A Study on Causes of Elderly CRIMES in KOREA and Countermeasures

Lee Minh-yung,Kang Kyung-soo J-INSTITUTE 2017 Public Value Vol.2 No.1

The problem of the elderly is an issue that many people do not recognize among social problems caused by aging. In Korea, the damage caused by elderly crimes has increased every year since 1995. These elderly crimes are occurring commonly not only in Korea but also in other countries worldwide. More seriously, elderly crimes are increasing steadily at the same time as violent crimes such as murder, larceny, arson, assault, bodily harm, etc. Most of the elderly crimes were motivated primarily for survival and livelihood previously, but in recent years, the crimes committed by the elderly have increasingly fallen into the category of the major 5 crimes. The incidence and proportion of elderly crimes have been increasing steadily over time. In addition, some incidents of crimes perpetrated by the elderly population are indescribably horrendous, compared to those of the past, and therefore, thorough countermeasures would need to be mapped out. There has been a growing importance of practical research, such as the research into characteristics of el-derly crime, factors inducing elderly crimes, and polices for prevention of elderly crime, etc., from the stand-point of criminology in respect of crimes committed by the elderly population in Korea. Thus, it would be im-portant to analyze the characteristics of elderly crimes committed recently in Korea based on various statistical data and literature related to elderly crimes, and based on that, to identify the causes of skyrocketing elderly crimes and establish countermeasures. With the increase in the relative ratio of elderly crimes and elderly population, it is expected that elderly crimes would be highlighted as a serious social problem when the baby boomers join the ranks of elderly population in the period ahead. Therefore, this study was intended to investi-gate current status and causes of the elderly crimes in Korea, which actually occurred or were likely to occur in Korea in the period ahead and to seek countermeasures. Thus, the study can consider the following policy proposals for achieving a society without elderly crimes. First, it would be necessary to promote a shift in the awareness of the public towards elderly crimes. Second, it is necessary to promote and strengthen role-sharing among social welfare organizations. Third, it is necessary to create a pool of professional manpower for prevention of elderly crimes. Efficient countermeasures would need to be taken against elderly crimes by securing professionals specialized in prevention of elderly crimes in order to accommodate the aging and environmental changes. Fourth, elderly crime control system would need to be established by criminal justice organizations. Elderly crimes are accidents that occur in communities and require cooperation with concerned local authorities and organizations.

노인범죄 추이 및 관련요인에 관한 연구

이현희(Hyun Hee Lee),원영희(Young Hee Won),구자숙(Ja sook Koo) 한국노년학회 2003 한국노년학 Vol.23 No.2

본 연구는 국내 노인범죄의 연도별 변화추세를 파악하고, 노인범죄에 영향을 미치는 관련요인을 밝히고자 하였다. 이를 위해 노인범죄의 특정적인 변화를 범죄유형별로 살펴보고, 청소년, 성인 연령집단과의 비교를 통해 노인범죄의 특성을 분석하였다. 자료로는 지난 30년간 연도별, 범죄유형별 범죄통계와 사회인구학적, 경제적, 복지관련 통계를 활용하여 추이분석 및 회귀분석을 하였다. 추이분석에서 우리나라 국내 노인범죄는 아직 우려할 만한 수준은 아니었다. 노인 인구의 비율은 전체 인구의 11.1%를 차지하고 있으나, 노인형법범죄자 비율은 3.4%를 차지하고 있다. 그러나 지난 30년간 노인 강력범죄율의 증가는 220%로, 청소년의 96%, 성인의 72%에 비해 2.3배나 빠른 속도로, 특히 폭력성 범죄가 급격히 증가하는 것은 주목할만한 현상이다. 희귀분석에서 노인의 경제활동참가는 노인범죄에 부(否)적 효과를 갖는 것으로 나타났다. 즉, 노인의 경제활동 참여는 노인 개인의 경제상황에 긍정적 효과를 지니는 동시에 사회경제적 지위를 부여한다는 점에서 노인범죄를 낮추는 주요 요인으로 해석된다. 이를 통해 노인범죄를 감소시키는데 있어서 노인경제활동 참여가 중요하다는 정책적 시사점이 제시되었다. The purpose of this study was to explore the trend of crimes committed by Korean elderly people and to find socioeconomic factors related to these crime. Age groups were broken into three groups-the youth, the adult the elderly-to find unique characteristics of crimes committed by elderly people. Also, the tend of elderly crime rates for last 30 years was examined. Regression analysis was utilized to verify the effects of economic, social, demographic variables on elderly crime, Statistics on crimes and socioeconomic and welfare factors were used for used for the study. The findings of the study are as follows: ① The crime rate among the Korean elderly is not at a threatening level. Although elderly crimes occupies 11.1% of total crimes, only 3.4% of violent crimes are attributed to elderly people. ② The proportion of elderly people charged of a violent crime, however, has rapidly, has rapidly increased during the last three decades. Growing at a rate at least twice that of the youth and the adults. ③ The regression analysis shows that labor force participation of the elderly has negative effect on their crimes. The study recommends that measures be taken to increase labor force participation among the elderly population, and thus to enhance their socioeconomic status. This will eventually be conducive to reducing the crime rate among the elderly.

