Human Rights and Prisons - Rethinking Crime and Punishment

practices, the rights of an ageing population – exemplified in policy and
practice – will require attention.
Over recent years, this group have become a matter of concern across
different jurisdictions. Aday (2006), Crawley (2007), Crawley and Sparks
(2005), Prison Reform Trust (2008), Stojkovic (2007) and Wahidin (2006)
highlight that the growth of older prisoner populations has a number of
ramifications that are rights-relevant, as well as challenging for prison
management. These include:
Concerns about depression and stress – The first-time imprisonment of
older offenders can bring particular social and emotional impacts.
Older prisoners who have not previously dealt with prison conditions,
rules and cultures are more likely to feel anxious, stressed and
depressed.
Health Care Issues - The rising cost of providing adequate health care
is a big challenge in meeting the needs of an ageing prison population.
Research indicates that older prisoners will frequently suffer from a
range of physical and mental/emotional problems, such as: arthritis,
hypertension, heart problems, ulcers, diabetes, emphysema, strokes,
hearing and vision problems, bladder problems, dementia, Alzheimer‟s,
Parkinson‟s and short-term memory loss. They can have chronic and
complex needs.
These realities raise issues of specialised medical care, including the
care of critically or terminally ill prisoners. In addition, there are issues
of more general health care. For example, given that prisoners have to
be pay for specialist items – such as hearing aids – this would seem to
place an extra burden on older prisoners who are more likely to require
these items. The needs of older populations also require consideration
in the design and build of prison facilities. Generally, the design and
practices of prison life (the stairs, walkways, distances, queues, shower
facilities and so on) are not constructed to meet the needs of elderly
people.
Programmes and Rehabilitation Issues – International evidence also
suggests that older prisoners are disadvantaged in terms of their
access to educational or vocational programmes. The reason for this is
that these programmes are often already oversubscribed and prison
staff can regard older prisoners as having a lesser eligibility compared
to younger prisoners.
Cultural Issues – Research has also pointed to the dominant approach
taken by prison staff to older prisoners. For instance, Crawley and
Sparks (2005) noted that while some prison officers approached older
prisoners with enthusiasm, voluntary assistance and imagination, the
majority tended to ignore them. As they put it, prison officers did not
want to be „working in an old folks home‟; frailty was redesignated as
attention-seeking or as a source of amusement; and the needs of older
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