I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone working in partnership with VIPA to improve the lives of all veterans that are released back into the community; we appreciate how difficult & time consuming this work is and how much effort it can take.
I know that many of you will be engaging with VIPA & working to deliver and improve the services you already offer, VIPA are also actively looking for additional providers who will be in a position to offer a variety of additional & improved services suited to helping veterans, which will meet their specific needs.
VIPA appreciates the hard work that service providers provide on behalf of veterans, and at times it may often go unnoticed, we would like to say thank you very much for your desire, dedication & commitment to all of the veterans leaving the CJS.
SELF HELP SERVICES
Established in 1995, Self Help Services is a user-led mental health charity comprising a staff team of around 50 and also a large, diverse and experienced volunteer team of over 70 individuals. In addition to having personal experience of a mental health problem, many of our volunteers and consultants are also employed within the statutory sector holding positions such as counsellor, psychologist and mental health practitioner.
The ethos of Self Help Services is such that we value highly the experiences of individuals who have had a mental health difficulty at some point in their lives. We believe that such individuals can be empowered to put their experiences to good use by providing accessible self help initiatives in the community to help others similarly affected. Indeed we believe strongly that it is possible to be an effective service provider/mental health professional whilst also continuing to self-manage ongoing mental health difficulties.
Self Help Services delivers a range of primary mental health care services and initiatives across Greater Manchester for people experiencing common mental health difficulties such as anxiety, depression and low mood. For more information on the range of services offered by Self Help Services visit the website at: www.selfhelpservices.org.uk
Report of the Inquiry into Former Armed Service Personnel in Prison
The inquiry of the Howard League for Penal Reform into former Armed Service personnel in prison was launched on Armistice Day 2009. The inquiry was established with the remit of discovering why so many ex-servicemen become involved with the criminal justice system and in particular, the problems which they face on leaving the Armed Forces, the sorts of offences which they have committed, the reasons which underscore their offending, how the needs of this group can best be met both in the community and in prison, and what can be done to reduce the number who commit offences resulting in custody.
The exact number of former Service personnel in prison in England and Wales is at present
unknown. There have been a number of attempts to produce a reliable figure, but none of these studies are wholly accurate and all are based on varying degrees of conjecture or statistical extrapolation.
At the present time the most accurate figure would seem to be the product of a joint quantitative study carried out by the Ministry of DeMilfence and the Ministry of Justice. This asserts that approximately 2,820, or some 3.5 per cent of all those currently in custody in England and Wales, had served in the Forces.
Read the full report here
UK Veterans in Prison: An Exploration of Current Symptoms and Contextual Issues
In the March 2011 issue of Military Times it was reported that the film Zulu has been voted the British Army’s “favourite war film of all time” (p. 24). The film vividly (though not always accurately) depicts the battle of Rorke’s Drift in 1879, an event where seemingly overwhelming odds were ultimately defeated by courage, discipline and effective organisation. As narrated in the film’s final moments, this single action led to the award of 11 Victoria Crosses.
The subsequent lives of the men depicted are known much less widely. One of the VCs, Robert Jones, shot himself nearly 20 years later whilst another, William Jones, suffered from recurring nightmares in his later years and on one occasion took his granddaughter from her bed as he thought the Zulus were about to attack his Lancashire home (Bancroft, 1988).......
Read the full article here
How Much Longer Can We Ignore It?
The fact that there are large numbers of military veterans in our prisons is not in dispute - the exact number however is subject for fierce debate. The National Probation Officers Association NAPO) state on one hand that as many as 8,500 veterans are in prison, while the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Justice put the figure at closer to 3,000 - wherever the true figure may lie, and it is probably somewhere in the middle, the fact still remains that ex armed forces veterans in prison represent the largest occupational group amongst offenders.
According to research published in September 2009 by the National Association of Probation Officers (NAPO) armed forces veterans now account for up to ten per cent of the prison population, as many as 8,500 former soldiers, sailors and airmen and women they claim are now in jail - in addition to this NAPO state as many as 12,500 other veterans are on parole or subject to probation supervision - meaning that in excess of 20,000 veterans are now under correctional services control. NAPO state that their offences are dominated by drug and alcohol misuse, they have a propensity to violence, particularly domestic violence, and many suffer from depression and other mental health disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Recent research and follow-up study carried out by DASA Health Information in the Ministry of Defence, in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, this was developed to update the estimate of the proportion of prisoners in England and Wales who are ex-Service personnel.
The updated estimate of the proportion of prisoners who are veterans is 3.5%. This report released on Wednesday 15th September 2010 also describes the characteristics of veterans in prison, in terms of age, gender, Service, and offence group, and compares the proportion of veterans in prison with the proportion of the general population in prison.
At VIPA we believe that whatever the truth in the numbers, either set of figures produces a rate of offending so high among veterans that it can no longer be ignored - for the sake of victims and veterans alike, we have to do something to reduce it.
Rehabilitation and the Reduction of Re offending by Veterans is at the heart of everything we want to achieve here at VIPA. The Military Covenant requires us to recognise the hard work and sacrifices that have been made by those who leave the armed forces, they have heroically fought for the freedoms we enjoy today – and we all have a duty to help them readjust not only to civilian life but to cope with traumas relating to battlefield operations and experiences.
