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Older Offenders: Perspectives in Criminology and Criminal Justice

NCJ Number
110145
Editor(s)
B McCarthy, R Langworthy
Date Published
1988
Length
226 pages
Annotation
Drawing on the theoretical and empirical work of leaders in criminology and criminal justice, 12 papers examine issues relating to crime by elderly persons and the criminal justice system's response to such offenders.
Abstract
Following an introductory discussion of factors involved in the conceptualization of the problem of the criminal justice system's response to crime by the elderly, a paper examines whether the magnitude of the crime-rate increase for the elderly for 1965-1984 warrants the attention such crime has recently received. A review looks at research on elderly offenders under three broad categories: studies focusing on the amount and types of crime committed by the elderly, studies that explore the causes of elderly criminality, and those concerned with the problems that arise in the criminal justice processing of the elderly. Papers in the category of criminological perspectives examine why criminal behavior declines with age from both sociological and psychological orientations; discuss the application of social learning, control, and anomie theories of deviance to crime by the elderly; provide an econometric analysis of property crime; and consider research on alcohol abuse and homicide among the elderly. Papers in the section on criminal justice perspectives examine dispositions by police, judiciary, and corrections regarding the elderly. 460-item bibliography and author and subject indexes.