Happy Veteran’s Day and thank you to all of you who served or are currently serving our county! Your service and sacrifice does not go unnoticed. We have worked with many veterans in the past, and it’s a group we love working with because they tend to be so appreciative of the service they receive from us. Oftentimes veterans aren’t given their fair shake in the justice system or are treated like the masses when a more individualized post-trial care plan is needed to ensure they can effectively move on with their life. We go on in greater detail about how veterans can sometimes get lost in the criminal justice system in today’s blog.
Veterans And The Criminal Justice System
There has been a pretty significant shift in the challenges facing veterans upon their return to the US over the last 100 years or so. Research suggests that recent veterans are twice as likely as non-veterans to face incarceration than a non-veteran individual, but it didn’t always used to be this way. Veterans from previous eras, like World War II and the Vietnam War, were half as likely as non-veterans to become incarcerated.
It’s impossible to pinpoint exactly what’s changed over that time period, but research suggests there are a variety of reasons why today’s veterans are more likely to run into trouble than the average citizen:
- Military service members are more likely than their civilian counterparts to have socioeconomic and family characteristics, adverse childhood events, and personality traits that, without targeted intervention and support systems, may increase their risk of criminal justice involvement.
- Combat exposure leading to physical and mental health problems that make it hard to maintain a steady income upon return.
- Physical and mental injuries leading to mood disorders and substance abuse disorders, both of which increase your likelihood of being involved in criminal matters.
- The transition to civilian life can create readjustment challenges and relationship strain for many veterans, which may increase the risk of criminal justice involvement.
- Approximately one-third of veterans with mental health and/or substance use disorders do not receive treatment, which can increase the risk of criminal justice involvement.
- Homelessness is a significant risk factor for criminal justice involvement; studies show that approximately 30% of incarcerated veterans have a history of homelessness, double the percentage of homelessness among the general incarcerated population (15%).
Veterans face unique challenges upon their return home, and they also deserve a unique and individualized care plan in the event they find themselves facing criminal charges. It’s similar to the role we play when we find out that a client is facing substance abuse or a mental health disorder. The focus of our approach to court has to be on getting the individual the help they need to move forward in a healthy manner so that they don’t find themselves back in court a day, a week or a year later.
Far too often the justice system focuses on punishing the offender for their actions without giving as much care to helping that individual get the care they need to move past their internal issues so that they never re-offend in the future. The veteran with a substance abuse issue who serves a year in jail and gets no mental health treatment will just go back to using once they are released, whereas the veteran who has access to the right programs can overcome their dependency issues and remain clean for the foreseeable future.
For many veterans, there is an underlying issue that deserves attention and care. Whether that’s unresolved trauma from combat, a troubled childhood, difficulty managing impulse control or simply the effects of a traumatic brain injury suffered during training, we want to help get you the tools you need to become a productive member of society again. It’s not about winning or losing your case, it’s about ensuring you have the tools to get your life back on track, and we have enough professional contacts in the industry that we’re confident we can point you in the right direction while also managing your criminal matter behind the scenes. We know how to make a strong plea to judges and push for treatment over incarceration, because we know how important it is to decrease recidivism likelihood for the good of the individual and for the good of society as a whole.
You’ve fought for your county, now let us be an advocate for you in a system that may not truly understand your needs. For more information on how we can help if you are a veteran facing criminal charges, substance abuse issues or homelessness, reach out to the team at Appelman Law Firm today at (952) 224-2277.
