In 2012, The New York Times (Dementia Behind Bars, 2012) wrote that "… the prison system [in the United States] could soon find itself overwhelmed with chronic medical needs". This presentation goes over the main points of this societal area.

1. Inferring from Data
Olivier Serrat
2017

2. Inferring from Data
According to Human Rights Watch (Old Behind Bars: The Aging Prison
Population in the United States, 2012), about 125,000 of the 1.5 million
inmates in the United States were 55 years of age and over in 2010,
representing a 282% increase between 1995 and 2010 (compared with a
42% increase in the overall inmate population).
Based on this data, The New York Times (Dementia Behind Bars, 2012)
concludes that "… the prison system could soon find itself overwhelmed with
chronic medical needs".
The New York Times proposes three "avenues" to tackle the problem:
partnerships between prisons and nursing homes to improve the quality of
care; compassionate release programs for frail inmates who no longer
present a threat to public safety; and, a revisiting of mandatory sentencing
policies that did away with judicial discretion and drove up numbers.
The recommendations of The New York Times seem sensible. But, things may
be more complicated if not complex.

3. Three Grains of Salt
The New York Times
focuses on dementia. Is
this because its
incidence, which doubles
every 5 years from ages
65 to 90 years, is of more
interest to an aging
public? (Alzheimer's
affects 5.5 million
Americans; this number
will increase on a par
with the growing number
of people aged 65 and
more.) To note: dementia
is a syndrome; the word
is an "umbrella" that
Alzheimer's falls under.
The partnerships
between prisons
and nursing
homes sound
feasible. But, it is
not likely that the
sometimes
violent crimes
that inmates
committed would
make nursing
homes willing to
take them (and
before that
entice states to
issue paroles).
The article does not
contemplate the
possibility that a
cure for dementia
or ways to slow its
progress might be
developed, or that
improvements in
the standards of
dementia care
might be achieved,
in which case the
recommendations
might become less
urgent (and
perhaps irrelevant).

4. QualQuant Considerations
Human Rights
Watch puts the
number of inmates
in the United States
at 1.5 million. Data
from the United
States Department
of Justice reports
that state and
federal correctional
authorities had
jurisdiction over
more than 1.6
million prisoners in
2010, which is not
the same.
Inadvertently,
perhaps, the
article implies
that all
cognitively-
impaired
inmates are
serving life
sentences;
what is more,
it ignores
other age-
related
infirmities.
The internal logic of the
article is suspect: it begins
with mention of rising costs
and evidences numbers later
in the text. But, financing is
not actually mentioned in
any of the three "avenues"
the article advocates. The
partnerships between
prisons and nursing homes
would cost money, of
course: so, does The New
York Times worry that
mentioning these upfront
would scupper its proposals?

5. From Sweeping Statements to
Small But Tangible Progress
In the current and foreseeable political climate, the review of "tough on
crime" policies that increased inmate populations (with long mandatory
minimum sentences, more life sentences, and reduced opportunities for
parole), let alone comprehensive plans for appropriate housing and medical
care in prisons, cannot be expected.
In the immediate, therefore, it is not likely much will change however much
one might want them to. Some richer states may establish separate units
for cognitively-impaired inmates and use professional caregivers; others
may train prisoners to handle the demented inmates' daily needs, which
might have the added benefits of both making these caregivers feel
appreciated and polishing their prison records. On a case-by-case basis,
there might also be scope for conditional release to home confinement
under parole supervision.
It is doubtless with small improvements, not sweeping statements, that
tangible progress will be made.

6. References
Human Rights Watch. (2012). Old behind bars: The aging prison population in
the United States. Retrieved from
https://www.hrw.org/report/2012/01/27/old-behind-bars/aging-
prison-population-united-states
Dementia behind bars. [Editorial]. (2012, March 25). The New York Times.
Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

7. Further Reading
De, S., Van, H., Verté, D., Broekaert, E., Ryan, D., & Vandevelde, S. (2015).
Treatment and Control: A Qualitative Study of Older Mentally Ill
Offenders' Perceptions on Their Detention and Care Trajectory.
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative
Criminology, 59, 9, 964–985.
Gallagher, E. (2001). Elders in prison: health and well-being of older inmates.
International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 24, 2, 325–333.
Hayes, A., Burns, A., Turnbull, P., & Shaw, J. (2013). Social and custodial needs
of older adults in prison. Age and Ageing, 42, 5, 589–593.
Maschi, T., Viola, D., Harrison, Koskinen, L., & Bellusa, S. (2014). Bridging
community and prison for older adults: invoking human rights and
elder and intergenerational family justice. International Journal of
Prisoner Health, 10, 1, 55–73.
Smyer, T., & Burbank, P. M. (2009). The U.S. correctional system and the older
prisoner. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 35, 12, 32–37.

8. Quick Response Codes
@Academia.edu
@LinkedIn
@ResearchGate
@Scholar
@SlideShare
@Twitter