NCJ Number
179634
Date Published
1999
Length
27 pages
Annotation
Of 69,374 inmates in the custody of the New York State Department of Correctional Services on January 1, 1999, 4,211 (6 percent) had military service prior to their current incarceration; of the 4,211 veterans in custody, all but 25 were males.
Abstract
The median age of veterans in custody, 41 years, was 9 years older than the median age, 32 years, of nonveterans in custody. The ethnic distribution of veterans was different from that of nonveterans. The Hispanic proportion of nonveteran inmates was twice that of Hispanic veterans, while about 2.5 times as many veterans were white non-Hispanic compared to nonveterans. Fewer veterans than nonveterans were committed from New York City, and more veterans were committed from rural upstate New York counties compared to nonveterans. Although Spanish-dominant inmates represented a significant portion of the nonveteran component of the inmate population, they represented a negligible part of the veteran population in custody. By several measures, veterans in custody were better educated than nonveterans. Almost twice as many veterans reported at least a high school education compared to nonveterans. Median reading achievement scores of veterans were 10th year, three grades higher than for nonveterans, while mathematics achievement scores of veterans were at least a grade higher than for nonveterans. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse rates were higher for veterans than for nonveterans. Drug abuse was a serious problem throughout the inmate population, although somewhat less among veterans than among nonveterans. Veterans were somewhat more likely to have been committed for a violent felony offense compared to nonveterans and were less likely to have been committed for a drug offense. Veterans and nonveterans had similar likelihoods of having a priority criminal record. In addition, veterans were generally in custody longer than nonveterans, 52 months versus 39 months. 15 tables and 10 figures