Veterans and the Law Section 1 – Veterans and the Law: Data and Research

Section 1 – Veterans and the Law: Data and Research

This report draws on a range of policy reports, evidence, and research publications. Some of those are outlined below and referenced elsewhere in the report, while others have provided helpful context and background to the key themes and issues explored.

Availability of data on the veteran population continues to expand and to improve in quality. In June 2024, the first Scottish census data output on veterans was published, to be followed this winter by a new tool on the Scotland’s Census website allowing the census data on various topics to be analysed for particular groups including veterans. This will deepen our knowledge of the veteran population in Scotland.

Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) Research Centre

The FiMT Research Centre is run by a consortium of RAND Europe and the King’s Centre for Military Research at King’s College London. In November 2023 they published policy and research summaries - ‘Ex-Service Personnel and the Justice System’. These comprehensive and peer reviewed reports synthesise the existing research evidence and available evidence of current policy and support for UK ex-Service personnel’s engagement with the justice system.

Edinburgh Napier Research for Scottish Prison Service

Two important and specifically Scottish pieces of research carried out by Edinburgh Napier University for the Scottish Prison Service are the 2018 ‘Veterans in Custody Research Report’ and the 2021 follow up report – ‘Identity, Transitions and Support: Processes of Desistance Among Ex-Military Personnel in Custody’.

The first report details the findings from a pilot project which considers desistance (the process of abstaining from crime by those with a previous pattern of offending) amongst ex-military personnel in prison, while the 2021 report builds on this work.

The main findings point to a ‘tripartite system’ of complex themes of military identity, transitions and support. The research has provided insight into veterans’ needs and experiences and suggests what led to their offending and what will be required for their desistance pathway.

One of the key findings from this work was that opportunities to draw on shared experience and facilitate military camaraderie within the prison setting were positively received by veterans, helping to reinstate pride and develop supportive networks. The role and function of the Veterans in Custody Support Officer (VICSO) makes a significant contribution in facilitating this. It was also noted that veteran prisoners have very high expectations of fairness and due process. They are prone to feel particularly let down and frustrated if things don’t materialise as they anticipate.

Ex-service personnel in the criminal justice system: Barriers to identification and uptake of support

Forces In Mind Trust (FIMT) funded research by Nacro and the University of Northampton into barriers to the identification and uptake of support of veterans in the criminal justice system in England, Wales and Scotland. This detailed research revealed a number of key points, some related to the Scottish criminal justice system and some generic to the population of veterans in UK prisons. Recommendations were made towards two outcomes: improving identification of veterans in the criminal justice system; and addressing barriers to veterans in the criminal justice system and families receiving support.

The report is organised into sections addressing various parts of the criminal justice journey, with additional chapters on the third sector and families. This leads to repeated themes across chapters:

Reluctance to Seek Help: Ex-Service personnel often avoid seeking help due to pride and self-reliance, both before and during their interaction with the justice system.
Lack of Understanding: Many ex-Service personnel do not understand why they are asked to identify their military service during the justice process, affecting their willingness to disclose this information.
Complex Support Landscape: The support system is complex and not well known. Many only learn about available support after entering the justice system.
Professional Capacity and Knowledge: Staff in the criminal justice system face capacity issues and lack comprehensive knowledge about appropriate services for ex-Service personnel.
Language Use: The term “veteran” is not well understood to include all ex-Service personnel, leading to confusion about eligibility for support.
Shame: Some ex-Service personnel feel shame about their offences, which can influence their decision to seek support, though few reported it as a major barrier.

Op NOVA

Initially developed in partnership with the justice system in England and set up in 2014, Project Nova was intended to support ex-Service personnel who had been arrested or were at risk of arrest. Building on this foundation, in 2023 NHS England launched phase 1 of Op NOVA. Op NOVA has since expanded to assist ex-Service personnel at various stages in the criminal justice system, and phase 2 (in-prison support) is rolling out across prisons in England this year.

