Ian McPherson, the Association of Chief Police Officer's (ACPO) lead on young people, said the plan contains the right ideas but is yet to be delivered.
Speaking at crime reduction charity Nacro's annual conference in Nottingham, he called for more focus on early intervention to prevent children entering the youth justice system.
Published last July, and backed with £100m of government funding, the action plan includes measures such as better prevention and support for victims and expanding the Safer Schools Partnerships.
It also calls for local authorities to give better support to young people leaving custody.
McPherson said: "In my opinion, the Youth Crime Action Plan is still seen as an initiative, not a long-term, sustainable and far-reaching change to the way we do business.
"YCAP has all the ingredients, but our collective challenge is to make it the way we do everyday business.
"For me, the agenda is falling down at the implementation stage, not theory. Our challenge is to translate our understanding of the issues into practical action on the ground."
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