Older peoples' experiences of crime - Essay Example

ultural and political authorities came into being with the passage of time, to evade disturbance and control deviancy from the prescribed manners prevailing in some specific area. Punishment and penalties were implemented leading towards the formulation of the sets of laws and penal codes. Agencies were originated to cope with the individuals deteriorating the peace and stability of society. Abnormal attitude creating public nuisance was declared as crime against the state and its individuals.

Durkheim views crime, states Coser (1977:141), as normal in terms of its occurrence, and even as having positive social functions in terms of its consequences. In his words: "Where crime exists, collective sentiments are sufficiently flexible to take on a new form, and crime sometimes helps to determine the form they will take. How many times, indeed, it is only an anticipation of future morality--a step toward what will be." As criminal behaviour contains universality in its concept, it is not limited to one social class or age group only.

Though there is no hard and fast rule for the victimization of specific crime on specific group, yet there are some types of pestering which can be attributed to particular group or class. The nature of crimes varies from one age group to the other. Also, there is diversity in respect of gender while enduring criminal behaviour. For instance, crimes like sexual assaults, rape and abduction are inflicted upon women and children, and males are often victim of robbery and murder. In the same way, older people are usually victim of theft, embezzlement, robbery, misrepresentation and white collar crimes.

“Although individuals may be abused”, McDonald and A. Collins view, “at virtually any life stage – childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle age or old age – the nature and consequences of abuse may differ depending on an individual’s situation. Older adults experiences of abuse, for example, may be related to their