Veterans, Social isolation, The Criminal Justice System & Other Ramblings!

Over ten years ago back in 2010, I was asked to write a response to an article written by Peter Walker in ‘The Guardian’ Comments Section on Wednesday 11th August 2010. He highlighted a Sport Radio advert that had been banned for potentially causing serious offence; the advert paid for by The Association of Chief Police officers (ACPO), allegedly;

 “…..urged listeners to consider calling the police’s anti terrorist hotline if they had suspicions about local people who avoided company, kept their windows covered and eschewed bank cards for cash”.

 Apart from potentially demonising a sub section of the population for whom socio-economic reasons may have dictated that they did not have the luxury of banking facilities. The article also ran the risk of drawing undue negative attention to those that may have been eccentric in nature, enjoyed solitude, suffered from hay fever, agoraphobia, depression or were are unfortunate enough to have a skin disorder that necessitated staying indoors and away from the sun. Perhaps they were elderly and like a lot of old people just wanted to keep warm? Whatever the scenario the scheme was ill thought out and probably very expensive to initiate.

  My response was never published. Simply because, I pointed out that the behaviours described by the Police as indicative of ‘armed terrorists’ were also that of lonely and/or self isolating veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) and Adjustment Disorder.

 At that time, the editor told me that no one would understand where I was coming from so they decided not to run the story! Thankfully things have changed over the years, yet there are still areas that lack understanding, awareness or adequate research.

 One consistent, under researched and underreported sub group in the UK are veterans involved with the Criminal Justice System. An increasing number of the Veterans we work with can be classed as experiencing chronic social exclusion and are at times labelled 'uncooperative’, ‘hard to reach’ with ‘multiple complex unmet needs'. Regrettably we are seeing more and more disenfranchised veterans who are unable to engage with a society that does not understand them and as a consequence, mainstream services are unable to offer specialist or practical support.

Ten years ago our understanding of veteran issues and the problems faced by those former service personnel involved with the Criminal Justice System increased enormously due to the forward thinking of ‘trailblazing’ individuals and organisations such as Harry Fletcher (NAPO) and Elfyn Llwyd MP, Nick Wood, Lord Ramsbotham, Trevor Philpott OBE and more recently several organisations specialising in Justice System Involved veterans. Promoting and representing the needs of one of the most marginalised and misunderstood groups in our society is in many ways a thankless task but a campaign that must nevertheless continue to be championed at all costs.

 Individually and collectively the above mentioned, have changed the way we think about veterans involved with the CJS. What is really interesting is that none of the above were ever tasked with the responsibility of raising awareness or addressing this much neglected sub group via grass roots interventions . All came to it with a genuine desire to right a social injustice, and did so in their own time, at their own expense and with very little support or recognition. I for one would like to thank them for their contribution and selfless actions as their forward thinking has transformed many lives and reduced offending significantly.

 Yet, I digress, …what I did say in the ‘never to see the light of day’ article, was that the behaviours described by the ‘anti terrorist hotline’ mirror those of former forces personnel that both Forward Assist & Salute Her regularly encounter on a daily basis . Many of the veterans that are referred to our service find themselves disenfranchised from mainstream services and support networks and this leads to self imposed isolation, self harm, risky behaviour and in some cases suicide.

 It is now widely recognised that a significant number of former service personnel when returning from active service or after serving custodial sentences have a tendency to self isolate; self medicate with alcohol or drugs, and only communicate with the outside world via ‘Face book’, rather than having ‘face to face’ contact with friend’s family or peers. I’m not knocking social media in any of its forms. Its a life saver!(The latter becoming an absolute necessity during the recent C-19 pandemic and lockdown.)

C-19, notwithstanding, many veterans choose to carry out their financial transactions with cash as they live on Armed Forces Pensions and choose not to claim unemployment benefits. Many report that they keep themselves to themselves as they feel they have nothing in common with civilian society and struggle to re-assimilate with a community they left behind both physically and psychologically when they joined the Military.

