# Two Former Secretaries of Defense Are Studying Why So Many Veterans Are in Prison ![rw-book-cover](https://readwise-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/static/images/article3.5c705a01b476.png) ## Metadata - Author:: [[The]] - Full Title:: Two Former Secretaries of Defense Are Studying Why So Many Veterans Are in Prison - Category: #articles - URL: https://www.wearethemighty.com/veterans/why-so-many-veterans-are-in-prison/ ## Highlights > “We have over 180,000 veterans in prison today and in jails all over this country,” Hagel told NBC’s Andrea Mitchell in an interview. “This didn’t just start… the last 20 years, where America had its longest wars, we’ve seen these young men and women redeploy, redeploy, redeploy… that takes a toll on anybody, I don’t care how strong you are. There are going to be mental breakdowns.” ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1557097223/21396499)) > “We can’t have this,” Hagel said. “It’s a disgrace. When these men and women spend so many years in uniform, then come back and somehow slip between the cracks.” ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1557097223/21396508)) > Researchers already know the risk factors that lead the general public toward criminal behavior, but according to the VJC’s 2022 Preliminary Report, veterans have a different set of risk factors and their protective factors against those factors is thin. These risk include mental trauma from repeated deployments, PTSD, TBI, substance abuse, loss of VA benefits, and the criminal justice system itself. ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1557097223/21396512)) > 69% of veterans who are incarcerated are doing time for violent crimes, and there are twice as many vets serving life sentences as non-veterans. Aside from the latest survey that found more than 180,000 veterans self-identify as having been arrested or incarcerated, very little other data on veterans in the criminal justice system exist. ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1557097223/21396514)) # Two Former Secretaries of Defense Are Studying Why So Many Veterans Are in Prison ![rw-book-cover](https://readwise-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/static/images/article3.5c705a01b476.png) ## Metadata - Author:: [[The]] - Full Title:: Two Former Secretaries of Defense Are Studying Why So Many Veterans Are in Prison - Category: #articles - URL: https://www.wearethemighty.com/veterans/why-so-many-veterans-are-in-prison/ ## Highlights > “We have over 180,000 veterans in prison today and in jails all over this country,” Hagel told NBC’s Andrea Mitchell in an interview. “This didn’t just start… the last 20 years, where America had its longest wars, we’ve seen these young men and women redeploy, redeploy, redeploy… that takes a toll on anybody, I don’t care how strong you are. There are going to be mental breakdowns.” ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1557097223/21396499)) > “We can’t have this,” Hagel said. “It’s a disgrace. When these men and women spend so many years in uniform, then come back and somehow slip between the cracks.” ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1557097223/21396508)) > Researchers already know the risk factors that lead the general public toward criminal behavior, but according to the VJC’s 2022 Preliminary Report, veterans have a different set of risk factors and their protective factors against those factors is thin. These risk include mental trauma from repeated deployments, PTSD, TBI, substance abuse, loss of VA benefits, and the criminal justice system itself. ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1557097223/21396512)) > 69% of veterans who are incarcerated are doing time for violent crimes, and there are twice as many vets serving life sentences as non-veterans. Aside from the latest survey that found more than 180,000 veterans self-identify as having been arrested or incarcerated, very little other data on veterans in the criminal justice system exist. ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1557097223/21396514))