NCJ Number
235530
Date Published
February 2010
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This report presents data on domestic incidents that involved victims 65 years old or older that were reported to law enforcement agencies in New York State in 2008 and documented in a State domestic incident report (DIR).
Abstract
The report describes the domestic incidents, including information on the relationship between the victim and suspect, victim and suspect demographics, offense category, orders of protection, and arrest information (if one was made). Of the 6,967 DIR's involving elderly victims throughout New York State in 2008, 3,706 (53 percent) of the incidents occurred in New York City; and 3,261 (47 percent) involving elderly victims were reported by the rest of the State. Thirty-six percent of these DIR's reported an offense; 5 percent were felonies; 15 percent were misdemeanors; 15 percent were violations; and 1 percent were unspecified. Second-degree harassment (43.9 percent), a violation, and fourth-degree criminal mischief (a misdemeanor) were the most commonly reported domestic-violence offenses against the elderly. Sixty-four percent of the DIR submissions with elderly victims did not involve a criminal offense. Less than 20 percent of the reported incidents involved an intimate partner as a suspect, such as a spouse or ex-spouse. Sixty percent of the suspects were either children or grandchildren of the victims. The majority of the elderly victims were female (68 percent). 8 tables