The study looked at which areas inmates came from

The research revealed that a quarter of all inmates in Scotland's jails come from just 53 council wards, most of which are in poorer areas of Glasgow.

Ministers said it was clear that social deprivation could be a factor in offences but never an excuse.

The Tories said the lack of opportunity in these areas could not be ignored.

Former Barlinnie Prison governor Roger Houchin, now based at Glasgow Caledonian University's School of Life Sciences, carried out the study in June 2003.

He looked at how many people had been sent to jail from each of Scotland's 1,200 local authority wards.

Most prevalent group

Half of those in jail came from the poorest 155 wards. A quarter were from the 53 most deprived council wards and 35 of those were in Glasgow, where Royston topped the league.

In Edinburgh it was Craigmillar, Woodside had the most offenders of the Aberdeen wards and Hilltown was the highest in Dundee.

Mr Houchin found that on average there were 129 prisoners per 100,000 of the population.

The most prevalent group of offenders were men aged 23 and 3,427 of them were in jail for every 100,000 of the population.

If that is the effect of criminal justice, criminal justice is not helping us to address offending or reoffending, it's just another part of the life pattern of certain people Roger Houchin Glasgow Caledonian University

Mr Houchin said: "Being in prison is just another element of social exclusion, the same as having bad housing, getting poor educational opportunities and having bad health.

"It's another characteristic of living in parts, particularly of Glasgow, because it's concentrated especially in Glasgow.

"If that is the effect of criminal justice, criminal justice is not helping us to address offending or reoffending, it's just another part of the life pattern of certain people."

Former chief inspector of prisons, Clive Fairweather, said he was not surprised at the link between poverty and offending but that did not mean society should tolerate a "criminal class".

He told the BBC's Politics Show: "The sort of factors that were common were poverty, but there were other factors like poor family contact, truanting, expulsion from schools and alcohol and, following on from that, drugs.

Asking communities

"Shortly after that you find people involved in car crime, petty theft and it goes on from there."

Mr Fairweather said the Scottish Executive should employ experts tasked with asking communities what they see as the solutions.

He said: "We might think that what we need is fewer places that sell fortified wine, maybe that's not the answer at all.

"The only people that know these answers are the people who are living in these estates."

The study has provoked a major criminal justice debate

While prison worked for some, he added: "For a very large number, particularly petty offenders, they're in and out of jail and the public only get temporary relief.

"It would be nice to try and find a more satisfying long term solution."

Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson was not available for interview but the Scottish Executive said deprivation was clearly a factor in a proportion of offences but could not be used as an excuse for breaking the law.

Scottish National Party justice spokesman Kenny MacAskill, MSP, said: "People have to accept responsibility for their own behaviour because they do have an opportunity to choose and most don't choose to commit offences but some do.

"But our society has a responsibility for all of its communities and we have sadly neglected these communities.

"We're creating a social apartheid in our ghettos and it's simply unacceptable."

Scottish Tory MSP and Glasgow justice of the peace, Bill Aitken, said those who used poverty as an excuse for crime were "insulting" law-abiding people in poorer areas.

"But on the other end of the scale what one has to realise is that an awful lot of the people who do end up doing time in Barlinnie and elsewhere do so because of lack of opportunity and we have to address this lack of opportunities," he said.

Mr Aitken said the education and employment systems must be looked at.