More ex-servicemen 'ending up in prison'

PRISON cells in Westcountry jails are becoming home for rising numbers of ex-servicemen amid growing concern about the welfare of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

With many suffering from post-traumatic stress after seeing active service, they often turn to alcohol and drugs when unable to adjust to civilian life. Former armed forces personnel now make up 9 per cent of the prison population – up from just 3 per cent five years ago, according to estimates.

However, a study carried out by Prison In-Reach found 16.75 per cent – more than 100 – of those surveyed in Dartmoor prison had undertaken military service.

If replicated across the Westcountry's other jails, including Exeter and Channings Wood, it could mean more than 300 people who have served in the Navy, RAF or Army are now behind bars in the region.

Now it has emerged that the Ministry of Defence has commissioned for the first time an internal study to try to understand the scale of the problem which is being exasperated by a mass exodus from the armed forces. According to figures compiled by the WMN, the number of officers to have quit the Royal Navy has risen by 15 per cent since 2004-05 while there has been a 40 per cent rise in the numbers resigning from the Royal Marines. The Ministry of Defence insists it is doing all it can to help those who struggle when leaving the forces. Specialist help is offered to those most at risk of social exclusion.

But shadow justice minister Edward Garnier told the WMN the problem was getting worse, with the younger leavers with fewer qualifications finding it hardest to adapt.

"There are a growing number of ex-servicemen ending up in prison," he said. "If you walk along the Strand in London at night there are a lot of people sleeping rough and a number of those are ex-servicemen. I am afraid it is more likely that it will be privates or corporals who end up in prison than it is generals and brigadiers.

"If you have a structured life from 18 and come out at 35 with no qualifications, you might be able to fire a rifle but you don't have a trade and you might fall into trouble."

He said service personnel who are trained in technical roles – such as maintenance or intelligence – are more likely to find they can adapt to life in the civilian world.

"I think the services do as much as they can to try to translate people from inside services to the outside, but a lot of them fall through the net," he said.

St Austell in Cornwall is hosting one of six new mental health units specialising in treating psychological injuries sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is to be staffed by specialist teams of clinicians trained in treating veterans' with mental health issues.

After a two-year trial it could be rolled out across the country.

Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of probation officers' union Napo, said: "There is no systematic availability of stress related counselling. This should be made available without delay."