Annual custody figures for Wessex show a 42 per cent drop in the numbers of children being sentenced to prison since a custody panel was introduced.
The initiative, set up by the Howard League For Penal Reform and the Local Government Association, involved an expert panel reviewing previous occasions when juveniles were sentenced to custody.
The panel was set up in September 2007, a year in when there were 78 children sentenced to custody. In 2008 that figure fell to 45.
Frances Crook, director of the Howard League, said: "We are delighted that this pilot initiative has had such promising results after only one year of operation. More local authorities should consider using custody panels to improve their work with troubled children."
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