Military and carabineros crime in Chile

Catalina Echeverría and Nicolás Massai D. of CIPER (the Centro de Investigacíon Periodística) have just written the first in a promised series of articles about criminal conduct of members of Chile's Carabineros and military. From the introduction:

Members of Carabineros and the Armed Forces have confessed, in military court, how they stole weapons. Their accounts show serious security flaws, such as unlocked doors and holed ceilings in weapons stores. CIPER reviewed the judgments of the Court-Martial, between 2012 and 2022. In these ten years, convictions were issued against 54 uniformed personnel in different cases related to theft or disappearance of war materiel, bulletproof vests and uniforms. Of these cases, 27 involved theft of weapons, such as rifles, submachine guns, pistols and revolvers. This is the first installment of a series of reports based on decisions of the military justice system. Coming soon: the prices at which weapons stolen from barracks are traded and the links of officials involved with criminal gangs.

Discharge Appeal Review Board

Anyone who represents U.S. military personnel discharged after December 20, 2019 who have unsuccessfully sought a discharge upgrade needs to read 10 U.S.C. § 1553a and this explainer from the Defense Department. Excerpt:

"There may be a possibility of different outcomes, as each service has its own regulations for discharge in relationship to the type of offense, and some may emphasize certain factors over others," said Phyllis Joyner, who chairs the DARB.  "Commanders have the discretion to consider a wide variety of factors in determining what actions they take." Joyner explained that many times, the less favorable discharge characterizations are decided by service members at discharge boards or courts-martial. When it comes to dismissals and dishonorable and bad conduct discharges, these are part of a court-martial sentence meted out by a military judge or military court members. Similarly, the administrative discharge characterizations are at times decided by a panel of board members, not just the commander.

"The combination of service culture, command discretion, and service characterization being determined by boards or courts composed of different service members leads to individualized outcomes, which may, at times, create unintended disparity," noted Joyner.  "The DARB will offer service members a final opportunity to seek relief at the DOD level," Joyner added. "We just want to make sure that applicants receive a fair, just and equitable discharge from the outcomes across the services."

The DARB, which was established by the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, operates independently of the military services and sits at the level of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. It provides veterans with a review of their discharge status that adheres to a consistent standard.

The DARB only makes a recommendation to the service secretary. New evidence is not accepted.

Any odds on whether the Justice Department will argue that GIs have to exhaust this further remedy before suing under the Administrative Procedure Act?

Arbour Report rollout video

Here is a YouTube video of the CBC's report on the independent external review conducted by former Canadian Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour of the handling of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Virtual trial can lead to virtual prison?

Inquinte.ca tells us, CAF Sergeant to face virtual court martial. I thought this might fit in humour for today.

Hon. Louise Arbour's Report on Sexual Misconduct in Canadian military

 

Arbour: Military must give up jurisdiction over sexual assault cases

        Retired Supreme Court of Canada Justice Louise Arbour released her 403-page Final Report of the Independent Review into Sexual Misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces on May 30, 2022. 

        Justice Arbour's encyclopaedic report addresses a wide range of subject areas. It contains no less than 48 separate recommendations.  

 Arbour: Overall assessment of Canadian military culture

    Justice Arbour was anything but reserved in her analysis. She describes the armed forces as an institution that is fundamentally out of sync with the values of Canadian society, and which poses a “liability” to the country.

“Firmly entrenched in its historical way of life, the military has failed to keep pace with the values and expectations of a pluralistic Canadian society, increasingly sophisticated about the imperative of the rule of law,”

“Operating as a totally self-regulated, self-administered organization, entirely reliant on deference to authority, it has failed to align with the ever-changing, progressive society we live in. This disconnect is a liability for the CAF and for Canada.”

Some of the areas studied by Justice Arbour are:  (a) Structure of the DND and the CAF organizations; (b) the prevalence of sexual misconduct therein; (c) the existing military justice system and procedures; (d) the grievance procedure; (e) the continued utility of Royal Military Colleges; (f) the transfer of jurisdiction of sexual assault to civilian courts; (g) victim support; (h) military leadership; (i) civilian oversight; (j) military training and recruiting; and (k) military human resources management.

    In her report, Justice Arbour went on to note  that: 

“If the military's culture is ever going to change, it needs to fully accept a "paradigm shift . .  .when thinking about culture change in response to the sexual misconduct crisis, the CAF leadership seems to have been incapable of examining which aspects of its culture have been the most deficient,”

        Among her 48 recommendations, 

·       Criminal Code sexual offences to be removed from the jurisdiction of the CAF. They are to be investigated and prosecuted by civilian police and criminal courts in all cases. According to Justice Arbour: 

    “The handling of sexual offences by military courts over the past 20 years has done very little to improve efficiency, discipline and morale. If anything, it has served to erode it,”

·       Grievances related to sexual misconduct will be prioritized and fast-tracked. They are to be disposed of within three months.

·       An external review will be conducted on the benefits, disadvantages and costs for the CAF to continue to educate ROTP cadets at military colleges and determine whether officer candidates should also be required to attend civilian university undergraduates programs instead through the ROTP.

·       There should be a system of progressive targets for the promotion of women in order to increase the number of women in each rank level.

·        Appoint an External Monitor to track the progress of her report recommendations for change

Approval in principle of all recommendations by the Minister

          Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Anita Anand, said that of the 48 recommendations Justice Arbour makes in her report, her department is moving to implement 17 in the near term. The remainder, she said, will require a more complex analysis that will take place in the coming months.

"I agree with all of Madame Arbour's recommendations. I welcome all of them . . .

I spoke with the prime minister and he as well agrees with all of Madame Arbour's recommendations."