A startling increase in the number of young people punished for breaking the law in Brighton and Hove is revealed in a report before city leaders today.

The document, published by Brighton and Hove City Council on behalf of the Youth Offending Team, shows the number of youths in trouble with the police in the city has risen by almost 50 per cent in one year.

The number of violent offences has shot up 84 per cent, while incidents of criminal damage have risen by 72 per cent.

The report also shows youths are getting into trouble younger.

The typical age of an offender is now 16 for boys and 15 for girls - down from 17 and 16 last year. Almost three-quarters of offenders are boys.

According to the report, which will be scrutinised today at a meeting of the council's Community Safety Forum, the rise in arrests is the result of a major drive to bring more offenders to justice.

Pat Hawkes, Labour councillor for children, families and schools, said: "This generation is no more guilty than previous generations but previous generations got away with it.

"In the past teenage crime wasn't always followed up. Now young people are getting caught."

But Conservative leader Garry Peltzer Dunn said youth offending was more of a concern today than it was 25 years ago and said a breakdown of traditional family values was to blame.

The report, a summary of the Youth Justice Plan 2005/06, shows the number of young people given reprimands, warnings and court sentences in Brighton and Hove rose from 373 in 2003/04 to 543 in 2004/05 - an increase of 46 per cent.

More young people ended up in court - 312 last year compared with 257 the year before, a 21 per cent increase. The number of offences punished also rose steeply to 1,089 - an increase of 42 per cent on the previous year.

Theft, handling stolen goods, violence against others and motoring offences were the most common crimes.

Members of the community safety forum will today consider the Youth Justice Plan's strategy for the coming year, which leans heavily towards preventive measures, such as giving support to the 200 children considered most at risk of offending.

The Youth Offending Team, which brings together workers from the fields of education, health, police, probation and social services, has been set ambitious targets.

These include reducing reoffending rates by five per cent year-on-year and a reduction of the number of first-time offenders by five per cent by 2008.

Persistent offenders will be given antisocial behaviour orders, or Asbos, which can be used to ban individuals from a range of activities or places.

The use of Asbos has increased significantly since they were introduced. Sussex courts issued 85 in 2004 compared with 23 in 2003.

Coun Hawkes, a former chairwoman of the Community Safety Forum, said 99 per cent of young people were well behaved but a small proportion of teenagers had always been involved in criminal behaviour.

She said: "Yobbish behaviour is starting a bit earlier but it will drop off earlier too. You mess about for a period in your teens and do all sorts of things but it's not just this generation."

Coun Peltzer Dunn said: "There has been a breakdown of traditional family society and values which is symptomatic of what is happening in society at the moment.

"I support a robust regime but not an oppressive one."