Section 2 – Veterans and the Law: Pre-Conviction

Policy and Operational Context

Across criminal justice in Scotland, the policy and guidance that applies to all citizens applies equally to veterans. The principles, strategies and outcomes that guide the various organisations within that system also apply.

Police Scotland

Police Scotland have 114 Veterans Champions and 21 of these work within Criminal Justice Services Division. Criminal Justice Services Division was established in 2016 following the merger of the former Custody and Criminal Justice Divisions into a single management structure. The division has responsibility for the care and welfare of over 140,000 persons in custody per year and all aspects of interaction with partner agencies in the criminal justice arena.

This Veterans Champions network is made up of volunteers from within Police Scotland, and while there are currently no set terms of reference Police Scotland intend to put something in place to put some shape around their function. Having a level of flexibility enables Champions to have autonomy in the role and best support their local communities and their colleagues. Many are veterans themselves or are a member of the wider veteran community such as the spouse or child of a veteran, but this is not a requirement.

Champions help colleagues to be sighted on veteran’s support and issues, via the use of SharePoint pages in local Divisions, holding engagement events, and supporting and sharing their own experiences of the armed forces and veterans with other Police Officers. Champions can help raise the profile of the armed forces which is seen as important, for example uniformed officers marching in remembrance parades enhances visibility amongst the public.

When veterans are identified and entered on Police Scotland’s vulnerable persons database, Champions can check the database and then contact (by phone) the veteran to provide advice and support if required.

Over the last 10 years, Police Scotland has had a bespoke referral system to the Armed Services Advice Project (ASAP), a third sector service funded by Poppyscotland and administered via Citizens Advice Scotland. This system enabled police officers or police staff who came in to contact with a member of the veteran community who might benefit from support to be referred (with their consent) to ASAP. The approach had been embedded within Police Scotland, and their Veterans Champion network had a role in raising awareness of the system.

However, ASAP has never had full coverage across Scotland and the function of the support was largely focussed on financial advice. Due to service changes and developments across partner organisations, it was announced in September 2024 that funding for the service had been withdrawn and ASAP closed from 30 September 2024.

Through Forces Employment Charity, Nova Scotland was recently established to provide veteran specific criminal justice support, and work has been underway to understand demand across the country. In September 2024 it was confirmed that a new referral partnership had been set up between Nova Scotland and Police Scotland, replacing the previous arrest referral scheme between Police Scotland and ASAP.

This partnership will ensure that veterans who come into contact with Police Scotland can be referred to Nova Scotland. This will include veterans that have been arrested or are deemed as vulnerable, enhancing the support available to them and to their families particularly in times of crisis.

The Judiciary

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is Scotland’s prosecution service and death investigation authority. They receive reports about crimes from the police and other reporting agencies and then decide what action to take, including whether to prosecute someone.

COPFS staff will:

• consider cases reported to them and decide if there is enough evidence to take further action
• decide, based on the public interest, whether to prosecute a case or take alternative action
• determine the appropriate charges for cases going to court
• instruct the police during the early stages of investigations in some serious cases, or where further investigation is required in a case
• prepare cases and present them at court
• ensure that disclosure is made to the accused or their agent
• provide information, help, and support to victims and witnesses involved in criminal cases

As noted previously, the veteran status of an individual may be included in reports submitted to COPFS. By doing so, it allows the opportunity to connect the veteran to specific support services and to take this information into account in deciding whether prosecution is appropriate or whether an alternative, such as a fine, fiscal work order, or diversion programme might be most appropriate.

COPFS works closely with Police Scotland, the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service and other partners to deliver justice services. The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service support justice in Scotland by providing the people, buildings and services needed to support the judiciary, the courts, devolved tribunals, and the Office of the Public Guardian.

While criminal proceedings are taking place in the High and Sherrif Courts, individuals are not normally asked if they have served in the armed forces and this kind of information is not recorded on systems or papers. This information may come to light as part of the proceedings (for example via the defence or prosecution lawyers) and form part of the evidence. For a serious crime, the background report (which is very likely to have this information) would be known before sentencing.

In most cases, whether a defendant, or indeed a witness, is a veteran will have no bearing on the judgement of a case. While there is no specific veteran awareness training, resources on trauma informed judging are available to Judges, Sheriffs, and Justices of the Peace, although it should be remembered that not every veteran will have experienced trauma. Trauma training will become mandatory for the judiciary in the coming year.

Veteran status alone may have no effect on sentencing; however, the involvement or potential involvement of veteran support services may influence sentencing decisions. Judges and Sheriffs rely on Justice Social Workers providing this information, generally through a justice social work report. Within this the social worker will have considered appropriate disposal options for the Sheriff to consider. Identifying that a veteran may respond positively to a structured approach, such as a Structured Deferred Sentence, would be helpful. The inclusion of a ‘military veteran’ filter in the Community Intervention and Support Directory will improve visibility of such support to those informing or making sentencing decisions.

Justice Social Work Services

After a verdict, Courts can ask for a Justice Social Work report to be prepared before sentencing takes place. Justice Social Workers use the Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI) assessment, which is a comprehensive general offending and management planning method. This method has been adapted for use in Scotland to enable an evaluation of the pattern, nature, seriousness, and likelihood of offending. There is no automatic marker or question on veteran status on justice social work reports, though this may be included as part of the history of the individual or if it has come up in the interview(s) with the individual.

Sacro

Sacro is a Scottish community justice organisation that provides a wide range of services in Community Justice, Community Safety and Public Protection. The work they do is designed to help build safe communities by reducing conflict and offending, and they work with a broad range of people, including veterans who come in to contact with the justice system. Through referrals from other organisations or direct contact from individuals they provide support to those at risk of offending or those who have been charged with an offence. Their Veterans Mentoring Service works closely with veterans to put in place an intensive support plan to meet with their specific needs.