The primary objective of the service is to provide a single pathway to support veterans to move away from the justice system. Op NOVA provides emotional and practical support to veterans at all points of the justice system in England, including pre-arrest, arrest, post-arrest, and those serving a custodial sentence. It is delivered by the Forces Employment Charity, with Care After Combat subcontracted to support veterans in prison as they approach the point of release. Op NOVA also refers veterans to Op COURAGE (NHS England’s mental health services for veterans), linking them to specialist mental health services.

Over the first 14 months of Op NOVA being active in England (01.04.23 – 30.06.24) coverage was achieved across all police and probation regions and phase 2 is in the process of being rolled out across the prison estates. There were a total of 1,565 eligible referrals (1,495 unique veterans), of which 700 veterans completed the journey. For those veterans the reported outcomes were:

97% reported progress in at least one outcome area
82% reported improved mental health
78% reported progress with accommodation
76% reported progress to a crime-free life
76% reported progress in drug and alcohol treatment
74% reported progress in managing strong feelings
72% reported progress with parenting and caring
69% reported progress in living skills and self-care
66% reported progress in friends and community

Scottish Crime and Justice Survey

Published in November 2023, the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2021/22 included - for the first time - the question ‘have you previously served in the UK armed forces’ so that data on veteran status could be gathered.

In terms of the rate of victimisation amongst veterans, the survey found that 10% were the victim of any type of crime within the scope of the survey. The survey found that there was no difference in the rates between veterans and non-veterans for overall crime, as well as for violent crime and property crime individually. The findings from the survey therefore suggest that the likelihood of being a victim of crime does not vary by veteran status.

Community Justice

Community justice is a community-first model of justice in place in Scotland, where people who have broken the law are held to account and supported to reconnect and contribute to their communities. It means that some people, where it is safe to do so, receive community-based sentences. Evidence shows that community justice can help people stop breaking the law again which leads to fewer victims and safer communities.

Community Justice Scotland (CJS) aim to create safer communities, shift societal attitudes and the circumstances that perpetuate crime and harm. They have created an interactive, digital map which outlines the key stages of the Scottish justice system and shows the range of possible journeys as well as key information and statistics about each step.

They have developed a Community Interventions and Support Directory which provides detailed information about community interventions and support across Scotland. It aims to provide the Judiciary, Social Workers, Defence Agents, and the prosecution with information on local and national specialist and voluntary sector resources in every Local Authority area across Scotland with the intention to facilitate better informed conversations at the point of sentencing.

The information in the directory can also be used by others, such as the Police, third sector, those leaving prison and reintegrating into their communities, and those diverted away from the justice system. Veterans Scotland is providing support to CJS to populate the directory with relevant organisations.

Identification of Veteran Offenders by Public Bodies

Below is a summary of the actions taken by public bodies in the justice system in Scotland to identify veterans. It must be noted that the question asked is whether an individual has ever served in the UK armed forces, thus avoiding use of the word veteran which is not universally understood. This means that important data such as how long an individual served, how long ago and the length of time between serving and offending are missing. Of the veterans interviewed in the Nacro study, over a third had served less than five years and two thirds had left the armed forces over 15 years previously. It is acknowledged that there is a limit to the amount of data that can be recorded at various points in the criminal justice system, and that identifying simple veteran status is a significant positive step. However richer data would provide more understanding of the relevance of military service as one of the multiple life experiences of an individual in the criminal justice system.

Arrest / custody data (Police Scotland)

When someone is arrested in Scotland and taken into custody, they are asked a set of questions designed to support their care and wellbeing. Included is a question asking if they have ever served in the UK armed forces. Answering this question is optional, and for a range of reasons some may choose not to disclose their veteran status. This is then recorded on Police Scotland systems, and a free text box allows further context to be added. If veteran status is disclosed at a later point, for example later while the individual is still in police custody, it can also be recorded. Custody suites have posters encouraging those who have served in the armed forces to identify themselves.

Last year, 0.05% of those arrested by Police Scotland disclosed that they had served (a total of 4,984 arrests). These arrests are spread across all of Scotland, with the highest numbers being recorded in the most heavily populated areas and numbers remaining constant over the last five years with an average of 5,036 veteran arrests made each year.

