Typology of murder-suicides in Berlin according to a longitudinal study based on autopsy files

Murder-suicides are defined as the murder of at least one person and the suicide of the offender following the murder. The intention to commit suicide must be primary. In most cases, a male offender kills a female victim after a separation. The current analysis was the first analysis of the typology of murder-suicides in Berlin. We analyzed the autopsy files of the Institute for Forensic Medicine of the Charité University Medicine Berlin and of the City Institute for Forensic Medicine Berlin. We performed descriptive and statistical analyses of cases between 2005 and 2013. We identified 17 murder-suicides. All 17 offenders were male, and 20 of the victims (90%) were female. The offenders used firearms in the majority of the cases. In seven cases, the victims and offenders were at least 80 years old. The average age of the offenders was 63 years. Disease was the motive in 6 cases involving older offenders. Our study might support the development of prevention strategies. In this regard, it is important to build a database for murder-suicides in Germany and other countries, to formulate a uniform definition of murder-suicide, to carry out nationwide interdisciplinary studies on this topic and to improve the existing health care structures, especially for older adults and people with depression.

Meeting the Physical and Mental Health Needs of Older Offenders: Does Aging in Place Work in Prison?

In many countries, the proportion of older people in prison is growing due to longer sentences, increases in convictions for historical offences, and longevity. Moreover, harsh conditions of confinement coupled with the negative effects of a criminal lifestyle may contribute to 'accelerated aging' in this population. Indeed, many prisoners develop health problems that are more commonly seen among people who are up to ten years older. Correctional institutions are increasingly struggling to meet the complex and expensive healthcare needs of these offenders, especially at end-of-life. Some institutions have taken the position that prisons were never intended to be nursing homes, nor can they be adequately adapted to fulfill this role. As a result, these institutions attempt to place some aging offenders in healthcare institutions within the community, provided that their risk to the public can be adequately managed. Other institutions have argued that the needs of aging offenders can be successfully met behind prison walls and have taken steps to allow prisoners to 'age in place.' After summarizing the research on the physical and mental health needs of aging offenders, this presentation considers the advantages and disadvantages of meeting older offenders' healthcare needs both within and outside the prison setting and provides relevant examples of both. Special attention is paid to the issues of social isolation and loneliness: both may contribute to accelerated aging, and perhaps even the risk for re-offending, raising questions about which correctional settings are most beneficial for minimizing these problems.

Youth crime as a ‘way of life’? Prevalence and criminal career correlates among a sample of juvenile detainees in Australia

For more than 60 years, scholars have often likened chronic and persistent offending to ‘living a criminal way of life’, yet these evocative motifs have not received much empirical scrutiny. In particular, the so-called criminal life-style is often conceptualized as something the chronic young offender opts into as an alternative to other pro-social pathways. Whereas for older offenders, it is something into which they find themselves trapped and unable to escape. The idea that crime is a chosen ‘way of life’ among chronic young offenders has not yet received sufficient empirical scrutiny. In this study, we use archival data of nationally representative cohort ( n = 373) of young offenders in Australian custodial centers who were each asked whether crime was their ‘way of life’. From this, we estimate its prevalence and criminal-career correlates, finding that one in three strongly identify with crime as their way of life. Self-identification is also found to be strongly correlated with Indigenous status even after controlling for different features of the juvenile criminal career. In all, our data paint a vivid portrait of a criminal identity that, for the young offender, likely signals a perceived inevitability that evolves in the context of structurally and culturally conditioned opportunities. Understanding this phenomenon among youthful offenders is important if we are to be successful in our attempts to curtail criminal continuity through desistance informed interventions.

Older people as victims and perpetrators of crime

Older people are at a higher risk of becoming the victims of crime than of being the perpetrators of it, given the added vulnerability that comes with aging. This chapter examines crime in relation to old age. The first section presents data around older people as victims of crime, and further discusses different types of abuse against older people, which, in the presence of intensive care needs and carer burden, may be perpetrated within the family or in residential and institutional settings. The second section of the chapter examines older people as the perpetrators of crime. In particular, it describes how older offenders are dealt within the justice system. It presents data on the growing population of older offenders in prisons and in forensic psychiatric services and reports on whether the unique needs of older offenders are being met in these settings.

