Crimes committed by elderly soar

SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Yonhap) -- Crimes by the elderly almost tripled in 2006 from a
decade earlier due to growing discontent with self, society and relatives with
their offenses growing more violent, a study showed Sunday.

A total of 82,323 people aged 61 and older committed crimes in 2006, up a
whopping 180 percent from 34,492 in 1996, according to the study by the Korean
Institute of Criminology. The overall number of convicted criminals rose to 1.93
million from 1.92 million during the cited period.
Seniors accounted for 1.8 percent of total offenders in 1996, but that figure
surged to 4.3 percent a decade later, the study showed.
In contrast, the ratio of offenders in their 20s slipped to 15.8 percent from
24.4 percent during the same period. The percentage of criminals in their 30s
also fell to 23.8 percent from 32.5 percent.
"Seniors are tending to commit more crimes as they are increasingly dissatisfied
with their families and society. This stems from the fact that many of them
failed to establish themselves in a changing society," said Jang Joon-oh, author
of the study.
The study also showed that crimes committed by seniors became more violent.
Murders rose to 59 in 2006 from 20 recorded 10 years earlier, while seniors
guilty of rape soared to 423 from 94. The number of elderly arsonists also rose
to 46 from seven.
As of April last year, there were 737 senior inmates, with 23.5 percent convicted
of murder and 9.6 percent convicted of rape, the study said.
brk@yna.co.kr
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