Source: Sydney Morning Herald

MOST maltreated children do not go on to become criminals but childhood abuse or neglect increases the chances a person will offend - and some forms of maltreatment are more likely to create criminals than others.

Landmark research into juvenile crime by Griffith University researchers analysed all child protection and crime data collected in Queensland for children born in 1983, 1984 and 1990.

They found that more than one in four maltreated children went on to offend, compared with one in six children who had not had contact with the child protection system. The rate was double for indigenous males - more than 50 per cent of those abused or neglected went on to commit crimes.

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