노인범죄 실태와 복지적 대책 방안에 관한 연구

윤두환,양혜경 한국교정학회 2019 矯正硏究 Vol.29 No.1

In the onset of the aged society in 2026, our society faces various problems of elderly crime. Elderly crime is an act that constitutes a constitutional requirement of punishment law by an elderly person over 60 years old. Elderly crime is a result of psychosocial maladjustment which is manifested in the deterioration of social function rather than the deviation of one individual. The study investigated the causes and actual conditions of elderly crimes, psychological and social characteristics of the elderly, criminal factors of elderly people, as well as crime status. Therefore, the study sought prevention and countermeasures in terms of the elderly welfare policy, and aimed to suggest the direction of welfare policy for the elderly. As a result of the study, causes of elderly crime were found to mainly involve physical, psychological, social, economic, and sexual factors. In conclusion, the study suggested elderly criminal management through social welfare professionals of the elderly as practical prevention and measures in the correctional welfare dimension, and suggested the development of welfare professionals for the elderly as well as the nurturing of government correctional welfare specialists. Especially for elderly crime, it is considered necessary to actively link criminal justice agencies with local welfare organizations and expand the appropriate national system of old-age income protection and treat the elderly properly with human rights. As countermeasures for the criminal policy against elderly crime, the study suggested strengthening of the elderly crime analysis of judicial institutions, and the introduction of a management system in social welfare institutions for after the release of elderly criminals. In addition, the study suggested the expansion of the welfare model of restorative justice in order to solve the problem through mediation and reconciliation with crime related parties. 우리사회는 2026년 초고령사회의 진입을 앞둔 상황에서 노인범죄의 다양한 문제에 직면하게 되었다. 노인범죄는 만 60세 이상의 노인에 의하여 형벌 법규의 구성요건에 해당하는 행위이다. 노인범죄는 한 개인의 일탈 보다는 사회적 기능의 저하에서 나타나는 심리사회적 부적응의 결과라고 볼 수 있다. 본 연구는 노인 범죄에 관한 원인과 실태 그리고 노인의 심리 사회적 특성, 노인이 범죄를 저지르게 되는 범죄요인 및 범죄현황을 검토 하였다. 따라서 이에 대한 노인교정복지 차원에서의 예방과 대책을 모색하였으며 이를 바탕으로 노인복지정책의 방향성을 제시하고자 하였다. 연구결과 노인범죄의 원인은 주로 신체적 요인, 심리적 요인, 사회적 요인, 경제적 요인, 성적 요인 등이 존재하는 것으로 발견되었다. 결론적으로 본 연구에서는 교정복지 차원의 실천적 예방과 대책으로 노인교정사회복지 전문가를 통한 노인범죄자 관리와 이를 위한 정부의 교정복지 전문가 육성과 함께 노인복지 서비스 프로그램 개발 등을 제시하였다. 특히 노인범죄는 형사 사법기관과 지역사회복지기관의 적극적인 연계 및 적절한 국가 차원의 노후소득보장제도의 확대와 인권기반의 노인 처우가 필요하다고 판단되었다. 노인범죄에 대한 형사 정책적 대응방안으로 형사법 차원의 노인개념의 재정립, 사법기관의 노인범죄 분석 강화, 노인범죄자의 출소 후 사회복지기관에서의 관리체계 도입을 제시하였다. 뿐만 아니라 범죄 관련 당사자와의 화해와 조정(mediation)을 통한 문제 해결을 위하여 회복적 사법의 복지모형 확대를 요구하였다.

