TITLE:
Criminal Geropsychology—The Nexus of Elderly Offending, Mental Disorders, and Victimization
AUTHORS:
Raqota Berger
KEYWORDS:
Elderly Offending, Criminal Behavior, Mental Disorders, Incarceration, Victimization
JOURNAL NAME:
Voice of the Publisher,
Vol.5 No.3,
September
27,
2019
ABSTRACT: 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.