Description:
<jats:p> Since the early 1970s, demographers and other social scientists have predicted an increase in the number of elderly people living in America. What has not increased to the same magnitude, however, is our understanding of the criminal victimization of elderly persons or our understanding how to respond to offenders who abuse elderly persons. Of concern in this research was the way that four groups perceive the sanctioning of offenses committed against elderly persons: police chiefs, nursing home administrators, nursing home staff, and students enrolled in sociology and criminal justice courses. By conceptualizing the perceptions of abuse among these four groups, steps can be taken toward either preventing or responding to crimes against elderly persons. </jats:p>