ABSTRACT
The link between age and crime has long been established — offending was seen as purely a ‘youth’ phenomenon while the fear of crime belonged to the realm of older people. Such stereotypes still hold in popular perceptions of criminology. Additionally, older people are viewed as of significant standing in the community as judges, magistrates, boards of visitors, probation officers and panel members. In the last 15 years however the focus on age and crime has broadened and changed to incorporate older people as offenders (for example, as a consequence of elder abuse) and perpetrators of serious crime rather than just as victims or dispensers of punishment through the courts.
