Helping vets stop cycle of crime

Helping vets stop cycle of crime
Monday, September 20, 2010
BY KIBRET MARKOS
The Record
STAFF WRITER

Police in North Jersey now have a new question for those who end up handcuffed in the back of a patrol car: "Are you a war veteran?"

The answer may determine if the offender will be sent to the Veterans Assistance Project, a new program that offers counseling, addiction services and other help to veterans charged with crimes.

More than 350 veterans in 11 counties — including 34 in Bergen and 12 in Passaic — have participated in the program since it was launched in phases starting in December 2008. The state is gradually expanding the program to all counties, following a similar trend nationwide.

Officials point to studies finding that more than 20 percent of war veterans show signs of mental illness, and many of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan are returning home with some form of mental disorder.

The new thinking taking hold in courts nationwide is that veterans should be offered treatment rather than being pushed through a system that was designed primarily to penalize.
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Helping vets stop cycle of crime