노인범죄와 노인의 범죄피해, 범죄두려움에 관한 고찰

박강우(Park, Kang Woo) 한국피해자학회 2017 被害者學硏究 Vol.25 No.3

The elderly population of Korea over 65 ages is over 14% in total population in 2017, so Korea has been entered in aging society. Therefore, the crime by the elderly, victimization of the elderly, and fear of crime have been the serious social problem to cope up with. This study aims to examine the reality of elderly crime, to review the criminological theories on the elderly crime, to suggest the countermeasures on elderly crime and victimization of the elderly in Korea. First of all, many criminological theories efforts to explain crimes of the elderly. The Anome/Strain theory try to explain crimes of the elderly by the causes of the social isolation and strain due to the death of the spouse, retirement from the job, deconditioning of the health, and financial decline. Next, the Social Bonding/Control theory seek to the elderly crime by the loose connection with family, friends and other people and social isolation. According to the many research, fear of crime in elderly people is high than the young people, it is paradoxical allowing for the low criminal victimization rate of the elderly compared to that of the young people. This can be explained by many causes from the literature. Some researchers have addressed different components of fear, such as perceived risk, vulnerability, or feeling unsafe; while others have suggested that the victimizing crime determines the existence of fear. Still others have addressed the nature of the environment as a contributing factor in either minimizing or increasing the potential for crime and/or elderly fear. Finally, many social and economical programs have been suggested to reduce the crime of/against the elderly since the 1970s across the Europe and North America. The majority of these programs focus upon the traditional types of criminal offenses. These programs can be categorized according to the four major headings. The first two are intended to reduce the prevalence of crimes against the elderly. The later two are focused on the individual s behaviour tips to prevent crimes against the elderly.

고령사회에서 노인범죄에 대한 형사처우 방안

이상한,김재중 한양법학회 2018 漢陽法學 Vol.29 No.4

The United Nations categorizes countries in which more than 14% of the total population is over 65 years old as "aged society." As of 2018, South Korea has 7,381,000 people aged over 65 years who account for 14.3% of the total population. Therefore, South Korea is an aged society. As the elderly population is increasing, crimes committed by the elderly account for a larger proportion, and the number of elderly criminals are also increasing. This study examines the general characteristics of elderly crimes and the distinctiveness of the recent crime trends to find criminal law solutions for elderly crimes. First, the situational characteristic of elderly people who cannot be held for full criminal responsibility should be considered, and this is expected to avoid the danger of criminal punishment that can seriously affect elderly people and to control crimes through diversion. Instead of imprisoning the elderly, it is necessary to introduce the suspension of prosecution with supervision so that crime prevention committees can supervise and protect elderly people. Second, it is desirable to classify elderly crimes according to their special nature and to flexibly operate appropriate sanctions. In the case of traditional elderly crimes due to the special nature of elderly people, it is appropriate to apply protective disposition rather than criminal punishment to prevent their recidivism and guide them to smoothly return to society. However, elderly offenses that are unrelated to the characteristics of elderly crimes due to delays in aging and good physical and physiological conditions of the elderly offenders should be strictly punished within the scope of general crimes. It is necessary to introduce social treatment system for misdemeanors of elderly offenders such as property crimes, except for violent crimes such as homicide, robbery, and rape.

