Conceptualizing crimes against older persons: elder abuse, domestic violence, white-collar offending, or just regular ‘old’ crime

Abstract

Past research does not differentiate between the types of crimes committed against the elderly. This study examines the similarities and differences between the multiple types of offenses committed against older persons. The current study uses data drawn from 294 abuse, neglect, and exploitation cases with an aim toward differentiating between elder abuse, elder domestic violence, elder white-collar crime, and general crime. Cross tabulations were used to examine the relationship between offense type and victim, as well as situational characteristics. A series of multivariate logistic regression models were employed to examine which characteristics were associated with the different offense types. Results show that victim characteristics vary in the different offense categories, and specific offense types are tied to the offense categories. The results also show that caregiver burden is more common in elder abuse cases involving daughters as offenders. Although white-collar crimes targeting older victims were more likely to occur in the workplace, a sizable percentage of the white-collar crimes (about one-fourth) occurred in the victim's home. Efforts to respond to crimes against the elderly, as well as theoretical explanations for this class of offending must acknowledge that key differences exist between subtypes of offenses.