Book Reviews : Elderly Criminals. Evelyn S. Newman, Donald J. Newman, and Mindy L. Gewirtz. Oelgeschlager, Gunn & Hain, Publishers, Inc., 1984. 252 pp. cloth. Elderly Criminals. William Wilbanks and Paul K. H. Kim, editors. University Press of America, 1984. 156 pp. paper. Aging Criminals. Neal Shover. Sage Publications, 1985. 175 pp. paper

• Author: Ruth Shonle Cavan
• Published date: 01 June 1987
• DOI: 10.1177/088740348700200209
• Date: 01 June 1987
• Subject Matter: Articles

199
presentations will disccourage readers, or at best require them to read
carefully. Conrad does not miss many relevant issues here, but their logical
links are not always clear.
References
Blumstein, A., J. Cohen, J. Roth, and C.A. Visher
1986
Criminal Careers and Career Criminals, Volume 1. Washington
D.C.: National Academy Press.
Chaiken, J.M. and M. Chaiken
1982
Varieties of Criminal Behavior. Rand Report R-2814-NIJ. Santa
Monica, CA: Rand Corp.
Patricia Von Voorhis
University of Cincinnati
Elderly Criminals. Evelyn S. Newman, Donald J. Newman, and Mindy L.
Gewirtz. Oelgeschlager, Gunn & Hain, Publishers, Inc., 1984. 252 pp. cloth.
Elderly Criminals. William Wilbanks and Paul K. H. Kim, editors. University
Press of America, 1984. 156 pp. paper.
Aging Criminals. Neal Shover. Sage Publications, 1985. 175 pp. paper.
Only recently has professional interest in elderly criminals led to
investigation into types of offenses and raised questions about suitable
treatment. Only about 4 percent of arrests are of elderly people. For this
reason textbooks in criminology and research have given scant attention to
crimes of the elderly. Textbooks at most give the percentage of arrests or
convictions for different age groups and the types of crime committed, then
devote detailed analysis to crimes of teenagers and young or middle-aged
adults. Elderly offenders have been neglected as insignificant in number and
in the types of crime they commit. The increased percentage of elderly people
in the population and the development of geriatrics and gerontology as a
special discipline have drawn attention to criminal behavior of the elderly. It
is not clear what group of specialists is best suited to study or to take charge of
elderly offenders. Are they a subject for criminological research and do they
belong in the adult criminal justice system? Are they simply old people gone
astray, to be studied by gerontologists? Or do they really belong in the
province of social work to receive personal aid? Criminologists and social
workers are most numerous among the contributors to the books here

---

200
reviewed, but sociologists, a psychologist,...