Aging and Delinquent Behavior - The Criminal Act and the Societal Response

• NCJ Number: 79200
• Author(s): G Fishman; I Sordo
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 30 pages
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: Israel

Annotation

Criminal behavior among the elderly and the criminal justice system's reponse to the problem are examined, based on a study of 260 elderly persons investigated by the Israeli police in 1976 for suspicion of law violations.

Abstract

The view that crime among the elderly is primarily a product of the problem of aging rather than a continuation of early patterns was adopted. It was also hypothesized that the criminal justice system is less likely to use a treatment approach with elderly offenders than with youthful offenders because the future criminal career is bound to be shorter and because of the belief that resocialization and attitude modification are mainly applicable to younger age groups. The 260 subjects represented a random sample of the 3,111 persons over the age of 55 who were suspected of having violated the criminal code in 1976. The age of 55 was chosen because aging was regarded as a continuous process rather than as one beginning at the legal age of retirement. Official data obtained on each individual covered such subjects as the country of birth, religion, age of commission of the first offense, prior offenses and convictions, and number of police investigations pending trial. A total of 53 percent of the subjects had no prior conviction record, while 18 percent had one conviction and 20 percent had more than two prior convictions. Although the age of commission of the first offense ranged from 14 to 75, over three-fifths of the subjects committed their first offense when aged 55 or older. The finding that the first offense was committed at age 65 and over by only 17.7 percent suggested that the age of retirement is not necessarily problematic. None of the 135 subjects who were convicted were placed on probation or supervision, while 23 percent were imprisoned. Penalties were similar to those imposed on the general population of offenders. Findings supported the views that crime among the elderly is a response to the implications of becoming old and that the criminal justice system discriminates against the elderly by not giving the probation and supervision dispositions commonly given to juvenile delinquents. Tables, a chart, and a list of 10 references are provided.