Senior citizen profile accused of committing crime in a municipality in the northern coast of Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

The profile of the elderly today is not the same as it used to be – or supposed to be – a few decades ago: a retired old man who passed his days seeking to cause good to others. The crime statistics show that seniors, in several countries, are the fastest growing group in various prison systems. The aim of this research was to investigate the profile of senior people in episodes involving crimes. In order to try to understand this phenomenon, I tried to describe the profile of the elderly accused. Through documented research, we affirmed that among the 4806 occurrences surveyed in Events Bulletins recorded in Imbé-RS Police Station in 2013, 3.28% of the elderly was accused of committing some sort of crime, and 75% of crimes were committed by older males. Crimes against individual freedom were the most committed. As for the education of the aggressors, 53.2% have primary education and only 4.4% of them are illiterate. The highest rate of offenders is aged between 60 and 64 years (57.6%). Of the crimes committed, 65.3% corresponds to threat (27.1%), bodily injury (26.1%) and Crimes against property: 12.1%. The results show, significantly, that the elderly can be both a victim and an aggressor. This study draws attention to the necessary actions aimed at preventing situations that pose a conflict between the seniors – and the community – in order to prevent harmful occurrences and promote both citizenship and social harmony, contributing to a more just society and equality for all.