsters hanging around in large groups,misbehaving and adopting an intimidating attitude.All we saw were two burly armed policemen slowly walking the beat every 30mins.Can we try this !

Mike, Dunstable, England

Who are these Children's Commisioners appointed by Labour? What are their qualifications? What do they earn? Where do they live?

John, Sutton, UK

So we ignore the stabbings, the drugs, the fighting, the being blind drunk, the bullying and intimidation then?

Many kids are great people and deserve our respect. Many are not and must not be mollycoddled as envisaged by the tree huggers who have already given kids more rights than adults.

Richard, London,

Children are the product of their parents and their environment.
I find yobs VERY annoying, but they're yobs because that's how we have allowed them to become.
I'm surprised that, while they continue to enjoy their increasingly selfish lives, so many seem to believe that a big stick is the answer.

Steveh, London, UK

I have 4 children I have raised as a 'single mum', in a small council house with no maintenance forthcoming. I didnt expect any, as I have worked and paid for them myself. It's been tough and poor. They all work, none claim benefits, take drugs or have a criminal record. I am so proud of them!

Nicki, Hastings, East Sussex

Here we go again, more "passive tense" morality.

No, children are not "being demonised" by society. They're choosing to perform actions which are illegal and disrupt the lives of the rest of us. We then occasionally punish them for their choices.

Don't commit crime and you won't be criminalised!

Laura Roberts, London, United Kingdom

Given that the UN is a failed institution, I wonder hoiw much attention we should pay to its so called experts?

Andrew brown, derby, UK

It does seem as if the UK can be a terrible place for children, but for lots fo reasons; thier television programmes are bleak for starters and lots do not have nice green spaces to play in.

However yobs and thugs are yobs and thugs even if they are teenage. We cannot get soft on them.

jane, oxford, uk

Of course the Law ceates career criminals. if it didn't They would all be out of work. If we followed some of the scandanavian criminal justice system models we would have to shut prisons. Now that is not going to happen as we slavishly follow the American model.

Mark, Gateshead , Tyne Wear

The comments highlighted paint a picture of a country where crime is punished and that the current justice system is harsh enough to act as a deterrent, which anyone that lives in this country knows to be untrue.

Helen, London, England

The answers lie in stopping the underclass beeding and punishment that is sufficient to deter. More children and victims will be saved from criime this way. This must be the objective for the better good of the majority. The UN, political correctness and soft sentimentality do not work.

Rick, High Wycombe,

Education+good parenting are the key. I grew up on a council estate in Salford. Aged 13-16 constantly in trouble with police for antisocial behaviour+petty crime. Last year I obtained 2:1 in politics + now close to finishing a masters in social policy. parents+teachers made me sense, no one else.

Liz, Lancs, UK

MikeMSN Midsome Norton
Put some flesh on your arguement, don't generalise especially about single mothers.
My wife was a single mum for 11 years and brought her son up on her own. She left a violent relationship with a child the father wanted nothing to do with and he is a credit to her.

Mark Smith, Feltham, England

LIke many "self-made" people, nb of London has become a form of snob. For the majority of people, having the opportunities makes achieving much easier.

The most relevant trend in this is the widening gap in the conditions for poor and affluent children.

Steve, Cardiff,

I agrre totally with n.b. of London, my comments would be identical to his/hers. The apathy shown by all in authority is more likely to be culpable.

Stephen Dolan, Rickmansworth,

Codswallop.

I had obstacles in life, a hard upbringing, broken home, no money, no role models, blah blah blah.

I made a choice: study, work, sacrifice, study more, work, study even more, take risks, push push myself.

If I want something, I'll earn it. I don't commit crime. 100% choice.

nb, London, United Kingdom

Most of these kids already have obstacles in life, criminialising them will not help them succeed only sets them back, and will give them nothing to aspire to. It will close the little doors they may have opened. How does this help, how does this protect them. Instead of condeming them, support them

glory, London,

Give teachers back their authority and concentrate on the basics. Good schools and family values for all. Choose a different path - suffer the consequences. I'm disappointed by the negative portrayal of young people in the press. Young people need guidance & support to become good adults.

Carrie, manchester, england

Part of the problem is the fact that the police can no longer use their discretion in dealing with children. In the past many "offences" would have been dealt with by talking to the parents (or schools) involved and allowing them to sort the problem out. Now these are dealt with in court.

Ian, Leeds, uk

Marion makes an excellent point. We need more balance to this important debate. As Chairman of Leap confronting conflict I am aware of many thousands of young people who are doing great things in their local communities to reduce conflict. They set superb examples to all ages.

Patrick Dunne, London,

@ buster
prisons breed crime; they sure as hell don't prevent it.
We need to do away with this benefit-state so poorly edcated 'chavs' don't get a free house at 16 if they get pregnant.
These are the same people who took away smacking, so no discipline anyway(lets face it, no perminant damage).

tom, lancs,

Even when you are an excellent parent you are subject to criticism from other people. My sister's two year old was screaming her head off and some elderly woman tutted at my sister in annoyance, which kind of illustrates the general animosity there is towards children in this country.

