Elderly criminals: A study of the first criminal offence in old age

Although the majority of criminal offences are committed by young persons, about 1% of crimes have been reported in men over 65 years of age. Among prison populations association between old age and mental illness is often reported. We decided to evaluate all first‐time criminal offenders in the greater Tel Aviv area aged 65 years or older. Each person against whom the District Attorney brought forth an indictment in the period 1987–1992 was interviewed by a psychiatrist specializing in psychogeriatrics. Twenty‐six males and two females were thus evaluated. Their average age was 69.2 years (range 65–80). Forty‐three per cent of the offences were of a financial nature, and serious violence presented in 10.7% of the cases. Fifty per cent of the study's series suffered from a neuropsychiatric disorder, dementia and personality disorders accounting for half of those.