Veterans In Need

Scots Statistics

Veterans In Prison (Scotland)

Veterans In Need Recently sent a communication to the Office of the Justice Minister, Mr Kenny MacAskill MSP.

The question put to the Office of the Justice Minister was;

Please could your Office allow us to understand how many prisoners in Scotland are Military Veterans?

The response given was polite, and in the response we were referred to the following link;

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/default.aspx?pq=S3W-1963

It shows that on the 16 July 2007, out of a total Scottish Prison Service (SPS) population of 7466 (including those released on HDC) there were 106 prisoners who reported being a member of the armed forces (94 Army, 9 Navy and 3 RAF).

Indeed, the numbers given are lower than Veterans In Need had anticipated, however, there surely is no surprise that the Army who are generally at the close end of all combat make up the vast percentage of these numbers.

We believe that these statistics should make the task of encouraging the Justice Minister, Mr Kenny MacAskill MSP to seek alternative measures to deal with certain Veterans, who are suffering from Combat PTSD and who, have crossed swords with the judicial system.

Please post your views and watch this space!