NCJ Number
81455
Journal
Canadian Criminology Forum Volume: 4 Issue: 1 Dated: (Fall 1981) Pages: 45-54
Date Published
1981
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This paper relies upon epidemiological findings from the literature to explain deviance in the elderly.
Abstract
Aged offenders have obtained more skill in their deviant behavior, so they may be less easily detected than younger deviants. They tend to commit crimes, such as fraud, which are less likely to result in an arrest or conviction than other types of crime. Older offenders are also less likely to be incarcerated even if they are arrested and convicted. To explain the decline in criminality among the elderly, disengagement theory postulates that as the older person disengages from society and becomes more internally oriented, more attention is given to spiritual needs and the ramifications of wrongful behavior. This acts as a deterrent against deviance. Other theories are reviewed which attempt to explain the existence of crime in the elderly, with special attention devoted to elderly first offenders, crimes of violence, offenses related to drinking, and sexual offenses (the 'dirty old man'), and suicide rates among the elderly are examined. Differences in elderly men and women in relation to commitment of crimes are also considered. No single theory emerges from the literature to explain elderly delinquency. About 40 references are supplied.