Criminal Geropsychology—The Nexus of Elderly Offending, Mental Disorders, and Victimization

摘要

The population of the United States is aging. As the overall numbers of those aged 65 years and older continues to swell there will be an increasing need to pay close attention to crime and criminal offending among the elderly population. Elderly adults are involved in a range of offending behaviors, from violent crimes, to substance use offenses, to white-collar crimes (e.g. fraud and embezzlement). The fastest growing segment of the prison population is geriatric offenders. Older inmates have many special needs and they cost taxpayers around 3 times as much to incarcerate than younger offenders. This project analyzed survey and interview data collected from 237 research participants. The collected information provided valuable insight into people’s thoughts, knowledge, and experiences with elderly criminal offending. At the heart of the undertaking was the thorough examination of the emerging field of criminal geropsychology. This specialized area of study will continue to become more relevant and central to the study of aging, criminal behavior, and victimization. Criminal geropsychology is a valuable academic and applied area of study that focuses on elderly offending and victimization. Criminal geropsychology complements a number of fields that also study and work with aging populations, such as clinical psychology, forensic psychology, criminology, corrections, gerontology, psychiatry, and the law.