Dementia in Prisons and Implications for Discharge: An Assessment of Older Offenders’ Needs in a Canadian Psychiatric Prison
Within Correctional Service Canada (CSC) institutions, about 24.1% of offenders are aged 50 and over, with 4.5% representing those over 65 years of age. Still, dementia rates within the Canadian system are unknown and there are limited programs in place to accommodate older offenders, despite the growing population.
By Kelsey Brown, M.A; Ashmini Kerodal, PhD; Lisa Jewell, PhD; and J. Stephen Wormith, PhDIn recent years, the population of Canadians aged 65 and over has increased considerably. With this, the prevalence of dementia has also increased considerably. In 2016, the Alzheimer’s Society estimated that there were 564,000 Canadians living with dementia. This number is expected to increase to approximately 937,000 by 2031. Research has also shown that patients with dementia demonstrate impairments in making moral and rational judgements, as well as a decline in social cognition, which may lead to contact with the criminal justice system with this typically low-risk age group.
