Crime, Abuse and the Elderly

Book excerpt: This book examines and analyses the experiences of older people as both victims and perpetrators of crime. Drawing upon a wealth of research from British and North American sources, the authors detail the historical experience of the elderly as victims, the extent of present-day criminal victimisation in the home and institutions, the social theories which attempt to explain that experience, and the types of resolution available. The book also addresses the experiences of elderly people in the criminal justice process - the offences to which they are prone, and the implications for penal policy of an increase in the elderly penal population. Crime, Abuse and the Elderly breaks new ground in its focus on the experiences of elderly people as criminal victims in private space, its insistence on a proper engagement of criminology with crimes involving older people, and in its argument that much so-called abuse can be explained criminologically and should be dealt with by the criminal justice system rather than by treatment and welfare agencies. It will be essential reading for students, academics and professionals concerned with the experiences of the elderly.