Fewer Seniors Are Crime Victims

A study-released in 2000 by the Justice department shows that senior citizens, people aged 65 and older are less likely to be victims of violent crime. The study found that seniors are 10 times less likely than people in other age groups to be murdered, assaulted, robbed or victimized. There are some variances among different groups with blacks, Hispanics and men becoming victims at higher rates. The study did not include those elderly who are in nursing homes or otherwise institutionalized. The majority of crimes reported by seniors were property type crimes, such as burglary and car theft.

Why is there such a difference? The author of the study Patsy Klaus gave this explanation - "It may be that senior citizens are living a different lifestyle that places them at lower risk in the first place." The elderly tend to be less likely to go out at night or engage in other risky activities due to fear or health problems. Interestingly the study also found that of those seniors who were victims of violence that in more than 25% of those cases the attacker was a "relative or intimate/caregiver". This statistic is twice what it is for younger populations.