고령범죄의 사회적 문제와 대응방안에 관한 논의

명도현 한국융합과학회 2018 한국융합과학회지 Vol.7 No.4

Pupose : The purpose of this study is to suggest countermeasures against crimes by the elderly from having clear awareness of the social problems resulting from crimes by the elderly and investigating why crimes by the elderly are on the rise. This study was conducted to consider the social status of the elderly and discuss the causes of and countermeasures against crimes by the elderly as a way to solve social problems that started to stand out with the advent of aging society due to demographic change. Methods : To understand the social problems resulting from crimes by the elderly and find solutions for such problems, this study reviewed the definition of concepts related to crimes by the elderly and examined the factors affecting crimes by the elderly and measures to tackle them. The causes of crimes by the elderly were examined through theoretical research and the characteristics of domestic crimes by the elderly were examined to present concrete countermeasures. Conclusion : The influencing factors of crimes by the elderly were largely categorized into personal attributes and social-environment attributes, the former including physical and psychological characteristics and the latter including social and cultural characteristics. As countermeasures against crimes by the elderly, this study suggested concrete plans under the following four themes; change in approaching crimes by the elderly, tailored measured based on individual cause, establishment of dedicated institution and network and establishment of policies to prevent repeated crimes. 연구목적 : 본 연구는 고령범죄 증가에 따른 사회적 문제를 인식하고 고령범죄의 증가원인과 대응방안을 모색하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 인구구조 변동에 따라 고령화 사회로 접어들면서 부각되기 시작한 사회적 문제를 해결하기 위한 방안으로 고령자의 사회적 지위에 대해 고찰하고 고령범죄의 원인과그 대응방안에 대한 논의를 진행하였다. 연구방법 : 고령범죄로 인한 사회적 문제와 그 해결방안을모색하기 위해 고령범죄에 대한 개념정의를 시작으로 그 영향요인과 대책에 관해 고찰하였다. 이론적연구를 통해 고령범죄의 원인에 대해 살펴보고 공식통계자료를 통해 현재 우리나라에서 발생하는고령범죄의 특징을 확인하여 구체적인 대안을 제시하고자 하였다. 결론 : 고령범죄의 영향요인으로신체적 특성과 심리적 특성을 포함한 개인적 특성과 사회적 특성과 문화적 특성을 포함한 사회⦁환경적 특성으로 구분하였으며, 대응방안으로 고령범죄에 대한 접근방식의 변화, 개별적 원인에 따른 맞춤형 방안의 마련, 전담기구 설치와 네트워크 구축, 재범방지를 위한 정책의 수립을 주제로 구체적인대안을 제시하였다.

