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26 Crim. Behav. & Mental Health 1 (2016)

handle is hein.journals/cbmh26 and id is 1 raw text is: Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health 26: 1-5 (2016) Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/cbm.1985 Editorial Ex-armed forces personnel in prison: Where do we stand? VERITY WAINWRIGHT', JENNY SHAW1'2, SHARON MCDONNELL1, CHARLOTTE LENNOX' AND JANE SENIOR', 1The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; 2Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, Preston, UK It is arguable that, as a society, we owe a debt to those who have served for their coun- try in the armed forces. But what happens when some of this group end up in prison? Does this debt still stand? What do we know about this group? Could prison provide an opportunity for comprehensive service provision and better health outcomes and, alongside this, facilitate full inclusion and reintegration into society? In these circum- stances, does prison have potential to reduce the likelihood of reoffending? More-or-less since the new millennium British troops have been involved in the most intense periods of combat deployment since the Korean War (Fergusson, 2008) with more than 220,560 personnel having served in Iraq or Afghanistan, resulting in 632 fatalities (Beale, 2014). Whilst it is recognised that the majority of personnel who leave the armed forces every year successfully re- turn to civilian life, a small, but important, minority find this transition difficult, sometimes resulting in contact with the criminal justice system (CJS) (Howard League, 2011). Ex-armed forces personnel are thought to represent the largest occupational group in prison, with the most reliable estimate to date suggesting they constitute 3.5% of the prison population in England and Wales (DASA, 2010); this is likely to be an underestimation. Media concern for the well-being of returning troops is common, particularly in relation to Iraq and Afghanistan (e.g. Roberts, 2012; Farmer, 2015). In com- parison with their peers in the general population, ex-armed forces personnel have a higher prevalence of long-term mental health problems, with these prob- lems peaking at a younger age (Royal British Legion, 2006). Recent evidence points to common mental health difficulties, such as depression, anxiety and alcohol misuse, as being more prevalent than post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), widely assumed to be the most likely difficulty. Fear et al. (2010), in a Copyright t 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 26: 1-5 (2016) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

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