Understanding Elderly Abuse and Crime

Abstract

This chapter explores the phenomenon of elder abuse. The chapter explores the reason why it is hidden yet there is a visible aging population. In terms of the policing of elder abuse, it has been an enduring case for social workers and social carers rather than for law enforcement and criminal justice agencies. The chapter further explores how and why elder abuse remains an important yet under-researched topic of social and theoretical analysis. Drawing from the work of Michel Foucault on power and surveillance, we ascertain that elder abuse gives legitimacy for welfare professionals for their roles yet, in comparison, the criminalization process is absent for law enforcement. We raise critical questions: Why elder abuse has not been taken seriously as child abuse? Is this a question of priorities or a problem of not taking elder abuse seriously enough for criminal justice agencies? The chapter finds that the processing of offenders has been exceptionally small, when the visibility of elder abuse must be higher for policy makers and law enforcement.