범죄노인의 처벌에 관한 연구 : 노인연령별 차별화를 중심으로

이영란 梨花女子大學校 法學硏究所 2011 法學論集 Vol.15 No.3

노령인구의 증가와 함께 노인범죄가 급증하고 있어 노인범죄대책이 절실히 필요하다. 그러나 여러 분야에서 각기 다른 연령기준으로 노인을 정의하고 있어서 노인범죄의 개념 자체가 명확하지 않다. 사회변화에 따른 합리적인 노인범죄의 기준연령에 대해 생각해보고 범죄노인의 적정한 처벌을 위하여 노인형사책임능력의 연령별 세분화를 시도하였다. 노인범죄의 실태를 파악함으로써 알 수 있는 사실은 ① 노인범죄율이 증가하고 있다는 것과 ② 범죄노인연령을 61세 또는 65세 이상으로 보았을 때 강력범죄와 재산범죄의 발생률이 일반 성인범죄 발생률과 다름없이 높기 때문에 61세 또는 65세 이상의 모든 범죄노인을 노인범죄에 포함시킬 필요가 없다는 것, ③ 71세 이상의 노인범죄 통계를 보면 과거 61세 또는 65세 이상의 노인범죄통계와 유사하므로 노인범죄연령을 71세 이상으로 보는 것이 타당하다는 것이다. 범죄노인의 책임능력에 따른 형사처벌의 차별화를 꾀하기 위해서는 범죄노인연령을 상향 조정해야 하고 연령기준도 소년연령기준과 같이 세분하여 처벌대상으로서의 범죄노인, 보호대상으로서의 우범·촉법노인, 책임무능력자로서의 노인으로 구분해야 한다. 또한 노인범죄의 육체적ㆍ심리적ㆍ경제적ㆍ사회적 특성을 고려하여 형사책임의 차별화와 함께 노인복지대책을 마련한다면 노인범죄예방 및 방지에 효과적인 대책이 될 수 있을 것이다. 특히 재산범죄율이 높은 점을 감안하여 노인들의 자립을 도울 수 있는 사전적 복지대책을 효율적으로 제도화하고 운용하여야 한다. 사후적으로는 노인의 특성을 고려한 시설 내 처우와 사회 내 처우를 실시하자는 것이다. 예컨대 범죄노인에게 형사제재의 일환으로 공공근로를 실시하는 것도 구금대체처분이 될 수 있을 것이다. 나아가 ① 정부 내 노인전담기구와 ② 노년원을 설치하는 것이 노인범죄대책으로써 효과적인 대응 방안이라고 본다. The term “elderly criminal” refers to an elderly person who committed a crime, and it is important to set a standard to determine at what age or older a person should be considered to be an elderly person to be qualified under the definition of “elderly criminals”. However, it seems to be unreasonable to simply apply the same age standards that are used in other fields (such as, retirement age, age at which a person is entitled to receive the national pension fund, etc.) to categorize elderly criminals since there are other variants and factors considered in the other fields that are not applicable to defining the “elderly criminals”. It is also because the lawmakers should consider the legislative purposes of the criminal law to penalize the elderly criminals and help the government to formulate and implement crime-prevention policies against crimes committed by them. While juveniles are considered to be legally incapable of committing a crime thus are subject to special treatment when they are penalized for crimes they commit, the elderly criminals are treated equally as ordinary adult criminals except that they are merely categorized in a different age group for statistical purposes to establish criminal policies. Such non-discrimination approach is problematic because it fails to take into account the natural effects of being old, such as physiological degradation, psychological changes and deterioration of their social status, on the elderly’s ability to commit a crime, even if it could be downgraded to the extent that it is equal to juveniles. This study was conducted to look into the punishments for elderly criminals and to take a pathbreaking approach to differentiate them from ordinary criminals by subdividing them into specific age groups and subjecting each age group to different sanctions. It is true that as our life span has increased and aging has slowed down, there is a high likelihood that the society would face a greater number of potential elderly criminals under the traditional age standard of “over the age of 61”. As such, considering the changes in characteristics of the elderly nowadays, it is necessary to increase the age standard to “over the age of 71” to discriminate and treat differently the elderly who fall into such age group having no or less capability of committing a crime than other ordinary adult criminals. Moreover, like juveniles, it should be further considered to subdivide the elderly criminals into “the elderly subject to punishment”, “the elderly subject to protection” and “the elderly with no ability to commit a crime” and find ways to treat each group appropriately under criminal procedures. Furthermore, it is necessary to subdivide the elderly criminals into more specific age groups referring to the age standard applied to juveniles. Since differences in the ability to commit a crime (i.e., ability to be criminal responsible or to be punished) depending on ages clearly exist, such crime-committing ability of the elderly criminals should be determined based on different age groups. For example, assuming that a juvenile at the age of 10 and an elderly person over the age of 85 have the same ability to commit a crime, the elderly criminals over the age of 85 can be treated as persons with no such ability and be accommodated at nursing homes, instead of being incarcerated. Likewise, assuming that a juvenile at the age of 14 and an elderly person of age between 81 and 85 have the same ability to commit a crime, the elderly criminals at the age of 81 or older should be treated similarly to delinquent juveniles under the age of 14. Also, assuming that a juvenile at the age of 19 and an elderly person of age between 75 and 80 have the same ability to commit a crime, treating the elderly criminals of age between 75 and 80 similarly to juvenile criminals would be desirable. In sum, the age of 71 can be the age standard applicable to define “elderly criminals”, and they can be subdivided into different age groups, i.e. under the age of 75, of age between 75 and 80, and over the age of 81, for the punishment purposes. As part of the age categorization, it would be desirable to establish prisons for the elderly criminal to accommodate them. In 2006, the government once had a plan to build a prison for the elderly criminals at Kyungjoo Penitentiary to accommodate elderly criminals who are over the age of 65, but it has not implemented it to date. The establishment of the prison for the elderly criminals would not only impose appropriate punishment on the criminals but would also eventually reduce the number of repeated offenders by enhancing the effectiveness in rectification and reformation of the elderly prisoners. Some scholars have suggested utilizing the “system for gathering elderly prisoners”, which is currently enforced in Japan, as a pre-step to the establishment of the prisons for elderly criminals. This system requires each local correctional facility to designate one building at a specific prison to place the elderly criminals together and effectively implement appropriate correctional programs for them. While establishing a prison for elderly criminals as promptly as possible is necessary to enhance the effectiveness in rectification and reformation of the elderly prisoners, the system for gathering elderly prisoners could be a desirable intermediate step toward the establishment of such prison for elderly criminals.