Youth crime as a ‘way of life’? Prevalence and criminal career correlates among a sample of juvenile detainees in Australia

For more than 60 years, scholars have often likened chronic and persistent offending to ‘living a criminal way of life’, yet these evocative motifs have not received much empirical scrutiny. In particular, the so-called criminal lifestyle is often conceptualised as something the chronic young offender opts into as an alternative to other pro-social pathways. Whereas for older offenders, it is something into which they find themselves trapped an unable to escape. The idea that crime is a chosen ‘way of life’ among chronic young offenders has not yet received sufficient empirical scrutiny. In this study, we use archival data of nationally representative cohort (n=373) of serious young offenders from Australia who were each asked whether crime was their ‘way of life’. From this, we estimate its prevalence and criminal-career correlates, finding that one in three strongly identify with crime as their way of life. Self-identification is also found to be strongly correlated with Indigenous status even after controlling for different features of the juvenile criminal career. In all, our data paint a vivid portrait of a criminal identity that, for the young offender, likely signals a perceived inevitability that evolves in the context of structurally and culturally conditioned opportunities. Understanding this phenomenon among youthful offenders is important if we are to be successful in our attempts to curtail criminal continuity through desistance informed interventions.

Defining an age cut-off for older offenders: a systematic review of literature

Purpose In the literature, 65 years is commonly used as the age to designate an older person in the community. When studying older prisoners, there is much variation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how researchers define older offenders and for what reasons. Design/methodology/approach The authors reviewed articles on health and well-being of older offenders to assess terminology used to describe this age group, the chosen age cut-offs distinguishing younger offenders from older offenders, the arguments provided to support this choice as well as the empirical base cited in this context. Findings The findings show that the age cut-off of 50 years and the term “older” were most frequently used by researchers in the field. The authors find eight main arguments given to underscore the use of specific age cut-offs delineating older offenders. They outline the reasoning provided for each argument and evaluate it for its use to define older offenders. Originality/value With this review, it is hoped to stimulate the much-needed discussion advancing towards a uniform definition of the older offender. Such a uniform definition would make future research more comparable and ensure that there is no ambiguity when researchers state that the study population is “older offenders”.

ETHICAL DILEMMAS, VULNERABLE ELDERS, AND ELDER ABUSE

Elder abuse is a growing concern worldwide. It is described across multiple professional disciplines: as a social justice issue by social workers; as a medical syndrome and public health issue by health care providers; and as a violation of human rights and criminal laws by courts, legislators, and the justice system professionals. Elder abuse assumes different forms, including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, financial exploitation, neglect, and abandonment. Forms often co-occur in a variety of settings. This presentation explores key ethical conundrums emerging when different professions address elder abuse. Specifically examined is how the ethical principles of autonomy and non-maleficence conflict with mandatory reporting laws, for example, if their purpose is to incarcerate older offenders who are ill and vulnerable serving lengthy mandated prison terms. The presentation also explores the rights of perpetrators, including how rights of crime victims are weighed against those of perpetrators in a just society.

Adverse Impacts on Offense-Based Proportionality and Prison-Use Priorities

This chapter shows how powerful criminal history enhancements undermine important goals of guidelines reforms. First, these enhancements undermine the goal of making punishment severity proportional to the seriousness of the offense for which the offender is being sentenced; if prior record receives more weight in sentencing, conviction offense seriousness receives less weight. Second, these enhancements counteract the goal of reserving expensive prison beds for offenders convicted of violent crimes—powerful criminal history enhancements shift the balance of prison admissions and inmate stocks toward property, drug, and other nonviolent offenders. Third, prior record enhancements change the composition of prison populations by risk level—older offenders often have more prior convictions but declining recidivism risks, so criminal history enhancements increase the number of aging, low-risk prison inmates. The formulaic nature of such enhancements also over-predicts the risk level of some younger offenders. The chapter concludes with proposals for limiting these adverse effects.