Subjects:

Criminal Law

Contents:

Abuse vs crime in criminological history

the mythologies of elderly victimization

stereotyping the elderly and victims

victimisation in private and public space

old people and the fear of crime

victimization in household and care institutions

sociological explanations - gender and the political economy of older people

sociological explanations - organization, power, neutralization and strain theory

older people in the criminal justice process - is there an elderly crime wave?

the elderly in the criminal justice system - experience of arrest and detention

conclusion - towards a criminology of the elderly.

This text examines and analyzes the experiences of older people as both victims and perpetrators of crime. Drawing upon research from British and North American sources, the authors detail the historical experience of the elderly as victims, the extent of present-day criminal victimization 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.;It sets out to break 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 is aimed at students, academics and professionals concerned with the experiences of the elderly.