NCJ Number
86724
Journal
Justice Reporter Volume: 2 Issue: 5 Dated: (September/October 1982) Pages: complete issue
Date Published
1982
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article explores patterns in crimes committed by the elderly, focusing on homicide, sex and drug crimes, shoplifting, organized crime, and assaults.
Abstract
Elderly violators are much more likely to be arrested and prosecuted for serious crimes against persons while, at the same time, they are underarrested and diverted to noncriminal justice alternatives for such property offenses as shoplifting and check fraud. It is significant that disproportionately high numbers of elderly prison inmates are serving time for homicide, assault, and serious sex crimes. The elderly play an important role in organized, professional, and white-collar crime. Arrests, prosecutions, and convictions of the elderly for murder and nonnegligent homicide are significantly lower than for younger offenders in terms of their number in the population. Most observers see the increasing elderly crime rate as representing a shift in age demography rather than an increase in the percentage of elderly involved in crime. More research is needed into the question of whether to provide separate criminal justice processing for the elderly.