In the foreword to this timely book, Lord Ramsbottom, formerly Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons, welcomes its focus on the neglected subject of older people and crime. He trumpets the fact that the book takes on the role of the Chief Inspector by providing independent quality assurance on the manner in which prisoners' rights are preserved. This is currently threatened by the British government's proposals to merge the 13 public service inspectorates into four. The claim is considerable, but largely justified. Although the book derives from conference contributions and suffers some of the usual flaws of such collections, it sets out an interesting stall for future research, policy and practice in the subject area. This is achieved in no short measure by sure guidance from two editors with impressive knowledge and experience.
In the introduction, Wahidin and Cain establish their aim to disturb ‘the silence surrounding the unyoung’, and introduce the over-riding theme of the need for interdisciplinary work while stressing how important it is for criminologists to learn from what is already known. The next three chapters elaborate each of these aspects. First, Powell and Wahidin exemplify how critical gerontology forms a learning ground for criminology, but at the same time warn of the dangers inherent in applying uncritically one body of knowledge and theory to another and in simplisticly comparing elder abuse and, for example, domestic violence. The argument reminded me of Hall's theory of articulation and how that helps us towards a more sophisticated understanding of power relationships and the processes of discrimination (Agozino Reference Agozino1997). Then, in Chapter 2, Brogden and Nijhar use the concept of ‘social harm’ to challenge the tensions between justice and welfare ideologies. They usefully expose what prevents harmony between these ideologies, and suggest ways of overcoming obstacles by, for example, focusing on social rather than legal subjects and by re-visiting the sociology of deviance. In rehearsing the current state of knowledge about older offenders and prisoners, Judith Phillips adeptly explains how the furtherance of that knowledge is crucially dependent on the integration of gerontological and criminological perspectives.
In what might be described as a pot pourri section, the reader is presented with insights into: elder abuse in German nursing homes (thankfully drawn in part from the voices of residents); its prevalence and nature in the United Kingdom against the backdrop of an argument for the relevance of citizenship; the extent and features of distraction burglary and how it is represented; fear of crime with an emphasis on definition and practical solutions; the effectiveness of elder-abuse prevention; and how from a relatively slow start in the 1980s interest in elder abuse has grown rapidly through the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse. This quick summary is not meant to diminish these contributions – all distinguished by efforts to provide tangible, practical resolutions of problems – but the variety highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of conference-inspired books. On the one hand, the contributions cover a considerable amount of ground (important for a new subject), but on the other hand, they accrue a degree of superficiality that stems from the absence of a unifying philosophical and cultural context. The implication is that the book needed more critical and analytical assessment of the general position of older people in western cultures.
The chapters leading up to the conclusion focus on older people who offend. Wahidin reports on British and American research on imprisonment, and among a number of recommendations, calls for the consideration of US-style Special Older People Units, an integrated criminological and gerontological research agenda, and the diversion of older people from custody. Jacques explores ways of responding to older prisoners' health-care needs; and Aday explains how such needs are being met in the USA alongside responses to educational and end-of-life needs. Finally, in this section, Bramhall reveals the dearth of literature on older people and community penalties, and argues that there is much to be learnt from the ‘development paths’ of feminist critiques and anti-racist strategies.
In the concluding chapter, Mervyn Eastman draws the main themes of the book together and cogently makes the case for rethinking crime and ageing studies within the broad context of elder abuse. Fittingly, he sketches a framework for future research that will shape policy. In effect, he argues that policy and practice should be holistic and premised on the notion of citizenship and promotion of older people's priorities, and here he comes nearest to the kind of context to which I have referred. This is an important and opportune collection that provides a solid knowledge base about a neglected and vulnerable group of people. It should stimulate further interest and encourage other researchers to venture into the field.
