NCJ Number
83590
Editor(s)
D Lester
Date Published
1981
Length
140 pages
Annotation
In this series of essays, data on the criminal victimization of the elderly are provided, and issues related to the elderly's fear of crime, prevention of crime against the elderly, victim service for the elderly, and police relations with the elderly are discussed.
Abstract
The first few papers survey the extent to which the elderly are victimized in the United States and the elderly's attitudes toward the criminal justice system. Victimization survey data are used to examine the crime victimization rate for the elderly in the Netherlands compared to other age groups, as well as the elderly's relative fear of crime, reporting of crime, and attitudes toward crime control. Another paper explores the present location, living environments, and migration patterns of the elderly in the United States, and the environmental vulnerability of the elderly and their participation in crime prevention activities are considered. Also reviewed are research on the extent of the elderly's fear of crime, likely reasons for this fear, the effects such fear can have on the elderly, how to reduce such fear, and the elderly's views of the criminal justice system. One essay focuses on the vulnerability of the elderly to consumer fraud, types of consumer fraud likely to victimize the elderly, and ways of countering such victimization. The chapter on crime prevention programs for the elderly examines the evolution of the community crime prevention movement in America, along with specific efforts at crime prevention planning for the elderly. The provisions and administration of various State victim compensation programs are outlined in another presentation, and their impact on the elderly victim is assessed. The concluding paper considers the elderly's reporting and nonreporting of crime, police problems and constraints in working with the elderly, and ways to improve police services to the elderly and the elderly's cooperation with the police. References and relevant tabular data accompany each chapter, and name and subject indexes are provided. For individual papers, see NCJ 83591-98.