Elder-Perpetrated Crime; and a Policy Agenda for Treating Elderly Prisoner

• In Event: Roundtable: Contemporary Issues in Corrections

Abstract

According to Sociologist Esping Anderson, the greatest aim of social welfare policy lies in protecting humans from the cries of life. Social welfare policy, along with family and local community, is a safety net minimizing crises in life. Although Korean society is entering a highly industrialized phase, its social welfare policy is based on the traditional extended family, the disruption of which serves as an obstacle to the advancement of social welfare. As the population continues to age, Korean society-having formerly included many “aged ones”– is entering a phase in which society includes many “very old people of great age.” This trend affects the demographics of domestic prisons as well as it does the demographics of other social welfare programs. This increase in elder-perpetrated crimes is leading to a rise in the number of older inmates. In consequence, a policy agenda for treating them is emerging as a main concern of correctional authorities along with social welfare experts' concerns regarding ensuring the welfare of an aging society.

Authors

• Sang Gyu Jung, Dongguk University

• Hyoseon Ju, Dongguk University

• Namgyu Kim, Dongguk University

• Sanghun Lee, Dongguk University in South Korea