범죄에 있어서 노인의 양면적 지위특성에 관한 연구

주재진(Joo, Jae Jin) 한국범죄심리학회 2011 한국범죄심리연구 Vol.7 No.1

이 연구는 고령화 사회에 진입한 시점에서 우리가 노인의 범죄피해 및 범죄행위를 어떻게 바라보고, 대처하고 있는가를 진단해볼 필요성에서 시작되었다. 특히 범죄에 있어서 노인의 피해자ㆍ가해자로써의 양면적 지위특성을 살펴보기 위해 지금까지 수행된 노인범죄 및 범죄피해와 관련된 연구들의 주제와 내용들을 개괄하였고, 이를 바탕으로 추후연구의 방향과 대책들을 모색하였다. 여러 연구들을 종합한 결과, 우리나라는 노인의 사회ㆍ경제ㆍ문화적 지위에 대한 적절한 준비가 이루어지지 못한 상태에서 고령화 사회로 진입하였다. 그로인해 불안정하고 취약한 지위에 놓이게 된 노인은 범죄의 피해자뿐만 아니라 가해자로써의 심각한 사회문제로 부각되고 있다. 과거 대부분의 연구들은 노인을 무조건적인 약자이자 국가적ㆍ사회적으로 보호 받아야만 하는 대상으로 보고, 적극적인 노인복지에 초점을 맞추었다. 특히 범죄와 관련해서 노인은 주로 형법범이나 특별법범에 의한 피해뿐만 아니라 유기 및 학대에 의한 피해자측면에서의 연구가 주를 이루고 있었다. 그러나 오늘날에는 일명 ‘황혼범죄’라고 불리는 노인범죄가 증가하면서 이에 대한 연구와 대처가 중요시되고 있다. 노인범죄는 우리가 인식하지 못하고 있는 사이 양적으로 급격히 증가했을 뿐만 아니라 질적으로도 특정한 변화양상을 보이고 있다. 노인범죄를 노년기에 나타날 수 있는 이상행동의 한 유형으로 가볍게 받아들이던 종래의 문제인식으로는 최근 사회적으로 문제시되고 있는 노인범죄를 이해하는데 많은 한계가 따른다. 노인범죄의 심각성에 대한 근본적인 고찰과 사회적 위기의식을 지녀야 할 필요성이 있다. 즉, 노인의 신체적ㆍ심리적ㆍ사회적 특성에서 비롯되는 양면적 지위특성에 주목 해야 할 때이다. 범죄피해자로서, 보호대상자로서의 약자적 지위와 더불어 범죄가해자로서, 감시대상자로서의 비노인적 지위에 대한 균형적인 연구가 진행되어야 한다. In this study, I analyzed study related to elderly crimes and crime victim until now. So, the ultimate purpose of this study is to suggest the ways for a direction of future study and crime countermeasure in elderly crimes. Elderly crime should be accepted as important, and elderly peoples are key members of our society, and should be given a more active role in each segment of our society. By the examination results of the preceding study, Korea became an aging society, without suitable preparations regarding social․economic․culture status of elderly. Hence elderly in a vulnerable rank are criminal victim as well as criminal becoming serious social issues. The mostly preceding study has applied various social welfare and crime data related to elderly to analyze and characteristics of elderly in modern times and the changing reality of the elderly crime rate. Specially, regarding crimes, There were a lot of research about elderly as the criminal victim sides. But recently, An elderly crime so-called ‘dusk crime’ have increased, importance of study regarding elderly crime had grown up. Therefore, Now we should pay attention to ambidextrous status oriented characteristics of elderly in crime.

