Terranova Claudio, Bevilacqua Greta, Zen Margherita, Montisci Massimo
Legal Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Legal and Work Medicine, Toxicology and Public Health, University Hospital of Padova, via G. Falloppio n.50, Padova 35121, Italy.
Legal Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Legal and Work Medicine, Toxicology and Public Health, University Hospital of Padova, via G. Falloppio n.50, Padova 35121, Italy.
J Forensic Leg Med. 2017 Aug;50:20-27. doi: 10.1016/j.jflm.2017.06.005. Epub 2017 Jun 27.
Crimes against the elderly have physical, psychological, and economic consequences. Approaches for mitigating them must be based on comprehensive knowledge of the phenomenon. This study analyses crimes against the elderly in Italy during the period 2007-2014 from an epidemiological viewpoint. Data on violent and non-violent crimes derived from the Italian Institute of Statistics were analysed in relation to trends, gender and age by linear regression, T-test, and calculation of the odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval. Results show that the elderly are at higher risk of being victimized in two types of crime, violent (residential robbery) and non-violent (pick-pocketing and purse-snatching) compared with other age groups during the period considered. A statistically significant increase in residential robbery and pick-pocketing was also observed. The rate of homicide against the elderly was stable during the study period, in contrast with reduced rates in other age groups. These results may be explained by risk factors increasing the profiles of elderly individuals as potential victims, such as frailty, cognitive impairment, and social isolation. Further studies analysing the characteristics of victims are required. Based on the results presented here, appropriate preventive strategies should be planned to reduce crimes against the elderly.
针对老年人的犯罪会产生身体、心理和经济方面的后果。减轻此类犯罪的方法必须基于对该现象的全面了解。本研究从流行病学角度分析了2007年至2014年期间意大利针对老年人的犯罪情况。利用线性回归、T检验以及计算95%置信区间的优势比，对源自意大利统计局的暴力犯罪和非暴力犯罪数据按趋势、性别和年龄进行了分析。结果显示，在所考虑的时间段内，与其他年龄组相比，老年人在两种犯罪类型中成为受害者的风险更高，这两种犯罪类型分别是暴力犯罪（入室抢劫）和非暴力犯罪（扒窃和抢夺钱包）。还观察到入室抢劫和扒窃案件在统计学上有显著增加。在研究期间，针对老年人的杀人犯罪率保持稳定，而其他年龄组的杀人犯罪率则有所下降。这些结果或许可以通过一些风险因素来解释，这些因素提升了老年人作为潜在受害者的形象，比如身体虚弱、认知障碍和社会孤立。需要进一步开展研究来分析受害者的特征。基于此处呈现的结果，应制定适当的预防策略以减少针对老年人的犯罪。
