Introduction

Elderly Offenders used to be a topic at which respectable criminologists snickered. It was considered both a fad that publication-conscious professionals would exploit and a fictional invention that would pass from the journals for lack of substantive significance. Most of the early literature addressing crime and older persons focused on victimization issues confronting the senior citizen. In research and discussion by practitioners and academic alike, concern for the special vulnerabilities of the older person is reflected in the portrayal of the elderly as an ideal victim. The study of mature, adult, older or elderly offenders has come of age after an initial and rather traditional examination of statistical reports. Combinations of strain and control theories are most commonly applied as social explanations for criminal behavior by the elderly. These theories typically frame the criminality of older offenders in terms of living in a state of drift, relatively free of social controls and responsibilities.