A number of Japanese men and women over the age of 65 decide to spend the rest of their lives behind bars to escape the difficult living conditions and loneliness that surrounds their lives.
The phenomenon of the deviation of older people in Japan - especially women - is not the result of the moment, it has emerged a decade ago, and gets worse.
According to the "White Paper on Crime" published in December 2018, the proportion of people over the age of 65 in 2017 was about 21.1% of the total number of detainees, a rise compared to 2000, with the number of elderly in Japan Only 5.8%.
According to a report in the French newspaper Le Monde, elderly people arrested were charged with petty theft, most of them stealing food items, and some admitted that they preferred to be taken to prison to live below the poverty line or within the confines of unity.
"Tomorrow I will go to jail to see my 78-year-old friend, just like me," said one elderly Japanese man, "in fact, he is not a criminal, but he was arrested to steal shops in a small central market. Where he can enjoy warmth, food, and care when he gets sick, and he will be released after two years, I think I'll do the same thing someday. "
JAKARTA, Japan (Reuters) |
Geriatric diseases
The entry of older persons into prison creates new burdens for the administration of the prison service in Japan. Many of them suffer from diseases of the elderly, such as hearing problems and involuntary urination, forcing prison guards to help them wash or eat. Some prisons.
A quarter of the former prisoners, aged over 65, do not hesitate to commit crimes or offenses again within two years of their release. This rate contributes to an increase in the number of elderly in prison.
According to information provided by the Ministry of Justice in 2016, this situation applies to every prisoner out of ten prisoners aged over 65. Psychiatric examination of prisoners over the age of 60 is under way.
Older prisoners receive special treatment, as prisons begin to develop cells designed for older prisoners.
Women are more likely to enter prison than men. In 2017, one out of every five inmates aged 65 was in prison.
"The prison is a place to relax for me, I have lost my freedom, but I have no problems with my mind anymore," said a 78-year-old prisoner who told Bloomberg's website, "I can talk to other women and eat three times a day. , But they consider me pathetic, and they are certainly right. "