Aging

1. 9/24/12 2:55 PMAs society grays, so do prisons / Keeping rising number of elderly inm… for facilities : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri)
Page 1 of 3http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120923002926.htm
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As society grays, so do prisons / Keeping rising
number of elderly inmates active a headache for
facilities
Makoto Inagaki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
In a room called "the care
factory" in Fuchu Prison
in western Tokyo, eight
elderly inmates sat at low
tables making small paper
bags last month.
According to a prison
officer, the prison went to
several businesses to ask
for ideas on jobs that can
be done by elderly people
whose physical strength is
fading.
The Japanese-style room with a space of about 24 tatami mats is equipped with
a small kitchen and beds. The eight shaven-headed inmates eat and sleep there
together.
"It's a last resort," a prison officer said. "But elderly people move slowly and
can't keep up with group activities."
Other prisons across the nation are grappling with how to handle the rapidly
increasing population of elderly inmates.
According to the Justice Ministry, the total number of inmates as of the end of
2011 was 61,102, down nearly 10,000 from the peak at the end of 2006.
Although this was in line with the decrease in criminal offenses, the number of
inmates aged 70 or older continues to rise and reached 2,524 at the end of last
year--2.9 times the figure at the end of 2001.
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2. 9/24/12 2:55 PMAs society grays, so do prisons / Keeping rising number of elderly inm… for facilities : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri)
Page 2 of 3http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120923002926.htm
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year--2.9 times the figure at the end of 2001.
Japan's prisons hold 765 "resting patients" who cannot do prison work due to
illness. Thirty-seven percent of them were aged 65 or older last year.
In Fuchu Prison, 172 inmates are 70 or older. Almost all have had stints behind
bars before. The prison has six resting patients and two need daily care.
"More elderly inmates need special care, and there's not enough space at the care
factory for them," a 31-year-old prison officer said.
The growing care requirements of inmates also place a greater burden on prison
officers. Some prisons have hired physical therapists to help keep inmates stay
physically active.
Hiroshima Prison hires a physical therapist as a part-time employee. Once a
week, the therapist helps six inmates go for walks and do other exercise to
prevent them from becoming bedridden. Kobe Prison also asks an occupational
therapist to instruct inmates on doing exercise.
Attempts to prevent recidivism have had a limited effect. Some experts have
suggested that elderly inmates who repeatedly commit minor offenses should be
rehabilitated at welfare facilities.
Ryukoku University Prof. Koichi Hamai, an expert on inmate treatment issues,
said, "Among developed nations, only Japan has such a high proportion of
elderly inmates."
Italy--another aging society--provides an interesting comparison.
According to Hamai, Italian courts consider which treatment is necessary to
rehabilitate elderly offenders even if they are given prison sentences. In many
cases, offenders aged 70 or older are allowed to remake their lives at home or at
welfare facilities.
Hamai said many elderly people repeat minor offenses when they are isolated
from society or entangled in financial difficulties.
"If they are imprisoned, it'll become more difficult for them to live
independently because they've been cut off from society," he said. "We should
create a system that links to welfare services from the police investigation
stage."
(Sep. 24, 2012)
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