Rewards and
Sanctions in
Veterans
Treatment Court
some returning
veterans suffer from
invisible wounds
Of the more then two million troops who served in Iraq and
Afghanistan more the half a million will return with invisible
wounds
ptsd
service
PTSD or post-traumatic stress
disorder: An anxiety disorder that
occurs after a traumatic event in
which a threat of serious injury or
death was experienced or witnessed
and to which the individual responds
with intense fear, helplessness, or
horror.
the disorder is marked by the following
symptoms occurring for more than one
month and causing significant distress
and/or impairment: re-experiencing
the event, avoiding stimuli relating to
the event, numbing of general
responsiveness, and hyper-arousal.
percentage of vietnam veterans who suffered from ptsd who also
suffered from a substance abuse issue
Fifty percent of individuals arrested for
drunk driving have at least one
psychiatric comorbidity other than
substance use disorder....post traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most
common psychiatric comorbidities
among treatment samples of first-time
and repeat DUI offenders
There is a link between combat related PTSD and violent
behavior
Vietnam veterans suffering ptsd committed on average 4 times
as many criminal assaults as those not suffering from ptsd
PTSD has been correlated with five
general types of criminal behavior,
drunk driving, weapons
charges, disorderly conduct,
drug possession and assault
alcohol related offenses
dwi, felony dwi,
death resulting, intoxication
drugs
possession,
sale
trespass
criminal
traffic
thief
felony
misdemeanor
assaultive crimes
sexual, aggravated,
kidnapping, simple,
weapons
90‐day period, from September 1, 2008 through November 30, 2008, to identify Veterans who were booked into the Travis County jail
47.5% of vietnan Veterans suffering ptsd were
subsequently arrested
Judges imposed harsher sentences to
the men and women who served their
country then to those who did not. The
United States Department of Justice,
which studied incarcerated veterans,
concluded that there was a sentencing
disparity of about one additional year
imprisonment
How does this relate to incentives and
sanctions in Veterans Treatment
Court?
The military has unique “belief’s,
norms, values and language”
Military training is designed to make the use of
lethal force a mere muscle memory
done without thinking is a valued in the culture as
it makes the job easier
and more efficient
it eliminates moral reasoning and judgment
moral thinking is not conducive to battle field
survival
the primary distinction between civilian and
military culture: violence becomes re-defined
military culture prizes and wants there to be no
psychological cost to the use of violence as this
results in “degradation” of the fighting unit. This
results in the individual soldier being taught that it
is weak, embarrassing and shameful as well as a
bad career move to admit to any symptoms or
moral
qualms.
Your Defendants were all trained in a
Military Culture
Carrot and stick
the carrot is 4 times
more effective
Incentive systems provide a
rationale for drug-involved
individuals to meet milestones
and targets and comply with
criminal justice conditions
but you still need the
stick
a graduated sanction
system, where
penalties are
progressively more
onerous
Effective sanctions must have four
components:
(a) clear identification of
noncompliant behavior;
(b) swift response;
(c) certain, clear, transparent
definitions;
(d) proportionality to the behavior
Requiring more treatment is not a sanction
SUBSTANCE ABUSE vs. DEPENDENCE
Do not assume that merely because an veteran
has been arrested for an alcohol or drug-related
offense, he or she must be an addict.
SUBSTANCE ABUSE vs. DEPENDENCE
Drug use particularly marijuana may simply be a
from of coping with PTSD or brain injury.
SUBSTANCE ABUSE vs. DEPENDENCE
The sanctions for those who are addicted should
be different then for those who are using drugs
to cope with their mental health problems
Violence
While a violent act is grounds for a high sanction
it is not necessarily grounds for removal from
the program
Trust but Verify
The most influential factor in veteran
behavior modification is certainty. The
more consistently veterans receive
rewards for accomplishments and
sanctions for infractions, the more
effective the program
rewards can be quite effective at low to
moderate magnitudes. For example, positive
outcomes have been achieved with lowmagnitude rewards, such as verbal praise,
diplomas, certificates of progress, transportation
passes, and gift cards to local stores or
restaurants.
sanctions tend to be the least effective at the
lowest and highest magnitudes, and most
effective within the moderate range
Stay Centered
•
Develop a wide range of intermediate
rewards and sanctions that can be ratcheted
upward or downward in response to
participants’ behaviors.
•
Avoid using sanctions that are low or
high in magnitude if possible.
Thank you for you kind attention
If you wish more information or
to make a comment
contact:
Judge Brian W. MacKenzie
@
mackenzieb@oakgov.com