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 The BBC's Colin Patterson"Government will draw encouragement from study"  real 28k |
Nearly three quarters of excluded students admitted offending in the previous 12 months, the survey by the Youth Justice Board found.
Not only do truants offend far more, the nature of their crimes is much more serious  |
Norman Warner Youth Justice Board |
The findings of the survey underline ministers concerns to cut exclusions and truancy from schools.
The survey, of 132 children aged 14 to 18, showed the most common offences were fare dodging on buses, tubes or trains, vandalism and shoplifting.
But more than half of the youngsters said they had carried a weapon and a similar number admitted they had bought drugs for their own use.
Only 43% of excluded pupils thought it was always wrong to carry a knife and only 59% thought it was always wrong to burgle a house.
Unemployed fathers
More than two-thirds admitted drinking alcohol at least once a month, compared with only 38% of regular school attenders.
More than six out of 10 of the excluded pupils admitted using cannabis and 17% said they had tried cocaine or crack.
The survey also found that the fathers of more than 60% of excluded pupils were not in full time employment.
 Excluded students were twice as likely to drink alcohol
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"Not only do truants offend far more, the nature of their crimes is much more serious," he said.
"This demonstrates graphically that intervening early to tackle truancy and exclusions is vital to preventing youth crime."
The government has set local education authorities the target of reducing exclusions and truancy from schools by 33% by 2002.
But teachers' leaders claim the targets would make it impossible to maintain discipline.
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