Veterans behind bars
Medic09 sends us a link to National Public Radio, surprisingly, which reports on a US Bureau of Prison survey which focused on military veterans doing time. The results are that veterans are less likely to be in jail than non-veterans. In 1978, when the BoP started keeping records, that wasn’t the way – veterans were more likely to be imprisoned than the rest of folks. But, that was probably because of the draft which had ended just a few years before. NPR also credits “veterans’ courts” for the decline.
The survey also found that combat veterans are less likely to be prison inmates than non-combat veterans.
Those veterans in prisons and jails reported higher rates than civilians of mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Less than a third of veterans behind bars actually saw combat, but those who did also reported higher rates of mental health issues, according to the report.
On average, veterans doing time are almost 12 years older than nonveterans and are less likely to have multiple previous offenses.
I noticed that the survey used self-reported PTS, not actual diagnoses and all criminals who are also veterans claim that they committed their crime because of PTS, even though actual PTS doesn’t make you engage in criminal behavior.
Category: Veterans Issues
Gee – veterans do a better job at staying out of jail than the general population. And combat vets do a better job than noncombat vets on that score.
The libidiot lunatic fringe is going to love those numbers.
They will just lie.
In 1978 the remnants of the draft, plus the “go in the service or go to jail” method of sentencing were still part of the landscape.
We had a few of those service or jail types, they were shitbags who should have been jailed instead of being allowed in the military. They didn’t last long and were usually put in jail pretty quickly after being thrown out of the service.
At one morning formation we had some state troopers standing with our officers, they pulled two guys out of formation and cuffed them and tossed them in cruisers…so yeah I’m thinking the late 70s had a bit of ugliness mixed in with the good stuff I prefer to remember.
I was one of those “shitbags” you talk about.
I was only a chronic super speeder with a 1971 Chevelle SS 350 and a lead foot with three speeding tickets within a month for 52 over, 78 over and the coup de gras 96 over…
It was either a year on vacation in an Iowa penitentiary or the service….
All I said was, “Yes your honor” and woke up 6 months later in Fairbanks Alaska on my way to beautiful Ft Wainwright for a lovely tour of duty…
And I would do it again in a minute without the prodding from an esteemed member of the Iowa judiciary…
Nah you ain’t one them, the shitbags I’m talking about were petty thieves, grand larcenists, minor assaults…that kind of shitbag…
You drove fast, hell if you knew me back then I’d have helped build you a race car and we could have raced together….going fast is a lot of fun.
In all fairness being alive counts as a traumatic experience so everyone has PTSD *sarcasm*
Sarcasm aside, I feel there is validity in your statement. Not everyone leads the same life, or has to deal with the same assholes in their lives. According to the questions they ask me at the VA, I would probably qualify as having PTS if I answered with complete honesty. I feel fortunate to have experienced the last 57 years the way I did, and I am not comfortable with being classified as “mentally ill’ by the government under which I live.
So, being in the military for a few years, learning a work ethic and some self-discipline, gaining a sense of accomplishment, and becoming motivated to do something with your life does work, after all. None of that feelzgoodie stuff involved or used.
Wow. Who knew?
Correct me if I’m wrong (Hondo – NIXON!) but don’t the feelzgoodies want to take that very thing out of the military now?
It worked for the majority of us… then there are the Bernaths, Queefers, Phildos, etc. who just managed to get by and still fuck up their lives.
Phildos.
Rough.
I need a drink.
“NIXON”? All caps? Pourquoi? (smile)
Think Bernath will use the PTS excuse when he go’s to jail for defrauding the Veterans Administration out of all that money?
I’m not a combat veteran. The reason I try to stay out of trouble is to keep my one hundred percent for ever. However, if certain people and groups have their way, I fear that I may eventually wind up in confinement, for whatever they can dream up, since I have a dangerous creative mind.
Out of curiosity, did they check and see if any of the incarcerated “veterans” were actual vets, or did they just take their word for it? You know, since convicted felons are so trustworthy.
The self-reported aspect of this skews the data.
It also allows for an unqualified assessment of Veterans issues by folks who would use the data for their own nefarious purposes.
I was a young 2LT when we first went to VOLAR. In my artillery unit, it did not take long to spot those that were not really there of their own volition. It amazed me that some had made it through basic, but it took a lot to get rid of a failed soldier back than. But there were a few of these who discovered that for the first time in their lives, they could actually succeed with effort and were rewarded, and went on to become the some of the NCO’s who helped transform the broken post VN Army into the force that won Desert Storm. Perhaps the greatest thing about the armed forces is that once in, all start with a clean slate and the opportunity to make their own future.
Well-stated.
I know someone who was diagnosed with PTSD…never served in the military. The only traumatic thing in her life were getting three DUOs in two years. Never completed court orders and has three arrest warrants waiting. Yup, that’s traumatic watching for the blue and red lights in her rear view mirror. Stupid looser.