Victims or Perpetrators? Social and Psychological Perspectives on Older People and Crime

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Debate key topics about older people and crime
• Use oral communication skills developed through participation in seminar and lecture activities
• Evaluate evidence for and against assumptions in relation to older people and crime
• Use critical skills in the preparation of assessed coursework
• Identify and summarise key information on selected topics
• Critically discuss academic literature in relation to crime in later life
• Describe the importance of older people in the study of criminology
• Use written communication skills developed through the preparation of assessed coursework
• Explain the implications of population ageing on crime

This module will include lectures covering: population ageing, older criminals, older victims of crime, age discrimination and elder abuse, dementia, assisted suicide, and the ageing prison population.

Teaching and learning methods

The module is taught by means of face-to-face lectures and seminars. The lectures will cover substantive topics at the intersection of criminology, psychology, and sociology of ageing, while the seminars will engage students in activities designed to develop their learning from the lectures. Learning activities within lectures include trigger questions or problem-solving in groups. Students are expected to engage in independent study outside of lectures and seminars and are expected to read 1-2 items (journal articles or book chapters) from the reading list in advance of each session. Live lecture capture technology will be used to facilitate revision, but students are expected to attend lectures and seminars in person.

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Carney, A. (2020). Elder abuse: Forensic, legal and medical aspects. London: Academic Press.

Wahidin, A. and Cain, M.E. (2006). Ageing, crime and society. Cullompton: Willan.

Rothman, M.B., Dunlop, B.D. & Entzel, P. (2004). Elders, crime, and the criminal justice system: Myth, perceptions, and reality in the 21st Century. New York: Springer.

Dening, T. et al (2021). Oxford textbook of old age psychiatry. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.