Elderly Crime - Appearances in NSW (New South Wales) Courts of Petty Sessions by Persons 60 Years of Age and Over (From Old as Offenders and Victims of Crime - Proceedings, P 23-34, 1981 - See NCJ-85804)

• NCJ Number: 85806
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 12 pages
• Corporate Author: New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; New South Wales
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Published as Statistical Bulletin, Number 6 (June 1979)

Annotation

This report presents information on offenses committed by elderly persons appearing in the New South Wales (Australia) courts of petty sessions.

Abstract

In 1978 there were 7,142 appearances in New South Wales courts of petty sessions by persons aged 60 and over. A total of 75.5 percent of these appearances were for public drunkenness, 7.6 percent for drinking and driving, 16.9 percent for other offenses, and 0.1 percent for drug offenses. Overall appearances by persons over age 60 were about one-third the rate of appearances by persons under 60. Even the offense of drunkenness was at a slightly lower rate than for those under age 60. Under the category of 'other petty sessions appearances,' the most common offenses for the elderly in 1978 were larceny (56.9 percent), offensive behavior (12.5 percent), vagrancy (5.7 percent), and betting and gaming (5.5 percent). Larceny includes a number of offenses which may conveniently be broken up into simple larceny (e.g., theft of goods left in a public place), shoplifting, and other larceny (including vehicle theft). In 1978 nearly 80 percent of the elderly charged with larceny were alleged to have shoplifted, and it appears that there has been a substantial increase in this type of offense since 1975. Tabular data are provided.