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G4EBT > CRIME 20.10.09 14:15l 131 Lines 5774 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 241492G4EBT
Read: GUEST ON6KH
Subj: More soldiers in jail than war
Path: ON0AR<N9ZZK<CT1EJC<PY1AYH<7M3TJZ<DK0WUE<GB7FCR
Sent: 091020/0850Z @:GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU #:33629 [Blackpool] FBB-7.03a $:241492G4
From: G4EBT@GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU
To : CRIME@WW
The neglect of British ex-servicemen has been branded a 'disgrace' as it
was revealed that 20,000 are in prison or on probation in England & Wales.
The shocking figures, compiled by probation staff, show that one in ten
prisoners used to be in the armed forces - up by almost a third in
five years.
On any one night, an estimated 1,000 ex servicemen are sleeping rough on
the streets of London. Nothing to do with poverty - everything to do with
chronic alcoholism, physical and mental health problems, PTSD and an
inability to adapt to civilian life after active service.
Critics claimed the findings were proof that vast numbers of troops who
risk their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan are facing severe problems when
they return to civilian life.
The National Association of Probation Officers (Napo) described
'overwhelming evidence' that ex-servicemen don't get the specialist
help they need, with thousands who suffer from post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) struggling as their family and work lives collapse.
The Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Justice have no official data on
the numbers of military veterans caught up in the criminal justice system
- they don't bother to collect such information - these people are just
cast adrift as human flotsam and jetsam, no longer any use to the war
machine.
But a survey by Napo estimated that 12,000 are under supervision of
probation officers and a further 8,500 behind bars in England and Wales.
The total of more than 20,000 is *more than twice the number currently
serving in Afghanistan*.
These figures represent 8.5% of the total UK prison population, and 6% of
all those on probation or parole. The proportion of those in prison who
are veterans has risen by more than 30% in the last five years, as a
result of soldiers who've returned from active service being unable
to adapt to civilian life.
The study by Napo uncovers the hidden cost of recent conflicts.
The survey of probation case histories of convicted veterans shows a
majority with chronic alcohol or drug problems, and nearly half suffering
from post-traumatic stress disorder or depression as a result of their
wartime experiences on active service.
Those involved had served in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and
Afghanistan, and were most likely to have been convicted of a
violent offence, particularly domestic violence.
Probation officers say the military urgently needs to provide programmes
to tackle chronic alcohol abuse and domestic violence committed by those
in their ranks and on discharge.
The study provides the strongest evidence yet of a direct link between the
mental health of those returning from combat zones, chronic alcohol and
drug abuse, and domestic violence. In many cases the symptoms of
depression or stress did not become apparent for many years and included
persistent flashbacks and nightmares.
Professor Tim Robbins, consultant clinical psychologist, former head of
traumatic stress services at St George's hospital, London, said: "If we
are asking people to do appalling things, to take part in regular
firefights and hand-to-hand combat, you get to the stage where it
de-sensitises them to violence".
He continued: "It's not just these specific things, but also [for
soldiers] there is the constant rising and falling of the level of
tension. In combat, they are constantly on edge and after a while they
become constantly on edge, come what may."
Harry Fletcher, Napo's assistant general secretary, said the high numbers
of former soldiers in prison shows: "There is overwhelming evidence that
support is not available when soldiers leave the service. The
preponderance of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression is also
alarming."
Probation staff in 62 offices across England and Wales say the vast
majority of former soldiers referred by the courts for criminal justice
supervision did not receive adequate support or counselling on leaving
the armed forces.
Napo also says their military experience and background is not being
routinely identified when they are arrested or convicted in the courts,
and is calling for a specific duty to be placed on criminal justice
agencies to refer service personnel for appropriate help and counselling.
The shadow justice secretary, Dominic Grieve, said it was a disgrace that
so many who served their country were in jail. "No one is above the law,
but this government has failed to provide proper support to our troops on
return home," he said. "The public will be shocked to find so many
soldiers in jail when the government has released thousands of criminals
early because of lack of cells."
It isn't as though this problem is new - it's been known about since
Napoleonic times, with returning soldiers unable to settle down and find
work, and the same thing happened at the end of WW1 and WW2,
But awareness of these issues and the ability to treat them is far more
advanced now than it was then. There is a myth that after WW2 soldiers
returned as conquering heroes.
They didn't.
Images of commandos with their faces blacked-up and a knife clenched
between their teeth as silent killers in the dead of night, though heroes
in wartime, caused real alarm that they would (some did) become lawless
gangsters on return to civvie street.
The shabby treatment of veterans isn't unique to Britain.
Vets of Vietnam many quite old now, if they've lived this long, have
not been well looked after, or even well regarded for the most part.
"Forward!" they cried from the rear,
As the fron't men fell in battle.
Best wishes
David, G4EBT @ GB7FCR
Cottingham, East Yorkshire.
Message timed: 09:49 on 2009-Oct-20
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