Madam, - Derek Scally's report from Germany on prisons for older offenders highlights a growing need within prison services in Europe ("Germany opens jail for geriatric delinquents", ( The Irish Times,September 12th).
The numbers of older prisoners are increasing throughout the Western world. Reasons include the ageing of "lifers", a commitment to mandatory custodial sentences for serious offences irrespective of age, technology-aided retrospective prosecutions (particularly the use of DNA evidence), and a general ageing of the population. In addition, there is a genuine increased recognition of crimes by older people.
Why people commit crime in later life needs focused research, but it may relate, in part, to loss of esteem and milieu in society, true poverty in retirement, a presumption of leniency if caught, so called "ageist courtesy", or the high number of reported cases of dementia among selected older prisoner groups. Older prisoners have high levels of physical illness and functional impairment, an "accelerated biological ageing" reflected by the prevalence of health problems more typical of people ten years their senior in the community.
This, combined with a general ageing of the prison population, will continue to pose great challenges in terms of health, social care, rehabilitation and resettlement, ethics and end-of-life decisions within prisons. The creation of "older prisoner units" is one step to meet this challenge. Provision of access to specialist medical and psychiatric services for older people working with the prison service is the next. - Yours, etc,
Dr RONAN COLLINS, Aois & Eolas: Centre for Ageing, Neurosciences and Humanities, Adelaide & Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24.