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Older people, fear and crime: problems and new directions
- Author:
- MOORE Stephen
- Journal article citation:
- Working with Older People, 14(4), December 2010, pp.16-24.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The author critically examines the fear of crime paradox, in which older people are seen as disproportionately concerned about the possibility of becoming a victim, and the explanations and policy responses that have emerged. He suggests that the fear of crime paradox has been based on an over-simplistic analysis of the relationship of crime and age. Older people should not be regarded as a homogeneous group, for example, it is a mistake to categorise 65 year olds with 85 year olds. In addition other factors, including gender, vulnerability, poverty and health should be considered. There has also been inadequate attention paid to the sorts of crimes that older people are more likely to be victims of. The author concludes that there should be a move away from focusing solely on age and crime and that older people should be placed within much broader categories that include people of all ages. For example, there is a need to investigate how crime impacts on people with different standards of income or health and to develop policies accordingly regardless of age. He comments that current policies that seek to reassure older people or to target older people’s property simply maintain the stereotypes of all older people as frail and socially isolated rather than as a diverse category overlapping with other groups in the population.
Can intergenerational practice offer a way of limiting anti-social behaviour and fear of crime?
- Authors:
- MOORE Stephen, STATHAM Elaine
- Journal article citation:
- Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 45(5), December 2006, pp.468-484.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Since coming to power in 1997, New Labour has identified reducing anti-social behaviour and fear of crime as key issues to be dealt with. In the main, its response has been to introduce a range of punitive measures. The main subjects of these punitive policies appear to be young people, whose activities are perceived to be closely linked to anti-social behaviour and fear of crime. Critics have argued that these measures merely increase the fear of crime amongst older generations by weakening informal controls and limiting contact between the generations. In this article, the authors review intergenerational practice (IP) which has been growing in popularity in both the USA and the UK, and which stresses the importance of creating dialogue between generations, which it is claimed can help prevent anti-social behaviour and limit fear. The authors critically examine the theory and practice of IP and suggest that although it has substantial flaws, it may provide a useful way forward to limiting anti-social behaviour and fear of crime, when linked with wider social regeneration programmes.