Elderly Victimization in Aging Japan

Abstract

The proportion of the population for most developed countries of the world, particularly the United States and countries of Europe, composed of elderly persons is expected to continue to increase significantly. This trend toward an older population has many repercussions, including the availability of health care and housing, a drain on entitlement funds, and the ability of service agencies to meet the greater demand for the services they provide. In this chapter, we have focused on the current trends in the criminality and victimization of the elderly that are expected to continue into the year 2030, when the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda will have its end. The increases in the amount of crime committed by the elderly (operationally defined as 65 years old and older), as well as the increases in the amount of criminal victimization of the elderly, are the result of both an aging population and social, economic, political, and communication changes in the world community that affect the lives of people. In addition to discussing the reasons why the amount of crime committed by the elderly will continue to increase, the types of crimes committed by the elderly and the criminal justice response to the elderly criminal are included in the chapter. Legal, law enforcement, and community efforts to prevent crime by the elderly and to protect the elderly from harm are included in the chapter.