NCJ Number
94544
Date Published
1984
Length
265 pages
Annotation
Crime committed by elderly criminals is the focus of this collection of 15 essays that surveys the extent of elderly crime in America, its causes, and the types of offenses committed by elderly criminals. The volume also examines the criminal justice response to elderly criminal populations, suggesting alternatives for processing and handling them.
Abstract
Several types of crimes committed by elderly criminals are considered in particular: organized and white-collar, shoplifting, homicide, drunken driving and other alcohol-related crimes, and family violence. Like the criminal class in general, the elderly engage in many tyes of crime, but not, as these essays illustrate, in the same number or proportions. Particularly common among the elderly are larceny, shoplifting, and driving while intoxicated. Many causes can be pointed to -loss of prestige upon retirement, psychological problems, boredom, feelings of helplessness -- but economic need is especially critical. The essays address these causes and examine the unique problems the elderly criminal presents to the criminal justice system. Few elderly criminals are arrested, but those who are must be housed in facilities not geared to the medical, vocational recreational, and mobility needs of the elderly. The volume presents an example of a local program developed for elderly criminals, the Broward County Senior Intervention Program in Holly, Fla. Its components include individual counseling, participation in Senior Center social, cultural, and educational activities, and 'externship' with a community service organization. A modified version of the integrative approach for gerontological practice (based on the work of Edumud Sherman) is discussed as a possible treatment for elderly offenders. Final contributions discuss research agendas for the problem of elderly criminals and public policy implications. About 75 references are provided. For individual essays, see NCJ 94545-94559.