Prisoners: Veterans

(asked on 14th May 2018) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners who are serving a sentence or on remand in England and Wales who had previously served in (a) the British Army, (b) the Royal Navy and (c) the Royal Air Force for the most recent date for which information is available.


Answered by
 Portrait
Rory Stewart
This question was answered on 22nd May 2018

As of 31 March 2017, the prison population was 83,263. In 2015 the Ministry of Justice made changes so every prisoner coming into custody in England and Wales is asked if they have served in the Armed Forces. Figures on custodial receptions show approximately 3% of offenders who responded to the question were former members of the Armed Forces. Overall numbers have remained consistent over an 18 month period. Full details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/702302/receptions-2017-q4.ods (table 2.7).

A snapshot of service history following a data matching exercise in 2010 between Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Justice indicated 77% of ex-armed service personnel in prison were ex-Army, 15% were ex-Naval Service, and 8% were ex-RAF. Information on their age when joining the armed services is not recorded and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

We recognise the unique nature of military service. Prisoners who choose to identify as former members of the Armed Forces are given access to specialist support that is available to them via the armed forces and the specialist charities that work in prisons. This includes support for issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), that may affect them following their service.

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