The chief inspector of prisons, Sir David Ramsbotham, has called for greater public tolerance towards young male offenders.

Sir David is concerned how young male offenders are "consistently abused" and "stereotyped in the media". "It seriously worries me that in this country young males are being marginalised from society, nobody takes them seriously, everyone rants and rails against them, everyone criticises them, nobody encourages them, nobody tries to work out what makes them tick and I think personally for the nation as a whole this is a very dangerous trend," he said.

Sir David's comments, made in an exclusive interview with ePolitix, have sparked controversy. Norman Brennan, director of the Victims of Crime Trust and a serving police officer for 22 years, said the chief inspector's views were "irresponsible" "spurious" and "out of touch".

"Society does not marginalise young males. They do it themselves," Brennan says. "Young males are given every chance if we eventually run out of patience with persistent criminal behaviour how can we be blamed. It is their fault not ours. Sir David Ramsbotham's emphasis on making victims out of criminals ignores the truth that they choose to destroy the lives of law abiding people."

Ramsbotham also courted controversy with his comments on the Bulger killers. He said they should now be left in peace to get on with their lives. "That depends on society, doesn't it. And it depends on what chance they are given to do so. I know how much effort the social services have put in to giving them the skills to enable them to do so, it's now up to us and including the media, to give them the opportunity to put those skills to good effect."

Brennan is not so optimistic: "The sad reality is many teenagers that have committed serous crimes such as murder, gang rape or robbery go on to reoffend for the rest of their lives. I believe that Thompson and Venables will go on to commit crime and will use the excuse of their incarceration, claiming that it is they who are the victims."