War Stresses Linked to Soldiers' Crimes

Submitted by airborne on Fri, 01/04/2008 - 16:55.

Knight Ridder
Military.com

Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are increasingly running afoul of the law, bringing the stress of war to Colorado Springs' streets.

Most of it is small-time stuff. But some of the allegations against Soldiers in the past three years have been serious. This month, police said a crime ring of Fort Carson Iraq war veterans was responsible for the deaths of two GIs.

The volume of military-related crime off-post is beginning to tax civilian law enforcement authorities. Felony El Paso County jail bookings for service members have jumped from 295 in 2005 to 471 so far this year. During that time, the number of Soldiers assigned to the post stayed about the same, around 17,500.

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