VIPA is not about making excuses or justifying former veterans offending, every crime has a victim and those responsible must answer for their offending.
VIPA`s future goals are all about the expectations and aspirations for the future reintegration of all former armed forces veterans released from the `Criminal Justice System`, by making their transition from the CJS back into society stress free and bearable, utilising a system of service providers equipped to meet the specific needs of each and every individual.
Leaving Forces Life: The issue of transition - The Howard League for Penal Reform
The Howard League for Penal Reform launched an independent inquiry into former armed service personnel in prison in November 2009. The inquiry aims to discover why some veterans find themselves caught up in the criminal justice system after they have left the armed forces. It is recognised that this can be sometime after discharge.
"Our researchers interviewed 29 ex-service personnel in two local and one high security English prisons to hear about their experiences of the resettlement process. Their service was verified. This short briefing paper explores the points raised in our conversations with these individuals." Short briefing paper >>
Failure of the Nation: Ex Service Personnel Experience of Returning to Civilian Street
In recent years the Government has been criticised for failing to uphold the commitment of the Nation in respect of the Military Covenant. Since the Strategic Defence Review (1998) the defence budget has failed to keep abreast of military spending. This has resulted in the armed forces being critically overstretched and under manned. At the same time the tempo of military operations has increased, resulting in repeated tours in conflict. There has subsequently been an increase in the number of personnel suffering from psychological difficulties and mental health issues.
In recent years media attention has focused on the minority of veterans that “fair badly” following discharge. These ex-service personnel are particularly vulnerable, often drifting into social exclusion, which may include becoming homeless or unemployed.
Recent reports have suggested that as many as 20,000 ex-servicemen are currently involved with the Criminal Justice System, the majority of which have been convicted of a range of alcohol related violent offences.
In an attempt to develop an understanding of the experiences and issues that affect the lives of servicemen, when they return to civilian life, this research looks at the connections between alcohol consumption, offending behaviour and mental health issues. Read full Dissertation >>
VIPAConference 2011 - London
For details go to our Events page - CLICK HERE
Leave No Veteran Behind
The Inquiry into Former Armed Service
Personnel in Prison visits the United
States of America.
The high numbers of veterans appearing in the criminal justice system have
been a matter of concern in both the UK and in the USA in recent years. This paper examines the American experience of the issue and its response to it,
following a visit to the US by the Howard League for Penal Reform’s inquiry
into former armed service personnel in prison. Read full report >>
Life
Force
A practical
guide for
working with
Scotland's
Veterans.
The word “Veteran” might conjure
up images of older soldiers who
served in the conflicts of the last
century, but in fact it includes
everyone who has been in the
armed forces. In Scotland, there
are over one million Veterans
ranging from those who have
served in campaigns in Northern
Ireland, the Falkland Islands,
the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq and
many other places, in addition to
those whose service took place
in a supporting role within the UK
and Germany.
There are already some excellent
support services aimed specifically
at Veterans and their families,
but this guide seeks to help
non-specialist community services
to support the ex-service personnel
who may already be using their
services, or may be referred to
them in the future.
To support an inclusive approach
to engagement with Veterans
The Scottish Government has
taken measures to give Forces
personnel (and those who have
left the Forces within the past year)
priority access to the Low-cost
Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT)
shared equity schemes. This will
help Forces personnel on low to
moderate incomes to get a foot
on the housing ladder, where that
is sustainable for them. Read full report >>
Across The Wire
Veterans, Mental Health
and Vulnerability
The mental health of veterans of the armed
forces and its link to offending has been a
subject of considerable concern in recent years.
This paper reviews the available evidence
and suggests ways of tackling the issues that
emerge. Read full report >>
King's Centre for Military Health Research
A fifteen year report-
September 2010
What has been achieved by fifteen years of research into the health of the UK Armed Forces?
AT THE TIME OF WRITING (2010), it remains the case that the mental health of the UK Armed Forces has by and large survived both the war in Iraq (Op TELIC) and the continuing war in Afghanistan (Op HERRICK). By that we mean that there is no evidence to support a significant decline in morale or well being, nor of a significant increase in mental health problems such as, but not restricted to, post traumatic stress disorder. Nevertheless, our research has highlighted certain problems that continue to need to be addressed. First, alcohol misuse remains, and whilst the primary determinants of this are not related to deployments, for the first time we have documented that deployment to either Iraq or Afghanistan has resulted in still higher levels of alcohol misuse. Second, whilst these two major deployments have yet to be associated with a particular adverse impact on the overall mental health of those
who served there (compared with all other contemporaneous campaigns or deployments), it is the case that there has been an increase in mental health problems in certain sub-groups – namely those in combat roles and those in the reserve forces. Read full report >>
NAPO WEB SITE NAPO VETS REPORT: read more »
NAPO - Tackling Crime After combat: read more >>
NAPO Coordinated National Action Plan: read more>>
DASA WEB SITE DASA VETS REPORT: read more » Latest Report >>
Tackling Crime after Combat:
At VIPA we believe that whatever the truth in the numbers either set of figures produces a rate of offending so high among veterans that it can no longer be ignored - for the sake of victims and veterans alike, we have to do something to reduce it. |