When Police Scotland prepare prosecution reports for submission to the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), they can include the fact someone has served in the armed forces in a free form notes section of the report. However, there is no standard or required identification method at this point.

Wider Justice System

Data on veterans is not captured across the wider justice system in Scotland, either by COPFS or by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. Nor is it systematically or routinely captured by Justice Social Work (JSW) Services in Local Authorities, thus the numbers of veterans who receive non-custodial sentences or who are diverted to other programmes is not known. Some of these organisations are considering how to put in place or improve the recording of data on veterans within their services (whether staff or service users).

Prison Population (Scottish Prison Service)

As part of the intake process, those entering a prison in Scotland are asked if they have ever served in the armed forces. Answering this question is optional, and for a range of reasons some may choose not to disclose their veteran status. If they do disclose, this is recorded on the prison system. Once they are part of the prison population, inmates may disclose that they are veterans at any point and this is also captured, meaning that numbers held are as comprehensive as possible.

It is thought that numbers of veterans in prison will be higher than officially recorded but the Prison Statistics Interactive Analysis Tool shows that the quality of this data is improving, with missing data on this variable reducing from 42% in FY2010/11 to 22.8% in FY 2022/23. It can be seen from this published data that the percentage of those who neither confirm nor deny veteran status (shown as ’missing’ data) is reducing. This improvement in data capture may be a result of the interaction of VICSOs with the prison population. What cannot be determined is the number of veterans who are included in the missing data.

According to management information provided by the Scottish Prison Service, as at the end of April 2024 there were 260 veterans in custody across the Scottish prison estate. The overall prison population was around 8,000 at that time, so veterans made up just over 3%. This information is updated daily and has remained stable across Scotland in recent years.

Over half of those veterans were being held at HMP Edinburgh, HMP Glenochil, HMP Barlinnie and HMP Low Moss. Numbers in other establishments were lower, and at that time only one female veteran was recorded. The vast majority had served in the Army (227), and ages ranged from 20 to over 70 (with 194 being aged 30 to 59). 149 of those in prison were, or had previously been, convicted of sexual offences which accounted for just over 57% of those veterans in prison custody.

Historic data can be extracted from the Scottish Prisons Interactive Analysis Tool and the latest Scottish Prison Population Statistics published in December 2023.

Scottish Prison Population Statistics show that 22% of the average sentenced population are in prison for sexual offences. The variation with the figure of 57% of veterans in prison for sexual offences warrants further investigation and analysis. It should be noted however that the percentage of veterans in the population of Group 2 (Sexual) Index Offences has remained consistently around 6 to 7% which matches the figure for male veterans in the overall male population of Scotland.

Identity, Purpose & Belonging: The First Scottish International Conference on Armed Forces Research in Society

Colloquium on Ex-Service Personnel in the Criminal Justice System

August 2024 saw Napier University in Edinburgh host “Identity, Purpose and Belonging: The first Scottish International Conference on Armed Forces Research in Society.”

Napier’s Centre for Military Research, Education & Public Engagement (CMREPE), in partnership with the Scottish Armed Forces Evidence & Research Hub held a range of seminars, colloquiums, workshops and public events over a four-day period with delegates from across the UK, the USA, Australia and Canada.

One of the colloquiums held was ‘Ex-service personnel in the Criminal Justice System’. Delegates heard from Care After Combat, Sacro, Nacro and from Professor Gerri Matthews-Smith and Dr Christine Haddow from Napier University who gave a presentation on Scottish research.

This was followed by a round table discussion giving delegates an opportunity to explore the following key questions:

Is the right support in place at all points of contact for the small minority of veterans in custody or who come into contact with the Justice System in Scotland?

Is that support reducing the risk of re-offending?

What support is available to spouses/partners and children?

What can be learned from services supporting justice-involved veterans in other countries?

The delegates were asked to identify new approaches for policy and practice in this area. A full conference report will be made available on the CMREPE website.