NCJ Number
91848
Date Published
1983
Length
32 pages
Annotation
The typology of older prisoners in Massachusetts State correctional facilities characterizes four types of older prisoners: the first offender, the chronic offender, the prison recidivist, and the inmate grown old.
Abstract
The purpose of identifying the salient characteristics of older inmates is twofold: to assess the fit of the bipolar typology offered in the literature (elderly first offender versus elderly recidivist) and to explore the utility of an alternative descriptive system of classification. The study drew upon records of inmates in the correctional system from 1972 through 1982. Information on admissions, releases, and the resident population at the beginning of each year formed the basis for deriving the study sample. The sample consisted of all offenders age 60 and over who were in prison on January 1 of each year, all offenders age 60 and over released each year, and all offenders admitted over the study period who were age 60 and over. The 106 senior inmates were each assigned to one of the four categories of the conceptual typology. The four types of older inmates appear dissimilar in the areas of offense patterns, criminal history, and types of movement within the prison system. If further research should be conducted on older inmates, these study findings suggest that a fourfold typology such as the one used would be more useful than the traditional dichotomous typology of elderly first offender versus elderly recidivist. The study results are inconclusive for older women. If the sample size had been larger, the fourfold typology might have been equally applicable to older female prisoners. Tabular data are appended along with nine bibliographic entries.