NCJ Number
83591
Date Published
1981
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study examines older persons' attitudes toward crime victimization, victimization patterns for the elderly, and whether victimization patterns of the elderly are similar to those of other age groups.
Abstract
Data for the study were taken from the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics-1978. Almost one in five persons over age 64 feels threatened when out in the neighborhood in the day. This is 1 1/2 times the proportion of any other age group. The elderly are by far the most fearful about being out at night. During the day, the elderly are only slightly less likely than persons aged 35-64 to restrict their travel, while at night, the elderly are considerably less likely to travel than any but the youngest group. Overall, older persons have a personal crime victimization rate less than one-half that of the next highest age group. Of personal crimes, a disproportionately large number with elderly victims involve robbery with and without injury, while a disproportionately small number involve rape or assault; still, the probability of an older person being robbed is about one-half that of a person under age 64. Questions for further research are listed, and tabular data and two references are provided.