Abstract
As the editors of Senior Citizens Behind Bars: Challenges for the Criminal Justice System stated, “within two decades—if not sooner—at least one in three prisoners in the United States will be a ‘senior citizen’” (Kerbs & Jolley, p. 287). The aging of inmates in the ever-growing American prison system provides a unique juncture of two vital and growing areas of social work practice and research: forensic social work, and gerontology. As Maschi and Aday (2014) noted, the phenomenon of an aging prison population in the United States has serious implications for law enforcement, health care provision, and human rights. To address this issue, this text provides a guide that presents evidence-based practice and research on the issue of aging within the criminal justice system. It provides a clear overview of the latest advancements in social work practice with aging prisoners and addresses common challenges, barriers to care, and other related issues that have significant research implications and practical impact.
The 11 chapters of the book cover a wide range of topics, from social stigma to program development, policy considerations, and legal issues. Chapter 1, the introduction, clearly outlines the aims of the book, presenting “feasible policy solutions…[that] honor and effectively address the needs of this special population…[to] advance public health and public safety” (Kerbs & Jolley, 2014, p. 19). Chapter 2, by K. Auerhahn, presents a comprehensive historical overview of sentencing policy in the United States in the changing demographic of American prisons. This chapter is well organized with supporting statistics and graphically rendered data as well as an illustrative case study and policy recommendations. Similarly, M. E. Leigey’s discussion of the biopsychosocial needs of aging prisoners in Chapter 3 provides a compelling rationale to the needed clinical and treatment-based perspectives for social workers engaged with such incarcerated populations.
Chapter 4 addresses social programming and activities with aging populations within the prison milieu itself, with many examples of creative interventions focused on client-practitioner exchanges and communication. The chapter emphasizes empirically based and ethically informed techniques, as well as a group-work focus that shows particular promise with incarcerated populations to introduce therapeutic work, grief and loss, and support groups in valuable ways. Chapter 5, by the editors with J. F. Linder, is a brief overview of the intersection of gender and age and provides both a historical lens on care issues for aging women inmates as well as a heuristic model of tracking treatment for incarcerated women. Chapter 6, by N. Kanaboshi, addresses the issue of aging prisoner’s rights from legal perspectives. This chapter is perhaps the most valuable to researchers, practitioners, and policy advocates working in the area of penal reform, and the concise overviews of constitutional and statutory issues impacting aging prisoners and synopses of relevant sections of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are welcome additions to framing this discussion.
Chapter 7, by A. N. Blowers with the editors, reviews the continued debate over whether individuals who are incarcerated should be segregated by age in correctional facilities. This chapter thoughtfully considers both sides of the issue, providing convincing rationales and data to support ongoing consideration and policy implications for each argument. Chapter 8, authored by the editors, examines recidivism and desistence from a penological and criminological perspective, offering a wealth of information and data that shore up efforts to advocate for age-appropriate reform efforts, promote proactive policy and practice interventions across the life course that contribute effectively to rehabilitation, combat unnecessary expenditure, and preserve public safety and security.
Chapter 9, by J. F. Linder, addresses health issues and end-of-life care for incarcerated individuals within the system, with comprehensive overviews of current inmate health care, inmate mortality, palliative care, hospice, and compassionate release efforts. Presenting such a wide-ranging scope, in many ways, compromises the ability to address all of these important issues, but practitioners and researchers will find it an excellent start with these data as well as the analysis and commentary. Chapter 10, by K. Blevins and A. Blowers, examines community reentry for aging inmates, providing information on sentencing guidelines and trends on release of older inmates as well as a wealth of issues facing those reintegrating into society, including health care, employment, family relationships, and institutionalization. The concluding chapter (by the editors) addresses future directions in research on aging within the criminal justice system, with supporting research evidence on necessary policy change, moving from legal and administrative solutions to more risk prevention efforts and reforms.
Overall, Senior Citizens Behind Bars: Challenges for the Criminal Justice System provides a well-organized overview of a cross-section of significant issues of interest to social work researchers, practitioners, and policy advocates working within the criminal justice system. The book references over 800 recent books, scholarly journal articles, and government reports from a cross-section of disciplines, including criminal justice, sociology, psychology, and social work. Much appreciated here was its timeliness and incorporation of published and “grey literature” sources. Moreover, the book contains >20 tables and figures, which present relevant data in a clear and concise manner throughout, marking the text as an excellent resource for both beginning and seasoned researchers.
I would recommend Senior Citizens Behind Bars: Challenges for the Criminal Justice System for researchers already engaged in or curious in beginning work with adjudicated, incarcerated, or community reentry populations. There is also clear utility for its use in advanced graduate courses at the doctoral level, and as a necessary read for researchers interested or engaged in studies within the criminal justice system, or those seeking to incorporate the theories, methods, and practices described for policy analysis and research publication. The text provides a veritable road map for social workers interested in working in this field as the anecdotal, evidence-based, research and policy information offers timely data that may direct and inform their practice.