Testimony to the Commissioner

Many stakeholders noted that contributing factors that may cause veterans to commit crimes are similar to those in the wider civilian population. These factors might include the breakdown of relationships, difficult family dynamics, chaotic lifestyles, mental health needs, substance abuse and homelessness.

I heard that veterans could exhibit poor help seeking behaviours, and alongside a perceived lack of knowledge of the armed forces by those working in the criminal justice system, veterans may struggle to access appropriate and timely support.

The point was made repeatedly that prevention is key – connecting vulnerable veterans to addiction, mental health, housing, and social support services could assist recovery from chaotic lifestyles and avoid potential law breaking.

Police Scotland officers were keen to have a single referral pathway they could use for vulnerable veterans they encounter, who may or may not be offenders. It is not considered reasonable to expect police officers to navigate the often-cluttered ex-Service support landscape.

A recent innovation by Police Scotland is a plan to produce hand-held video briefing devices which will contain support information for individuals in police custody. There is the potential to develop this to include veteran specific support pathways and services.

It was noted that it would be beneficial for staff in Police Scotland to have a basic level of ‘veteran awareness’, perhaps through a short training package as well as the advice available from the veterans champion network.

I was told that much of police work is dealing with people in crisis and Police Officers need to know how to support those individuals. While support does exist, this could be better, and it would be useful if it could be particularly tailored for veterans in crisis. Officers commented that it would also be helpful to have an understanding about veterans’ potential ‘trigger’ events, for example around remembrance events and the 5th of November fireworks period.

Police Scotland Veterans Champions reported a wide range of interactions with veterans in the community which included: helping veterans obtain replacement medals stolen in a house break-in; attending local Veteran Breakfast clubs; linking veterans to housing, welfare, and community support; supporting veterans in police custody who are reluctant to engage with referral agencies; connecting veterans to mental health support.

The Champions also noted the role they had in supporting their colleagues employed within Police Scotland, sharing their experiences and information about the armed forces. They noted the role they had in advising other officers how to best support a veteran where the officer felt they did not have enough veteran specific knowledge or confidence to do that effectively.

Among the Champions I heard from, there was a lack of clarity of their role within Police Scotland and that ambiguity was reflected to me by some third-party stakeholders.

What can be improved

Early intervention by Police Scotland and partners provides an opportunity for support that might mitigate future criminal activity. If veterans can be supported to access help that may deal with underlying issues or challenges, the potential for criminal activity may be reduced or eliminated. That preventative approach is to the benefit of all involved, and in particular to potential victims of crime.

Ensuring those support services are resourced to provide that support at the right time is important. There may be limited opportunities to make that intervention, so effective pathways are key to success.

Work is already underway to take the veteran aware training package developed by NHS Scotland and modify it for use by Police Scotland. Good progress has been made to develop the training modules – with the input of veterans champions – and it is anticipated the package will be live before the end of 2024. This is a positive and welcome initiative, which if successfully implemented will deliver a basic level of knowledge and awareness across Police Scotland.

Evidence shows that many of the veterans who come in to contact with Police Scotland are vulnerable and require mental health support, sometimes in a crisis situation. It will be important to ensure that the Scottish Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway can effectively link with Police Scotland to support these veterans.

Police Scotland Champions are a hugely welcome resource and are already proving that they add value and support for the veteran community. While it is not necessary or desirable to make the network overly bureaucratic or rigid, greater clarity on the role would benefit veteran offenders, police officers, the Champions themselves, the public and stakeholders. Recent work to create a loose set of terms of reference and role profile should enable the network to provide maximum value while managing expectations from others.

The development of the Community Interventions and Support Directory and the inclusion of veterans as a distinct category within the tool is very positive, and it will be important to ensure the information it contains is as comprehensive and up to date as possible to support effective decision making that improves justice outcomes.

Making best use of existing procedures, such as justice social work reports, would allow veteran support options to be considered in sentencing decisions and would ensure the recording of veteran status has visibility on local authority social work information systems.

Good Practice - Sacro

The Sacro Veterans Mentoring Service (VMS) supports military veterans who are in, or at risk of entering, the Criminal Justice System. They receive referrals from a wide range of sources including from veterans themselves, other veterans’ charities, and statutory partners.

While the needs of individual veterans are all different and this will influence how Sacro mentors support them, they have found that many veterans demonstrate symptoms of mental ill health. Sacro ensure they receive a proper diagnosis and prioritise appropriate treatment.

This is important as it is more likely that it will allow some of the common secondary issues such as addiction, anger management and isolation to be tackled with greater success. For some of those issues the VMS mentor will address this directly with the veteran, but for some others (i.e. addiction) they will work with other veterans’ charities who specialise in this area and with whom they have built productive working relationships.

Many of the veterans the VMS service support identify housing and accessing benefits and pensions as key issues. VMS mentors will work with local authorities, sometimes involving veterans’ Champions and organisations such as Scottish Veterans Residences and Veterans Housing Scotland, to secure suitable accommodation and advocate on behalf of the veteran around benefits and pensions to ensure they receive what they are entitled to.

There will also be veterans referred to the VMS service that have outstanding legal matters. This will sometimes be when they are facing a criminal charge, although Sacro also support veterans who have been a victim of or a witness to a crime. As well as ensuring the veteran has appropriate legal support, the mentor will accompany them to court working alongside them to ensure they understand the process. Mentors have also provided testimonies to the presiding Sheriff on the support they have provided and how the veteran engaged, and on one occasion gave evidence in the court on this. This has meant that challenges that veterans are facing are considered by the Sheriff when they decide an appropriate sentence.