More than three-quarters of children who are in residential care by their 16th birthday will have a criminal conviction by the age of 22, according to damning new figures.

Research has found that 77% will have a conviction and 31% will have spent time in prison.

The figures come from the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime, a research project following 4300 young people since 1998. They also show that 80% of young people who were in jail by the age of 18 will have a further criminal conviction by 22.

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To read more, see the full article. (Herald Scotland. 03 August 2010)