The mental health and substance misuse needs of male ex-armed forces personnel in prison

Ex-armed forces personnel constitute the largest known occupational group in prison but there is little evidence regarding their mental health, or substance misuse, needs. A total of 105 participants were interviewed and measures assessing symptoms of common mental health (CMH) problems and substance misuse were completed along with a review of their health care records. Forty (38%) participants screened for current CMH problems (CCMH) and high levels of dual symptomology and alcohol misuse were assessed. Thirty-nine (37%) had a mental health diagnosis recorded, most commonly for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and personality disorder. Those who screened for a CCMH problem were more likely to have pre-service vulnerability to negative health outcomes and those with dual symptomology were more likely to have experienced deployment during their service. Findings suggest the mental health needs of this group are similar to the general prison population. Potentially higher prevalences of PTSD and alcohol misuse may direct service provision.     

Variability of simulants used in recreating stab events

Formic acid (FA) concentration was measured in post-mortem blood and urine samples as methyl formate using a headspace in-tube extraction gas-chromatography-mass-spectrometry method. A total of 113 cases were analyzed, each including a blood and urine sample fortified with 1% sodium fluoride. The cases were divided into three groups: regular (n=59), putrefied (n=30), and methanol-positive (n=22) cases. There was no evidence of ante-mortem methanol consumption in the regular and putrefied cases. In regular cases, the mean (and median) FA concentrations were 0.04 g/l (0.04 g/l) and 0.06 g/l (0.04 g/l) in blood and urine, respectively. In putrefied cases, the mean (and median) FA concentrations were substantially higher, 0.24 g/l (0.22 g/l) and 0.25 g/l (0.15 g/l) in blood and urine, respectively. In three putrefied cases, FA concentration in blood exceeded 0.5 g/l, a level associated with fatal methanol poisoning. Ten putrefied cases were reanalyzed after 3-4 months storage, and no significant changes in FA concentrations were seen. These observations suggest that FA was formed by putrefaction during the post-mortem period, not during sample storage when sodium fluoride was added as a preservative. In methanol-positive cases, the mean (and median) FA concentrations were 0.80 g/l (0.88 g/l) and 3.4 g/l (3.3 g/l) in blood and urine, respectively, and the concentrations ranged from 0.19 to 1.0 g/l in blood and from 1.7 to 5.6 g/l in urine. The mean (and median) methanol concentrations in methanol-positive cases were 3.0 g/l (3.0 g/l) and 4.4 g/l (4.7 g/l) in blood and in urine, respectively. The highest methanol concentrations were 6.0 g/l and 8.7 g/l in blood and urine, respectively. No ethyl alcohol was found in the methanol-positive blood samples. Poor correlation was shown between blood and urine concentrations of FA. Poor correlations were also shown, in both blood and urine, between methanol and FA concentrations.     

The Good Lives Model – new directions for preventative practice with children?

The study of young offenders has tended to focus on adolescents, despite knowledge that those who are engaging in criminality during childhood are more likely to experience long-lasting, life-impairing consequences. This qualitative study investigated how child offenders experience the process of desisting from crime. It was hoped that this would provide further insight for those involved with prevention programmes for young offenders. Seven young people aged between 10 and 18, engaging with the Preventing Youth Offending Project (PYOP) in the UK were interviewed, and the data collected was subject to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four themes emerged from the narratives, all converging on a changed self-identity for those successfully desisting. PYOP aims to enhance the lives of young people, and this approach appears to encourage this identity transformation through the provision of purposeful activity, supported education and mentoring. The increasing popularity of strengths-based enhancement approaches to rehabilitation, such as the Good Lives Model (GLM), is discussed in relation to its potential role in the prevention of criminality in young people. It is proposed that the GLM principles could provide essential foundations for early intervention approaches as well as rehabilitative measures for established offenders.     

Equal partners? The Information Research Department,SAVAK and the dissemination of anti-communist propaganda in Iran, 1956–68

This article examines how the Foreign Office’s Information Research Department (I.R.D.) worked with SAVAK, the Iranian intelligence service, between 1956 and 1968. It explores how a mutual fear of the Soviet Union compelled both departments to work together to produce and disseminate anti-communist propaganda. As well as the publication of books, prominent Iranian journalists would be given stories that praised the Shah’s regime and discredited the Soviet Union. SAVAK figures were also invited to Britain by the I.R.D. to attend training sessions on producing propaganda. The ties between both agencies, however, meant SAVAK was able to persuade the I.R.D. to assist in the conception of anti-Arab Nationalist propaganda, something that contravened wider British foreign policy. Moreover, such an agency-led approach was rendered short-lived. By 1968, many of the SAVAK figures friendly to the I.R.D. were promoted and replaced by individuals less keen on working with the British.     

Soldier,civilian, criminal: identifying pathways to offending of ex-armed forces personnel in prison

Little is known about why some ex-armed forces personnel become involved in the criminal justice system, however, they represent the largest known occupational group in prison. In-depth interviews were employed to explore possible pathways to offending. Twenty ex-armed forces personnel in prison were recruited from five prisons in England. Data were analysed using a combination of thematic analysis and constant comparison methods rooted in grounded theory. Four predominant themes were identified: experiences of trauma and adversity; belonging; impulsivity and creating a soldier. Participants had experienced a number of traumatic incidents and adversity in their lives, encompassing pre, during and post-service but felt a sense of belonging in the armed forces. Participants demonstrated impulsivity in a number of areas with links to both their service in the armed forces and offending behaviour. The creation of the identity of ‘soldier’ was perceived to impact participants’ lives in a number of ways, including their offending, alcohol use and coping with trauma. The interplay of these themes and their potential impact on participants’ pathways to offending are discussed.     

Book Reviews

Small Firms and Local Economic Networks: The Death of the Local Economy?. James Curran and Robert Blackburn, 1994. London: Paul Chapman Publishing. 210 pp.; £29.95 hardback. ISBN: 1 85396 209 0

Tourism and Politics: Policy, Power and Place. Colin Michael Hall, 1994 (reprinted. March 1996). Chichester: John Wiley and Sons. 239 pp.; £14.99 paperback. ISBN: 0 471 9647 2

European Union Spatial Policy and Planning. R. WILLIAMS, 1996. London: Paul Chapman Publishing. 304 pp. £16.95 paperback. ISBN: 1 8539 6 305 4

Disability and the City: International Perspectives. Rob Imrie, 1996. London: Paul Chapman Publishing. 200 pp.; £15.95 paperback. ISBN: 185396 273 2 (paperback)     

Institutional Geography and Regime Governance - The Case of Local Rail Transport Policy

Despite the growth and diversification of the student population, many British universities are still organised to cater for young students without caring responsibilities. Drawing on feminist frameworks of gender equality, this paper explores the ways in which governmental discourse of equal opportunities is articulated, sustained and resisted by staff and studying parents in a 1960s university. While many respondents attempt to comply with the prevailing learner norms entrenched in government policy, some also articulate an alternative discourse justifying the ‘special treatment’ of non-traditional students. However, this paper extends a third narrative that attempts to re-imagine university as an inclusive space.