Brain injury 'link' to offending

18 October 2012 Last updated at 19:39 ET

Young people who sustain brain injuries are more likely to commit crimes and end up in prison, research suggests.

The University of Exeter study says such injuries can lead maturing brains to "misfire", affecting judgement and the ability to control impulses.

It calls for greater monitoring and treatment to prevent later problems.

The findings echo a separate report by the Children's Commissioner for England on the impact of injuries on maturing brains and the social consequences.

In the report, Repairing Shattered Lives, Professor Huw Williams from the University of Exeter's Centre for Clinical Neuropsychology Research, describes traumatic brain injury as a "silent epidemic".

It is said to occur most frequently among children and young people who have fallen over or been playing sport, as well as those involved in fights or road accidents.

The consequences can include loss of memory, with the report citing international research which indicates the level of brain injuries among offenders is much higher than in the general population.

A survey of 200 adult male prisoners in Britain found 60% claimed to have suffered a head injury, it notes.

"It is rare that brain injury is considered by criminal justice professionals when assessing the rehabilitative needs of an offender

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Brain injury 'link' to offending