Scotland has 1,200 persistent young offenders

The annual report from the Scottish Children's Reporter said there were 1,200 persistent young offenders.

SNP Holyrood leader Nicola Sturgeon accused Jack McConnell of failing to get to grips with the issue and trying to "bamboozle" the public.

But the first minister denied the claim and accused the SNP of "hypocrisy" for opposing steps to tackle youth crime.

Last year almost 46,000 children were referred to the Children's Reporter, either for their own protection or for offending behaviour.

Children's services

That figure was an increase of 12.6% on the previous year and accounted for one in 20 Scottish youngsters - an all-time high.

Almost 40% of the 16,470 children referred for criminal behaviour were previous offenders.

Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA) chairman, Douglas Bulloch, said: "All of the agencies involved in children's services need to be concerned by the year-on-year increase of children referred to us.

Many of our partners in children's services throughout Scotland have expressed their concern that so many children in Scotland seem to be born to fail Douglas Bulloch SCRA chairman

"These figures suggest that every year more and more children in Scotland are experiencing real difficulties, such that compulsory measures of care are being considered.

"Early intervention is critical to ensure that children in need get the support they need when they need it most."

Mr Bulloch said the problem raised a number of challenging questions for society.

"Many of our partners in children's services throughout Scotland have expressed their concern that so many children in Scotland seem to be born to fail," he added.

The figures for persistent young offending sparked angry exchanges in the Scottish Parliament.

The first minister can try as hard as he likes to bamboozle the public over the figures in this report, but he can't change the facts Nicola Sturgeon SNP Holyrood leader

Ms Sturgeon asked Mr McConnell why the figure had gone up.

The first minister pointed out that the Scottish Parliament had been told in November that new research had identified 1,200 persistent young offenders, 300 more than previously thought.

"The figure that is now used is far more accurate - and that is a good thing for the system because it's important that we have an agreement across the board with all the agencies involved, that we know the scale of the challenge and that we have the right policies to deal with it," he said.

However, Ms Sturgeon replied: "The first minister can try as hard as he likes to bamboozle the public over the figures in this report, but he can't change the facts.

'Sheer hypocrisy'

"Even using the old definition, the number of persistent young offenders has gone up by 5%."

She asked the first minister whether he was "simply failing to get to grips with the problem of youth crime".