New Prisoners to Be Asked About Forces Background

From January new prisoners will be asked whether they have ever served in the Armed Forces so they can be offered support. It's part of a wider effort to improve how veterans are treated following a review overseen by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling. 

Prisoners identified as veterans will be given special treatment to help turn them away from crime. They will also be assessed when leaving the forces for disorders such as mental health problems. In 2009/2010 the Ministry of Defence said there were 2,820 veterans in prison accounting for 3.5% of the prison population.