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Veterans in Prison

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Reporter: Dawn Turner, Assistant-Editor
hat are all these reports in
Wthe media about 2,500 veteans
jailed in 2015. Yet! The Ministry of Justice (MOJ)
are still insisting only 3.5% of the general prison
population is made up of veterans. These latest statistics
recorded in the Howard League report are a far cry from what the charities who provide the in-reach programs are claiming. The
Royal British Legion in 2011 suggest the figure is more like 16.17% which is also backed up by NAPO.
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Stripping back the whole process of how and where the data is being collected reveals a glitch in the system!
The MOJ Collect the data on veterans in prison from the initial processing forms. This may pose a problem…
When researching the processing of prisoners, it was found the question about serving in the armed forces is one of the last on the
list. Therefore, it may not be prioritised or may not even being ask due to the over stretch service and staff shortages. Therefore, it
shows the data collected from this source alone cannot be relied upon.
The actual processing of a prisoner in a busy reception area in front of other inmates could affect the response. Imagine being
in that position when you do not know what crimes the other inmates have committed; you may feel reluctant to disclose such
information if it means it may put you at risk of reprisals once behind bars.
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When the prisoner is processed, they are assigned a welfare officer who will try and build a professional relationship and then be on
hand if any support is needed. This may be the point when the prisoner will feel more comfortable to reveal their service history.
Even though the MOJ at present are not collecting the data from other sources, the veteran will still be signposted or referred to one
of the charities in-reach programmes. Hence, why charities are recording a higher number of veterans in prison.
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Simplicity, it could be as easy as changing the processing system to a more individual focused one. This is when the prisoners could
be asked the questions in a private room away from the busy reception area. Moreover, the question about their service history
could be prioritised. This may indeed improve the reliability of data collected by the MOJ.
It also could be argued, recorded statistics from the charities should be included in the official reports from the MOJ. This will
hopefully give the public and the Ministry of Justice more of a realistic idea on how many veterans are in prison.
However, with the forever fractured and splinted prison system through privatisation , rolling out such a programme may not reach
every prison in the UK. After all, each prison has its own in-house system and an individual Governor with their own ideology on
what prison should represent.
Will they listen? ... H T ! !
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