Tracking has confirmed that the number of UK veterans in prison remains small.
Just one year after the independent review into former service personnel in the Criminal Justice System, by Stephen Phillips QC, MPs have been assured that allegations of over-representation are unfounded.
In a recent progress update, Minister of State for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims, Mike Penning, stressed the importance of proper evidence gathering and said, “The key to providing better services to ex-service personnel who find themselves in the CJS is to make sure that we identify them. I am pleased to see that the early data collected by the Liaison and Diversion services programme and the Basic Custody Screening Tool at prison reception, show that the number of ex-service personnel in the criminal justice system continues to remain small.”
CEO of Veterans Aid Dr Hugh Milroy, who was a member of the original Phillips Inquiry said, “We still get calls from journalists who believe that British jails are overflowing with veterans, attributing their crimes to the ‘trauma of military service’. This update is further vindication of the need for rigour in information gathering and timely rebuttal of myth with fact.”
The update described life in the Armed Forces is a “generally positive experience and a protective factor” which meant that veterans were less likely than the general population to commit criminal offences.
“I welcome its publication,” said Dr Milroy “there is too much stereotyping of ex-servicemen and women as heroes, victims or villains with scant regard for the advantages of military service.”
The full update can be found HERE
