If you think any of this is new, suggest you research how many Vietnam veterans ended up in jail. It may shock you but at least you'll know more than most of the folks in this article do.
This is a step in the right direction but stop calling them broken.
For arrested veterans, treatment instead of criminal charges?
New Jersey 101.5
By Michael Symons
June 13, 2016
“When they come back, they are broken. And they’re expected to just turn that switch off overnight. And instead of getting medals, they are getting convictions, and they’re getting arrests,” said Chris Adams, president of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.Veterans who have nonviolent brushes with the law could be diverted away from courtrooms into treatment for substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder, under a bill being considered by lawmakers that got its first approval last week.
The “Statewide Veterans Diversion Program” aims to address addiction and mental illness issues among veterans that can often go untreated. Veterans have trouble adjusting to civilian life, or perhaps can’t sleep and turn to alcohol, and then situations spiral as they interact – or overreact – with police.
“We send these people into war to die, to get hurt, to be injured, and they don’t come back the same way even if none of that happens to them. We have a moral responsibility,” said Sen. Van Drew, D-Cape May.
read more here
Apparently there are no Veterans Courts in New Jersey?? If there is, it's just another way to duplicate whats already there and throw more money down the drain. The mentors do a good job if they are trained properly. These kinds of courts have spread like wildfire. They just are not known as diversion programs even though that's what happens.
ReplyDeletePretty much sums it up as always,,,,more of the same.
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