Army reports suicides down but violent crime up - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Army reports suicides down but violent crime up

WASHINGTON — A new Army report says the number of suicides among soldiers has been leveling off, but there has been a dramatic jump in domestic violence, sex crimes and other destructive behavior in a force that has been stressed by a decade of war.

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli said Thursday that violent sex crimes and domestic violence have increased more than 30 percent since 2006 and child abuse by 43 percent.

Chiarelli was releasing a 200-page report on the health of the troops and the Army’s efforts to address the problem.

It said that 278 soldiers in the active duty, Guard and Reserve committed suicide last year compared to 304 in 2010