Too Many Veterans in South Australian Prisons

KELLIE TOOLE, CRIMINAL LAW LECTURER, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

ELAINE WADDELL, RESEARCHER, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE AND FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

A welcome spotlight is finally being shone on the problems some men and women face while they transition from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to civilian life. Senate inquiries, media reports, and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare updates recognise that some ex-service people experience homelessness, relationship breakdown, drug and alcohol abuse, and that a tragic number take their own lives.

Veteran support organisations have also noticed that a worrying number of ex-service men are in prison. However, the connection between military service and criminal offending receives little attention from the media or politicians, and police and the prisons rarely collect data on whether prisoners have a military background.

In 2018, Chris Tilley, army veteran and Custodial and Recreation Officer for the Department for Correctional Services, visited every prison in South Australia and asked every prisoner in the state whether they had served in the ADF. No women came forward, but 93 men did. Given the size of the prison and military populations, the numbers for South Australia indicate that ex-service men are in prison at twice the rate of the general population.

We have interviewed 13 ex-service men who have been in prison within the last two years, to try and understand their pathway from the ADF to prison, and to make recommendations for policies that will reduce criminal offending by ex-service people.

The experiences of every man are unique, but common themes have emerged from our interviews. Nearly every man had bad childhood experiences, and a poor relationship with his father. They saw themselves heading down a destructive path, and joined the military to find respect, discipline and camaraderie.

The men generally loved military service, but whether they were medically discharged or left voluntarily, their separation was sudden and complete. Without military discipline, their childhood issues resurfaced - often worsened through traumatic experiences in the military, and loss of identity experienced upon discharge. Every man we interviewed had a diagnosed mental health condition, with the most common being post-traumatic stress.

Some ex-service men looked to criminal organisations for the brotherhood they missed from the ADF, but most drifted into crime while struggling to build a life and find an identity outside of the military. Prison is just one of the negative possibilities facing some ex-service men, and the ADF and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs need to work with men and women leaving the military to assist them to transition into civilian life.

We are continuing our research and would love to hear from men or women who are in prison now or have been in prison in the last two years, and have either served in the ADF or have a mother, father or partner who has served. Please contact: kellie.toole@adelaide.edu.au

VETERAN SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS HAVE ALSO NOTICED THAT A WORRYING NUMBER OF EX-SERVICE MEN ARE IN PRISON. HOWEVER, THE CONNECTION BETWEEN MILITARY SERVICE AND CRIMINAL OFFENDING RECEIVES LITTLE ATTENTION FROM THE MEDIA OR POLITICIANS, AND POLICE AND THE PRISONS RARELY COLLECT DATA ON WHETHER PRISONERS HAVE A MILITARY BACKGROUND.