Imprisoned elders: The experience of one institution

This study examines the characteristics and institutional experience of inmate elders from one medium security institution. It also features a stratified random sample of inmates aged 49 and under from the same institution. Data were collected from inmates files and interviews with inmate elders (aged 50 and older) and institutional staff. Specific attention is given to policy issues concerning the treatment of this special needs group. Recent research has discovered that the percentage and numbers of crimes committed by older persons is increasing at a dramatic rate (Shichor and Kobrin, 1978; Shichor, 1984; Vito and Wilson, 1985). Although the meaning of these statistics has been disputed by some criminologists (Cullen, Wozniak and Frank, 1985), if these trends prove accurate, the correctional world can expect an influx of older inmates. Coupled with the return to mandatory sentencing, this new trend creates the possibility that a first-time (incarcerated) elderly felon (who has probably committed violent crime) wil