노인범죄의 원인과 실태 및 해결방안에 대한 연구

곽대경(Kwack Dae Gyung) 한국공안행정학회 2011 한국공안행정학회보 Vol.20 No.2

한국사회의 급속한 고령화로 인해 여러 가지 발생하는 문제 중 노인범죄의 중가라는 현상이 최근 들어 두드러지게 나타나고 있다. 이러한 노인범죄는 신체적인 노화와 정서적인 소외를 경험하면서 사회적인 활동이 점차 감소되는 60세 이상의 노인이 저지르는 범죄를 의미하고 있다. 이러한 노인범죄는 2000년대 들어와 급격하게 증가하고 있으며, 그 비중이 점점 증가하고 있다. 특히 71세 이상의 고고령 범죄자가 증가하는 특징을 가지고 있다. 노인범죄는 심리적ㆍ경제적ㆍ사회적 원인에 의해 범죄가 발생한다고 하였다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 노인범죄에 대한 실태를 통계자료 중심으로 파악하고, 이렇게 도출된 통계자료를 근거하여 노인범죄의 경향을 예측하고자 한다. 본 연구에서 조사된 노인범죄의 특징을 살펴보면 첫 번째, 노인범죄가 점점 고령화되어가고 있다. 다른 연령층대의 범죄비율이 줄어드는데 반해 노인범죄는 71세 이상의 고고령자에 의한 범죄 비율이 높아지고 있다. 두 번째, 노인범죄가 과거와 달리 생계형 범죄에 머무는 수준이 아니라 살인ㆍ강도ㆍ방화 등과 같이 강력범죄의 형태로 급격하게 증가하고 있다. 이러한 특징의 원인으로는 노인의 경제적ㆍ사회적 변화로 인한 적응의 어려움으로 인해 범죄가 발생하고 있다. 그 밖에 신체적ㆍ정신적인 원인으로 인해 노인범죄가 발생하고 있다고 하였다. 이러한 노인범죄는 청소년범죄와 같이 특정 연령대를 특징으로 하고는 있으나, 신체적 노화 및 정신적 피폐와 같은 차이점을 보이고 있으며, 일반적인 범죄자들과 범죄유형에 대한 큰 차이를 보이고 있지 않는 특징을 나타내고 있다. 따라서 이러한 노인범죄에 대하여 특정 범죄를 지목하여 조사하는 형태를 벗어나, 노인범죄의 전반적인 내용에 대해서 살펴보고 문제점을 해결하기 위하여 거시적 관점에서 노인범죄를 살펴보았다. 현대 노인범죄에 대한 해결방법으로는 첫 번째, 사회시스템을 개선하여 노인들이 범죄의 유혹에 빠지지 않도록 사회복지 시스템 및 노인을 위한 상담심리시스템을 적극 도입하는 것이 필요하다. 두 번째, 노인범죄를 예방하기 위한 경찰활동을 위해, 노인에 대한 인식변화ㆍ지역사회 경찰활동을 활용한 범죄예방활동 전개ㆍ문제지향적 경찰활동을 활용한 노인범죄 예방활동 전개를 통해 노인범죄를 줄이는데 힘써야 할 것이다. Among many problems generated by a rapidly aging society in Korea, the increase and seriousness of elderly crime is apparent nowadays. Elderly crimes refer to crimes which are committed by elderly people who are over sixty years of age and are experiencing physical aging, emotional isolation and whose social activities are progressively decreasing. The number of elderly crimes has rapidly increased since the 2000s, and it has been gradually important. Especially, this elderly crime is characterized by the increasing number of those criminals who are 71 years old or older. Previous research suggests that elderly crime is caused by psychological, economic and sociological factors. In this vein, this study examines the reality of elderly crime using various official and academic statistical data, and the current trends of elderly crime based on these data analysis. According to findings of this study, firstly, average age of elderly criminals is increasing. In contrast to the stable or decreasing crime rates of other age groups, the rate of criminals who are 71 years old or older is increasing. Secondly, elderly crime is no longer limited to crime for survival and livelihood, and is becoming increasingly violent with rapid rise in crimes such as homicide, robbery and arson. Based on these findings, this study suggests policy proposals for resolving elderly crime from a macro-social point of view. To solve elderly crime problems, firstly, the social and welfare systems need to be improved to effectively prevent elderly crimes. This tactic focuses on preventive efforts to address the economic causes of elderly crime. Secondly, as part of police efforts to prevent elderly crimes, the perception of the elderly people should be changed and efforts to utilize community-oriented policing and problem-oriented policing models need to be vitalized.

