Justice-involved veterans: a critical review and future research

ABSTRACTWith increasing focus on military veterans returning to civilian life and the multitude of difficulties they face, a population of increasing concern is the justice-involved veteran. In this manuscript we provide a thorough review of extant literature on incarcerated veterans and veterans involved in specialized correctional programmes, exploring the historical and contemporary research on this unique correctional population. An examination of theoretical models related to the criminality of veterans is followed by a discussion of the similarities between the total institution of the military and the total institution of the prison. We also provide a descriptive examination of incarcerated veterans, including historical research on this population and noting differences based on service era and the complexities of substance abuse and mental health issues for this population. Specialized programmes and units for veteran inmates are also explored, as well as alternatives to prison such as veterans courts within the problem-solving court paradigm. Our aim is to provide researchers with a review of the existing knowledge on justice-involved veterans as a foundation for the development of new theoretical and empirical research inquiries.