Who's Afraid of Crime? Not Senior Citizens!

Dr. John Lewis, a faculty member in IUP’s Department of Criminology, recently co-authored a study in Law Enforcement Executive Forum, “The Role of Environmental Indicators on the Perceptions of Crime of the Elderly.” His co-author is Dr. Mike Arter, a 2005 graduate of IUP’s criminology doctoral program.

While earlier studies reported that fear of crime among the elderly is a significant problem and concern, Lewis found that the elderly are no more afraid of crime than any other age group.

“The fear of crime among the elderly has been the focus of numerous studies over the past several decades,” he said. “Unfortunately, there is little consensus among researchers and a wide swing in findings from one decade to another. Basically, earlier studies reported fear of crime among the elderly as a significant problem or concern of the elderly, but more recent research indicates the elderly are no more afraid of crime than any other age group.

With the older population in the United States growing exponentially – Census Bureau data shows that there are 48.6 million citizens over the age of 60 in 2006, compared to 35.6 million of 60 plus citizens in 1980 – this study is an important one for the “Baby Boom” generation, especially because one of the factors which can impact the quality of life for the elderly is the perception and fear of crime among the elderly population, Lewis said.