NCJ Number
138159
Date Published
1990
Length
74 pages
Annotation
This report grew out of a conference, "Crime and Older People," sponsored by the British group Help the Aged and the Centre for Policy on Aging. The conference brought together law enforcement representatives and professionals involved with older people. This report attempts to summarize the current situation, raise some seminal issues for debate, and recommend potential activities for police and public.
Abstract
A brief review of the American and British literature on crime and older people reveals that most references concern crime against older people, while only a few deal with crimes committed by older people. The second chapter covers characteristics of older age, defining older age by status rather than chronology. Two indexes are particularly relevant to older people: accommodation, as nearly 90 percent of older people live alone, and expenditure of time, because older people are generally not very positive users of their leisure. Results of a CPA survey on crime and older people are summarized. The section detailing crime against older people discusses the incidence of crime in relationship to older age, fear of crime in older age, the impact of crime in older age, and preventive policing recommendations. In terms of crime committed by older people, the report examines the numbers, characteristics of offenses and offenders, and policing policy. 1 appendix