One in three veterans has been arrested, data shows. A commission is asking why.
A new nonpartisan commission launched by the Council on Criminal Justice will examine why military veterans are more likely to get in trouble with the law.
A think tank says that military veterans are more likely than the rest of the public to be arrested and has launched a new commission to determine why and how the problem can be addressed.
A preliminary report released Tuesday by the Council on Criminal Justice think tank found that about one-third of veterans say they have been arrested at least once, compared to fewer than one-fifth of all nonveterans, citing Justice Department data from 2015.
The report, called the Preliminary Assessment of Veterans in the Criminal Justice System and released Tuesday, also said Justice Department data showed that about 8% of all U.S. inmates, or about 181,500, were military veterans.
How service dogs are helping veterans cope with PTSDNov. 11, 202104:32The Veterans Justice Commission, also launched Tuesday by the Council on Criminal Justice, will report back in two years with its findings and its recommendations on preventing veteran incarceration. The commission will be chaired by Chuck Hagel, a former defense secretary and Republican senator from Nebraska, and it will include former Defense Secretary and White House chief of staff Leon Panetta, a former sergeant major in the Marine Corps, other former military and criminal justice professionals and two formerly incarcerated veterans.
The preliminary assessment identified multiple risk factors that contribute to incarceration for veterans, including combat-related trauma and post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injuries, substance abuse, adverse childhood experiences and sexual trauma while in the military.
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