"Patterns of Personal Crime Against the Elderly: Findings from a National Survey,"
The Gerontologist, 17 (August, 1977), 321-327.
This study explores the social context in which crimes against the elderly occur. It attempts to
understand whether features of the context might account for elderly persons' special fear of
crime. Data from a national survey of 375,000 persons shows that, when only victims are
considered, elderly victims are more likely than victims of other ages to suffer from predatory
crimes and to be attacked by unarmed, young black male strangers. Several strategies to
reduce their availability, vulnerability, and desirability of elderly victims to these criminals are
compared.
"Criminal Victimization of the Elderly: The Physical and Economic Consequences,"
The Gerontologist, 18 (August, 1978), 339-349.
This study tests the accuracy of the current consensus that the physical and economic
consequences of crime are greater for the elderly than for other age groups. Data from 1973
and 1974 national surveys show that the elderly are no more likely than other age groups to
suffer more severe physical injuries or larger financial losses from crime. However, when the
relative economic losses to mature adults over the age of 40 are examined, adults age 65 and
over appear to be heavier economic losers. The paper suggests that the crime problem of the
elderly may not be an age-related problem but rather a condition-related problem, with the
condition being one of low income.
Crime and the Elderly Abstracts