Why are there so many ex-army people in prison?

Question

On the news today that as many as 1 in 11 prisoners are ex-army. How come that figure is so high? Should courts take into account what happened to them in the army when they are giving out sentences?

Answer 1

No, if you do the crime you should do the time.

Military service does not entitle you to become a criminal.

Answer 2

In the U.S., the Army is the only branch of service that does NOT require minimally a high school diploma.

Consider this.  I did 20+ years in the Navy, spent most of it with the Marine Corps.  I was an Independent Duty Hospital Corpsman -- meaning that if it was not cost efficient to send a full fledged physician, they'd send me instead.  I had three thriving clinics prior to my retirement.  I've performed major surgery without the benefit of having a surgeon peering over my shoulder.  I was credentialed to order various studies (labs, X-rays, etc.) and my prescriptions were accepted at the pharmacy.  Upon my retirement, I was credentialed to do nothing.  Can't even pass out band-aids.

Can you imagine the frustration?  I was good enough that the President of the U.S. asked for me by name.  But in the civilian sector I am nothing.  The laws are stacked against me ever doing again what I know best.  You spent over $96,000 to train me and now I am not allowed to use it.  Your tax dollars being wasted.  Perhaps those in the Army (now out) got caught up in the same garbage and then simply made bad choices?

Answer 3

What country is that

Answer 4

First, I'm skeptical about that statistic (though I don't doubt that you heard it).

Second, you're inferring a causal relationship.  Perhaps the Army didn't change them into criminals.  Perhaps their lives were heading in a negative direction, they joined to escape that life, couldn't hack the discipline, got out, and went back to their old ways.

There are probably many answers to your question, but one answer is that maybe they were criminal-minded before they joined and the Army didn't change them.

Answer 5

Fighting in the war must have permanent damage on your brain, and they probably get used to getting up early on calls, and they're so used to being told what to do, so they're stuck on what to do. I'm sure that the war has made them go loopy, and many soilders don't go back to normal. There has been an increase amount of reports, of which ex-army people are breaking the law. (Example: Violence, murder, etc.)

Maybe they lost some friends in the war, it must be sad to see your friend die, and soilders are traumitized and scarred by that.

But I think it depends on the person about the court taking into account what happened to them in the army, if it's a murder, yes they should go to prison. If it's something like violence, that's understandable in the army, but they should just pay a fine and get help.  So yes the courts should take it into account.

Hope this helped!

Answer 6

people that join the army as paid soldiers r people useless and unable to do anything else in their lives . basically they have the choice to starve or be soldiers. they r people with minimum to no education and not very smart either.there is another sort of soldiers ,the ones that have psychological problems and like murder and destruction. these people would probably end up in jail anyway the army does not make them criminals the fact that they have the mind of a criminal makes them join the army.

Answer 7

Just because we use to be in the Military doesn't mean we don't have issues and it doesn't mean we don't do anything wrong.  We are just like everybody else, except for the fact we use to be in the military.

Answer 8

Remember the main object of their training is to kill another human being and to defend big business on behalf of the state.

It is therefore not surprising that they behave in this manner when they are either on leave or when they leave the army.

As for courts to take into account what happened to them in the army, no they should not as they are subject to British law in common with the rest of the population.

Answer 9

At the same stroke one could say 2/5.5 inmates in Britain were academics, prison, crime and punishment has nothing to with statistics or background.  Your a scumbag you were born a scumbag and always will be a scumbag.  I have no time for prisoners ex or current.  I've worked my as's off my hole life paid taxes never broken any laws and to date 3 ex criminals have been given priority over me in work, while they were doing stir i was learning on the job skills and paying tax.  Thanks to the re-rehabilitation of offenders act 1974 useless stinking thieves and burglars have stolen my position in life.

Answer 10

Well, you gotta remember, most people that were in the service did one thing or the other,but the ones who fight on the battle ground are soldiers.

How would you feel if your were a soldier all your life and then somebody told you that you could'nt do it anymore.

Remember the movie,  "Rambo" first blood???  As he stated, he was in charge of million dollar equipment, but after he got out,there was not alot for him to do.  

Answer 11

Provide a link. All you have given is here-say.

The Army, and all branches of the DOD encourage individual thought. We are not now, nor have we ever been machines.

I wonder how many of the 'ex soldiers' ever actually served. How many were dishonorable discharges?

Ones military service is no excuse for criminal behavior.

Why is that number so high? Because reporting the truth is dull, and doesn't make sales.  