Many veterans on release from prison (if they are lucky enough to have accommodation) may as a way of coping and surviving try to give themselves space in order to  ‘get their shit together’ (sic) Shutting the curtains and rarely going out during the day may be the only way they can take control over their lives. They may be experiencing symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress or adjustment difficulties. Societal disapproval, real or perceived, when coupled with a sense of failure and the lack of empathetic support services can have a negative emotional impact on the ‘returning soldier’, and aggravate a sense of disassociation, it can destroy connectedness with the civilian community and increase the chances of, self harm, self destructive behaviours’, increase the risk of offending and the likelihood of those on the ‘receiving end’ to become reclusive and addicted to drugs and/or alcohol.

 A significant number of veterans that access our services are subject to Probation Orders or have recently left Prison and pre C-19 only ventured out to meet the requirements of their licence conditions or community based court orders. The simple act of joining a veteran specific mutual support group, of which there are now many has helped connect thousands of veterans to much needed psych-social support. In the past, many veterans reported that they were unable to meet their Court ordered requirements due to the episodic nature of their mental health issues anxiety, depression, adjustment disorder or (PTS) and a lack of awareness of the issues affecting transitioning veterans and were ultimately breached. Thankfully, every cloud has a silver lining and the recent pandemic necessitated a much needed change in reporting practices so veterans on Probation were able to connect with their allocated officers via zoom (or something similar) resulting in excellent compliance rates. Sadly, for incarcerated veterans, many find a hierarchical environment and structure that they are familiar with, a place of safety where everyone has a role and a position. A dysfunctional utopia....but for a few, a utopia for veterans nevertheless!

 One of the categorisations to describe veterans that I’m told hasn’t helped is calling all service personnel Heroes. The title brings with it images of glamour and social standing along with an expectation of exemplary behaviour. The bizarre phenomenon of 'putting all soldiers on a pedestal' leaves a significant number of recipients with only one way to go....and that is downhill. It really does not matter how a 'hero' fails to live up to the anticipated expectation; once they become involved with the Criminal Justice system many view themselves as disgraced. In their own eyes they are confused and ashamed and continue struggle to come to terms with the change in status and how best to reinvent themselves following release back into the community. Shame is a very negative and destructive emotion. Self harm in all its guises is an all too easy option for the disenfranchised veteran, sometimes and increasingly with tragic consequences.

 Anecdotal evidence from those working in the Criminal Justice System or Social Care settings has recognized that this problem has always existed and some of us have known about this problem for many decades, but the distinct needs of this misunderstood and marginalised group have always been systematically overlooked and ignored by the MOD and Governmental Agencies and in many cases Armed Forces Charities, who worried that working with veterans involved with the Criminal Justice System would damage their reputation. A short-sighted and discriminatory practice indeed.

 I recently had a conversation with a Senior Probation Officer in Newcastle upon Tyne who described the recent interest in Veterans within the Criminal Justice System as nothing more than ‘a fashion’ that would run its course until the next disadvantaged group came along. This personal view point initially surprised me and could be described as both insensitive and naïve. Yet in many ways their are right, as history has shown that the needs of veterans have come in and out of vogue following periods of war since time immemorial. Sadly in the UK it has always been left to the Service Charity sector and the Regimental Associations to act as the MOD’s and successive Governments ‘sticking plaster’.

“When veterans become involved with the Criminal Justice System it affords all of us with a crucial opportunity to help them. In order to do this we need to first of all recognise that they exist! Secondly, we need to understand the unique factors that make them a distinct group within the offender population and therefore worthy of continued specialist support during and after any period of incarceration.”

The recent establishment of the UK Office for Veterans Affairs is a quantum leap forward as they can learn so much from our American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and European counterparts. Yet, ignoring the contribution of small locality based veteran centric charities ,CIC’s and unincorporated groups is a mistake, as it is this cohort of experts with ‘lived experience’ that delivered much needed practical, emotional , in kind and financial support to hundreds of thousands of veterans during the 2020 C-19 pandemic. You know who you are… and If nobody else has had the decency to thank you … I will… Its truly appreciated and rest assured you will have saved many lives.

In summary, we all have a moral obligation and ‘Duty of Care’ to support those we have put in ‘harm’s way’ and it makes complete  sense both practically and economically to support those that end up on the wrong side of the law whatever the reason for discharge from the military. I look forward to future examples of alternatives to custody for Armed forces Veterans. We are doing our bit in the North East of England but like all innovative initiatives new ideas need acceptance and appropriate levels of funding to develop such services and then share best practice. Lets hope 2021 brings enlightenment .

Tony Wright CEO Social Worker & Probation Officer