M, Beds,

These Commissioners, Govt and the EU have brought this on us.Bring back proper discipline in schools.
Poverty? Why do you think that we get so many claiming asylum. What is "poverty" here is the best of living from whence they came.

M. Cawdery, ramone, Co. UK, EU.

The media should make the effort to report all the good work and kind deeds that many children do. It is too easy for them to highlight asbos etc .
Children enjoy media attention so let's be positive and highlight all the work that individual children and ,more importantly, groups achieve !

marion , gerrards cross, england

The state cannot bring these kids up as new labour thinks. That is the job of the family units that new labour has destroyed.
Parents to kids are a mum and dad not a mum and mum or a dad and dad or just a mum.
The state is there to educate (which it obviousley currently doesn't)

rob, derby, uk

Stop the production line of child poverty and yobs by rewarding marriage, a vital symbolic step. Stop rewarding single mothers with undeserved accommodation. Stop rewarding the unsocialised and unemployable with generous benefits. Make the unbreakable link between sowing and reaping more obvious

MikeMSN, Midsomer Norton, UK

I have suffered and had to bear the cost of various problems in the last 3 years. Smashing of car window, 2 wing mirrors and a headlight . A rear wiper torn off, rear fence set on fire, and numerous noise disturbances in the street between midnight and 2.00am I think its time we got tougher !!

Grey, Southampton, UK

"Law creates and underclass of child criminals"??

So how does that work then? Suddenly legislation is passed which labels children as criminals?

No? Ah, you mean that the children committed acts of crime first?

So surely it's "Out of control children creating their own criminal records".

Tom Franklin, London, United Kingdom

"Children who receive ASBOs can have their names and photographs published – a breach of their right to privacy under the UN convention"

Well if they don't want their names and photos published, how about they try behaving themselves? When they act like thugs they deserve to be shamed publicly..

Dom, Bath, UK

Isn't it amazing that up to the age of about 12 we see kids in lousy environments with poor facilities and bad schools being bought up by stressed/drugged parents who can't cope and we say "poor kid isn't it terrible. As soon as they get to teenage they suddenly become yobs - we are responsible.

Dave, Cambridge,

Law creates underclass of child criminals?
No one forces the little yobs to break the law, lock them up, off the streets.
Perhaps the can share a cell with some of the clueless trendy NuLab supporters.

R Bain, Derby,

Rather than using purely reactive solutions to problems, we should be reviewing whether these so called solutions achieve desired long range outcomes.

I have worked & continue to work with Young people, Police and "justice" systems, I strongly believe that we are "barking up the wrong tree".

Trish, Liverpool , England

The poor wouldn't be so poor if they bothered the take the jobs available to them and rediscovered the dignity of work. Everyone in this country has had the benefit of free education for over 50 years. At some point they need to take responsibility for themselves and knuckle down.

Rose, Stirling, UK

No easy answers - yet we must break the cycle of weak parenting and weak education. I would propose parenting classes in schools, but the educational establishment and teachers would subvert this too. The distilled parenting wisdom of millenia is not too difficult to impart, but is oft forgotten.

Pete, London,

The United Nations disgust me.
They won't even tackle Magabe and his regime.
Yet interfere in our already too lenient penal system when dealing with Yobs.
Bring back National Service for Teenagers Five Years in the Army will sort them out.

Stephen Holmes, Withington , UK

All over the world I have seen the UN driving around in large vehicles on large expense accounts and being largely totally ineffective to solve any problems in the world. Isn't it about time we realised this oganisation is a gravy train made for the benefit of those who work in it?

ken edwards, sheffield, uk

Saw an article from a 1950's Glasgow Herald the other day in which two unruly drunks were accosted by members of the public and marched to the police station. How come it happened then & not now? I suppose nowadays the fuzz would charge the public spirited with assault and let the drunks rampage.

Colin, Glasgow, UK

We should discourage large families raised on benefits. We should have lots of boarding schools available for those who need rescue but don't need to be removed from parental care, ranging from The Mulberry Bush to Christs Hospital. We put child rescue above parents rights.

Jack, Stratford, UK

Perhaps the problem is that those who have children give them what they want rather than what they need. While they can get everything on demand and replace it when they lose interest why should they treat human life and relationships aa any less expendable?

Judith, Chelmsford, UK

I think this country is fast going down hill, for all the reasons mentioned above, the frustration in British people is growing, just look at the amount of responses this article has recieved. Who in the UN is asking the question 'why are children in the UK doing the things they do?'

Nicky, Peterborough,

Some 50 years ago, in my youth, the village bobby would be around and if you were caught doing something wrong, a swift cuff round the ear was enough to put you on the right track. No criminal record, social workers or other hangers on. It worked, my time in court was as a prosecuter & defender.