Answer 12

This has not always been a problem, so don't accept any suggested answers that make it seem as if it has been. For a long time, soldiers were honorable in service, and they remained honorable people afterward. Lots of perfectly respectable elderly civilians, who have led a life more exemplary than most, were once army soldiers.

The answer to your problem is simple: race. Go find yourself some statistics and check. Of those prison inmates who were once soldiers, what percentage are White, what percentage are Black? How do those percentages compare with the percentages of soldiers who are White or Black? You will, I believe, see a distinct pattern. The Black former soldiers are more likely to be in prison because they commit more crimes than former White soldiers do. It might sound "racist," but it is the truth.

Answer 13

i think it has a lot to do with regime they have in the services, when to get up, when to eat, when to go to bed, and when they are out of the army they can't adjust which results in not getting a job, and a lot of the time fighting which is the one thing they are good at ! The services need to think about their personnel a bit more when they leave them, and put a little more into getting them back to normality !

Answer 14

The military train a perfectly innocent person to become a killer. He/she never really thinks he/she will actually have to kill. And then there is a war. That person has to go out and kill people. He sees see blood and gore, some of his comrades are killed and he has shot and killed innocent civilians. He is traumatised, but he was only 'doing his job'. Suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder he returns to the UK. Does he get specialised help? No. He is psychologically disturbed and thrown into Civi Street, with all his mixed-up feelings, disorientation, anger.

He can't hold down a job and has nowhere to turn to.

PTSD occurs more amongst soldiers who have taken part in a war which their home country is not entirely convinced about. Vietnam, Falklands, Afghanistan, Iraq.

Answer 15

  The chances are that these men would have been criminals anyway. During WW2 millions of ordinary men of every nation went to war, and that dreadful war lasted six years. Many of those men went through the h**l of a lot more for years than the kind of men who are breaking the law now. If it was the fault of combat, then the prisons in every country would have had hundreds of thousands of inmates, but it did not happen. The reason was that those ex soldiers were ordinary decent men, and when the war was over they went back to work and got on with it. No 'counseling' no psycologists, nothing.  

Answer 16

The one word answer is: INSTITUTIONALISATION.

This syndrome is not confined to the Army. It is a problem in all closed societies. That can be ecclesiastic, academic, military and, especially, hospitals.

As explained by other answers, these people get so used to the comfort of not making decisions for themselves, that exposure to open society, which is what we all live in, can be too traumatic for the sufferer, so they become homeless, addicted to drugs (but more so to alcohol) with all the attendant problems, leading to criminality.

It may horrify people to be told that certain Corps and Arms, actively encourage the bonhomie of habitual alcoholic intake. I have seen, at first hand, the problems this can cause for the addictive personality. Refusal to participate in these rituals can see the objector with a black mark against his work record. It comes in the form of, "Not a good Mess Member!". This seals his/her career limit.

I took the precaution, after advice, of using my final four years of my 22 year service in preparation for the wider world. I never regretted it. A colleague, who had joined the Army at the same time as me, asked me how I'd arranged a good job and a large house, ready for my demob, as he wanted to emulate my success......... He asked me one week before we were due to leave the Army.......... He was married with four children.

Answer 17

social skills are taught at home by the Mothers and Fathers. The family is the training area for children.  The military teaches you how to function in warfare. Not everyone can function as a soldier. A soldier goes through a great deal of things while serving in the Armed Forces. Humans are not perfect. We All Have Something Wrong With Us! It's Human Nature. We can not really judge others because We are not in their shoes..  

Answer 18

they use there military training to carry out hese crimes like this french guy a couple of years ago broke in to a vault stealing all the deposit boxes without being detected. He even jumped out of a court window in front of a judge.

Answer 19

The report on the radio today said that many take to drugs, lose their jobs, become homeless and then resort to crime. This is a powerful argument against Conscription, as these people have not been given the social skills by the Army, which many think young people would benefit from.

In civilian life, soldiers miss the camaraderie of their former colleagues and once you have been in battle, most civilian issues look trivial. The Army does not foster self-reliance, more obedience to your superiors, so once that Command Structure has been lost, ex-Servicemen can go downhill very speedily.

Answer 20

institutionalisation coupled with low educational achievement.

Answer 21

Because it is probably easier. You get free food and board, all the drugs you can take, watch tv and play games all day. You even get your own cell.

Why do you think so many people re-offend?

There have been times when I've been in some desert s**t hole and thought - it must be easier in prison.

We had rooms in Germany that were smaller than the legal size of a prison cell and we had to pay for the privilege.