노인범죄 특성 및 노인범죄자의 처우에 관한 법률의 도입을 위한 시론

선영화,강동욱 한국법정책학회 2018 법과 정책연구 Vol.18 No.4

Our country entered the aging society due to the recent development in society & economy, in medical technology and in science. Accordingly, a criminal type is being shown by physical, psychological, financial and social problems as elderly characteristics, resulting in being grown an elderly crime. Especially, the nation is arranging several countermeasures in order to prevent elderly crime. But the elderly crime is in the real situation of being continuously increased. One of the reasons for a rise in elderly crime despite the national effort can be considered to be the weakness in recognition of elderly crime and to be the deficiency in a law on elderly crime. In our society, the elderly are still being treated as the object to protect who is a second-class citizen. On the other hand, an elderly offender is punished by the same criminal procedure as a general adult criminal without being considered its characteristic, and is being made the execution of a sentence. Thus, to avoid the growing elderly crime, the legal procedure and the execution procedure will be needed in line with a characteristic of elderly crime. Hence, it is demanded the legal procedure for punishing an elderly offender and the enactment of an independent law pertinent to its treatment. Accordingly, this study examined about the characteristic and the reality of elderly crime, figured out the necessity of independent law on the judicial action of elderly offenders and its treatment, and then suggested the specific theory of legislation for adopting (tentative name) ‘Special Law on the Processing Procedure and Its Treatment of Elderly Offenders.’ Moreover, as an institutional device necessary for introducing the special law on elderly crime, the opinions were proposed about the formation of professional manpower pool relevant to the prevention of elderly crime, the installation of the institution exclusively for the elderly, the foundation of a law court for the elderly division, the introduction of an education center system for preventing elderly crime, and the activation of a remote video judicial system. 우리나라는 현재 사회・경제 및 의료기술, 과학의 발달로 인하여 고령화사회로 진입하였다. 그에 따른 문제로 노인의 특성으로 신체적・심리적・경제적・사회적으로 인한 범죄유형이 나타나면서 노인범죄가 증가되고 있다. 특히 국가는 노인범죄를 예방하기 위하여 각종 대책을 마련하고 있으나 노인범죄는 계속하여 증가되고 있는 실정이다. 국가의 노력에도 불구하고 노인범죄가 증가하고 있는 이유 중의 하나는 노인범죄에 대한 인식의 미약과 노인범죄에 관한 법률의 불비로 볼 수 있다. 여전히 우리 사회에 있어서 노인은 사회적 약자로서 보호의 대상으로 취급되고 있는 반면, 노인범죄자의 특성을 고려하지 않은 채 일반 성인범과 동일한 형사절차에 의하여 처벌되고, 형집행이 이루어지고 있다. 따라서 증가하는 노인범죄를 방지하기 위해서는 노인범죄자의 특성에 맞는 사법절차 및 형집행절차가 필요하다고 할 것이며, 따라서 노인범죄자의 처벌을 위한 사법절차 및 그 처우에 관한 독립된 법률의 제정이 요구된다. 이에 본고에서는 노인범죄의 특성과 실태에 대하여 알아보고, 노인범죄자의 사법처리와 그 처우에 관한 독립된 법률의 필요성에 대하여 검토한 후, (가칭) ‘노인범죄자의 처리절차 및 그 처우에 관한 특례법’ 도입을 위한 구체적인 입법론을 제시하였다. 나아가 노인범죄에 관한 특례법의 도입을 위해 필요한 제도적 장치로서 노인범죄예방 관련 전문 인력풀 구성, 노인전담기구의 설치, 노인부 법원의 신설, 노인범죄 방지를 위한 교육원 제도의 도입, 원격 화상재판제도의 활성화 등에 관하여 의견을 제시하였다.