The call follows a major study of children and young people's experiences of policing and the criminal justice system by the Children's Rights Alliance for England (Crae), which highlights claims of violence against young people by police and staff in youth custody settings.
A briefing paper on the findings reveals that children and young people reported that force was often used unnecessarily even when they had been cooperating with the police.
Children described the level of force used against them by police during arrest as "ridiculous" and "over-the- top". A 15-year-old boy said: "I've had my nose broken before by a police officer."
Children also reported that the police did not listen to them when they expressed pain while being restrained, as well as concerns about police carrying "frightening" tasers.
Young people also reported being subjected to violent and degrading treatment in youth custody with one girl claiming that she was made to shower in handcuffs in the presence of male security staff.
"Children we spoke to said they would have been frightened to report issues because of potential repercussions, for example, being subjected to violent treatment by staff as a punishment for complaining," the briefing states.
It includes a number of recommendations from children and young people, including the introduction of youth-led training on children's rights for all professionals working with children in policing and the justice system.
They also call for violence against children by police and in youth custody to stop immediately and for physical restraint to only be used as a last resort when the child poses an imminent risk to the safety of themselves or others.
Another recommendation is that complaints mechanisms be strengthened so when problems arise there is immediate action and clear accountability.
Crae has called for the National Police Chief's Council (NPCC) strategy for the policing of children and young people to be implemented with corresponding action plans put in place in individual police forces.
Maria Stephens, participation manager at Crae, said that human rights are "vital" to ensure children are treated fairly and kept safe if they are caught up in the criminal justice system. ??
"Worryingly, testimony from the children and young people we spoke to shows human rights are being discarded when they are needed most," she said.
"Police and youth justice professionals must now listen to children and young people and work with them to solve the problems in the system."
Responding to the findings, chief constable Olivia Pinkney, lead for children and young people at the NPCC, said: "We are a public service and our job is to prevent harm and keep people safe, never to hurt or criminalise unnecessarily.
"Children are children first and foremost. The better our policing is for them now, the less they may need us in the future. Every interaction leaves a mark and we need to think carefully about what sort of mark that is and how, in both the physical and digital world, our staff can be a force for good.
"The first weapon in any officer's toolkit is their voice, not handcuffs or a stun gun, and on the rare occasions when it is necessary to use force we always aim to do so in a proportionate way. However, we must not deny the scope for improvement either."
Pinkey added that in light of the report, she has spoken to all chief constables about the importance of a child-centred approach to policing.
Colin Allars, chief executive of the Youth Justice Board, said: "The allegations made by the children the CRAE have spoken to are extremely concerning.
"We treat all allegations of mistreatment extremely seriously and work with those providing custodial services to ensure any concerns raised are thoroughly investigated and appropriate action is taken.
"We have reviewed safeguarding procedures across all three secure training centre sites and have provided additional monitoring, scrutiny and support.
"Barnardo's provide independent advocacy support to children at secure training centres and we are working closely with them to make the service more targeted and focused on children's rights. We are also working with youth offending teams to ensure children leaving custody provide us with more information about their experiences."
