US Department of Justice Reports 9.3% of Incarcerated Veterans

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Should we really throw our expensive Prison Forces against our returning veterans?

November 2009 VA FACT SHEET says,

The most recent U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Survey of Inmates in Local Jails (2002) data indicate that 9.3% of people incarcerated in jails are Veterans. Historically, reports of Vietnam and post-Vietnam era Veterans with histories of civilian and/or military trauma have suggested an association between trauma and subsequent contact with the legal system. Half of homeless Veterans have histories of encounters with the legal system, and the news media report with frequency stories of returning OEF and OIF Veterans being arrested for a variety of offenses, a number of which appear to be related to reactions to extended periods of battle readiness and combat exposure over multiple tours in the current wars, and maladaptive coping upon return to life in the U.S.

If we take our sons and daughters to war with great effort, pride and honor and do not return them home in much the same way...then many will become lost.

November 2009 VA FACT SHEET says,

In sum, these data indicate that there are substantial numbers of Veterans in jail eligible for VA services, they have high levels of health and mental health service need, and many of them are potentially eligible for referral to, and are good candidates for, drug or mental health court intervention as an alternative to incarceration.