14/06/2010

Thousands of military personnel are being arrested in the UK every month, according to a new study of arrest data.

The study reveals that in the past two months, 232 ex-service personnel have been arrested by one force alone, many of which came as a result of violent offences.

The majority were young men, mostly between 18 and 29. Almost 40 per cent of those detained were unemployed.

The study’s findings are result of the first analysis of veteran arrests in the UK and reflect growing concern for the welfare of war veterans upon their release from the forces.

Kent police, who gathered the data as part of a pilot to cut offending and re-offending by veterans, said the figures were significantly higher than had been expected. They could be, an underestimate since former military personnel, who stand to lose their pensions if convicted, could be reluctant to reveal their service record.

Veterans groups and the police involved with the study agreed its conclusions were worrying. If the pattern in Kent proved similar for all 43 police forces in England and Wales, it could mean that as many as 60,000 former military personnel were being arrested annually.

Elfyn Llwyd MP, chair of the justice unions' group in the Commons, said: "If the Kent police figures are reflective of what's going on throughout the UK, then we have a massive problem.

“We should put as much effort into debriefing [personnel] and helping their adjustment into society.
“It could be as simple as helping with debt management. It needs to be done properly. At the moment, there are beacons of good practice and deserts of bad."

Although there are no official statistics detailing the number of ex-service personnel currently in the prison system, one report  published last September by the National Association of Probation Officers (Napo), estimated that as many as 8,000 ex-soldiers are currently in jail, with another 3,500 either on probation or parole.

The figures suggest that more ex-servicemen and women are in the criminal justice system of England and Wales than there are troops serving in Afghanistan.

Misuse of alcohol and drugs are key factors behind offending by veterans and a high proportion of crimes are linked to domestic violence. The association said that the Services should do more to tackle alcohol misuse as well as provide programmes to deal with domestic violence.

Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of Napo, said that the findings were of grave concern. “There is overwhelming evidence that support is not available of sufficient calibre when soldiers leave the Service. The preponderance of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression is also alarming,” he said.

“All efforts must be made to reduce the number of military personnel who are in the criminal justice system. There is a need to develop alcohol counselling and domestic violence programmes within the military setting as well as the community.”

Llwyd, leader of Plaid Cymru, will present an action plan, on cutting veteran offending and re-offending, to the involved ministries this month.

The Kent scheme was pioneered by Colin Back, a police constable who also volunteers for the veterans charity, SSAFA. Back said: "I thought it would be about 30 a month coming through custody suits, and we got 22 in the first day."

Hertfordshire police are planning to adopt the Kent scheme, and Back said he had had inquiries from Hampshire, North Yorkshire, North Wales, Cheshire, and the British Transport police.