P Barrett, Valletta, Malta

Build more jails thus employing thousands of people. Then send the offenders there afer being guilty of offence 2. And make them suffer. No comfy stuff, no telly. Maybe get them out to do community work like the chain gangs did (in a fashion).

Buster, Birmingham,

So the interloping Yank asks, yob = "youth on benefit" is it?

Laurence Tenney, San Francisco,

Britain should respond to this by getting even tougher with teenage layabouts. Not pander to criticism by the UN .

Ray, Bangkok,

In simple terms Labour have brought in a system where youths get a 'reprimand' for a first offence then a 'final warning' for a second and so lots are automatically going to court for a third offence- the offence itself possibly being quite minor. It's not very flexible.

Roger Williams, Hereford, UK

What about the rights of the victims of crime? Most youth crime is antisocial in nature and affects people's lives. We are only talking about a very small % of the population here who offend, so punish them, and let the majority live in peace.

Peter McConnell, Darwin, Australia

If it looks like a yob, speaks like a yob, and acts like a yob, it must expect to be treated as a yob!
Of course these "experts" have a vested interest in keeping their high-paid jobs going!
Once again, it's us who are in the wrong, not the yobs!
Typical Labour appointees!
Spare the rod.....!

Nick, London, UK

Nick in Rotherham : I couldn't agree more. The UN is the most usless and cowardly insitution in the world. Why would anyone with half a brain take anything they say seriously ? Really who the hell do they think they are .

Howard, Nanaimo BC , Canada

The village I grew up in had a memorial to a little boy who was hanged for stealing a sheep. More laws won't improve behaviour. We need a return to solid family values. I haven't a clue how any Government is now going to do this.

Charlie, Ramsey,

What these Labour appointed "experts" do not say is that the family is in meltdown as the government attacks marriage. Growing children need a mother and a father, but Britain is the country where this is least likely. Hence the crime. Get the family right and all else will be right.

George, Bolton, England

So, what does Britain do? Suck up to this report, or attack crime on the streets?

Dennis Eagan, Colorado Springs, USA

A child can drop litter and they are a criminal - need I say more?

Mo, carlisle, cumbria

was there anywhere in the report that spoke about how child misdemeanours should be handled?

edmund, singapore, singapore

Let's hear it for the MANY decent young people who are not thugs or yobs.

Unfortunately we live in a society that loves to hype up all kinds of 'threats' when it's convenient: from young 'thugs' and single mums to middle aged male amateur photographers who are obviously up to no good!

Robert, Manchester, UK

This is a report written by those with a vested interest in the child offender industry. So long as the child offender industry can keep the little darlings out of incarceration, it can continue to provide employment for counsellors, minders, professors, consultants, etc.,

John Blackley, Winter Garden, Florida

Why do we continue to bother to listen to any drivel on human rights from the UN, which is happy to sit back and do nothing except issue "stern language" whenever genocide is taking place? The UN has absolutely no moral standing.

Nick, Rotherham, UK

The UN bluffers in New York or the EU technocrats in Brussels.

Of these two organizations, which is the most grotesque, the worst organized, the most pompous, the greatest waster of public funds?

Humm, a tough call indeed.

Samuel Young, Paris, France

we are a vibrant and diverse society
rejoice

dave, northwood,

Same U.N. that is corrupt as any third world country?? The one where the so called diplomats use their immunity to escape any and all crimes from murder to parking tickets??
Sheer rubbish! These young thugs are not children they
are criminals and should be treated as such.

Kate, Victoria BC, Canada

A yob is an ill mannered person as I can see in one dictionary translation. While on public transport, I do not see the youth of today getting up to give me their seat or a pregnant woman.
Our problems are the Children Commissioners, who are obviously living on another planet like their bosses.

Mark, London, England

So they want us to liberalise the legal system even furthur?
You must be joking!!

Phill, The Wirral, England

More Labour appointees writing politically inspired reports.

'Child poverty' Labour have institutionalised it!

With the amount of legislative effluent passed by Labour it is not surprising convictions are up since 2006, everyone is a criminal now!

Alan, Luton,

The 'UN convention of the rights of a child' is the reason why we have a generation which is out of control, they have no respect for authority of any kind, including their parents, the banning of corporal punishment in schools was the first step on the slippery slope to the 'child line' mentality.

Les, Southport, England

Is this the same UN that runs underaged sex rackets in the Sudan?

So children have a 'right' to behave badly?

'Spare the rod and spoil the child'. Still true, even after 2500 years.

Roddy Campbell, Christchurch, New Zealand

1. Close down sink schools. (a pathetic excuse for education)

2. Replace the hundreds of youth clubs that have been closed down over the years.

3. Raise the age limit for Alcohol to 21 and let big business bitch about it.

4. Use carrot and stick to help parents with their kids.

Graham, St. Albans, uk

4 Children’s Commissioners for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland's report for the U N condem the punitive youth justice system and the vilification of teenagers as yobs.

Please send these four people to me, and I'll educate them in real life!

Please let ME write a report!

Shaun, Newcastle, Tyneside