Do the crime, serve the time

Confined to a cell with just a glimmer of sunlight creeping through their tiny window is how a growing number of older Australian’s are passing their days and nights.

A startling report released this week has found prisons may soon need to feature aged care services and ramps for use by inmates in wheelchairs or those using walking sticks.

The predictions are outlined in a report released this week by the Australian Institute of Criminology which outlines how the prison population is ageing much faster than the general population.

The report found in the last ten years, the number of female prisoners over 50 years of age has nearly quadrupled in NSW, and last year there were 161 men over 65 years of age in jails.

Corrections statistics in Australia indicate a clear trend towards increased numbers of older prisoners, and the growth of this inmate group is paralleled in prisons in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand.

The statistics have shocked Council on the Ageing NSW chief executive, Ian Day, who tells DPS eNews it is “unbelievable” the number of female prisoners aged 50 years and over has nearly quadrupled in NSW.

“But, regardless of the environment – prison or the free environment – we should not discriminate against older people. Prison environments should be required to adapt to older inmates’ needs,” Mr Day adds.

However, Aged Care Association Australia chief executive, Rod Young, is not surprised by the results of the study.

“The prison population is a population reflecting the ageing demographic,” Mr Young tells DPS eNews.

“As the general population ages, I think prison population ages. I think people assume aged people do not commit crimes – but the truth is crime can be a hard habit to get out of for some people,” he says. 

According to Mr Young, correctional services will need to look at those prisoners with physical dependency or frailty, or those with neurological conditions, such as dementia.

“Prison staff needs to look at these types of people and ask themselves whether it is still appropriate for these people to remain in prison. Certainly there are plenty of instances where inmates need medical services and may need aged care services available to them,” Mr Young says.

The trend of ageing inmates is believed to be due to tougher sentencing laws, including fewer options for early release, and the higher number of older inmates convicted of serious offences, such as murder and drug offences which usually attract long prison terms.

Prison inmates are usually considered to have the same health problems as someone who is about 10 years older, but lives freely in the community, the study reports.

The demographic change to the prison population has implications for prison health services, including the management of terminal illnesses and mental health services, since a large number of older prisoners suffer from depression.

“Prison environments and regimes poorly cater for the needs of older prisoners with physical disabilities, such as limited mobility … hearing or vision impairments, infirmity or incontinency,” the study states.

Older prisoner populations present a number of challenges for governments, correctional administrators, healthcare providers and community agencies. The report looks at the issue of defining the older prisoner and explores the rise in older inmate populations throughout Australia—both at the national level and across the states and territories.

The concerns pertaining to the management of older prisoners are examined, including the costs of responding to rising healthcare needs, as well as issues surrounding accommodation and correctional programs for older prisoners.

Various solutions and strategies that have been adopted internationally in various correctional settings are also discussed, including the establishment of special needs units for older prisoners and the employment of specialist staff.

Recommendations for prison staffing and accommodation blocks to be modified to the needs of a changing prison population are outlined in the report.