Ex-services prisoners

News in Brief

Prisoners who have served in the British armed forces are twice as likely to have commited sexual offences, and are more likely to have committed violent offences, than the general public, according to an 18-month inquiry by the Howard League for Penal Reform.

25% of ex-servicepeople in prison are there for sexual offences, compared to 11% of the civilian prison population. 32.9% of veterans in prison are there for “violence against the person”, compared to 28.6% of the civilian prison population.

The inquiry also found that ex-service people are less likely to be in prison than civilians, and that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) cannot, at the moment, be directly linked to criminality.

Topics: Prison