To prevent elderly prisoners from committing crimes again, it is necessary to treat them in a way that takes their lives after they are released from jail into account.
Starting next fiscal year, the Justice Ministry will require prisoners aged 60 or older to be tested for dementia when they are newly incarcerated. The move will cover eight major prisons.
In recent years, there has been an aging trend among prisoners. The number of new prisoners aged 65 or older reached about 2,500 in 2016. The percentage of prisoners in the advanced-age bracket exceeded 12 percent.
According to one survey result, 17 percent of elderly prisoners are perceived to show a tendency toward dementia. The figure is slightly higher than that for people of a similar age in the national population as a whole.
After being released from prison, some people repeatedly offend by shoplifting because of dementia.
Mild cases of dementia are said to easily go unnoticed because work assigned to prisoners consists largely of simple tasks. There is a special coordination system to refer prisoners who cannot support themselves to welfare and medical treatment programs when they are released, but inmates whose dementia is not recognized may miss the chance to be included on the list of those eligible.
The percentage of released prisoners who end up back in prison after utilizing the system to put themselves under the protection of nursing-care facilities and medical institutions is remarkably lower than that of those who have not used the system.
Dementia tests on those newly imprisoned can be viewed as a necessary measure from the standpoint of deterring them from recidivism and protecting public safety. It is important to reduce, if at all possible, the number of prisoners with dementia who are omitted from the list of persons covered by the special coordination system.
Early detection vital
For prisoners perceived to have symptoms of dementia through tests conducted when they begin their sentence, measures would be taken to reduce the work assigned to them and give them training aimed at preventing further decline in their cognitive function. Doing so would also aim at curbing progress in their symptoms and providing them with effective corrective education.
Until now, there have been many cases in which prisoners with dementia get worse. This is because they have not been recommended to undergo medical examinations as long as their condition was not serious enough to hinder the work assigned to them.
It is said that steps will be taken to increase the number of nursing-care personnel for prisoners and to give prison officers training to deepen their understanding of dementia, too. Proper guidance suited to the symptoms of each prisoner is desired.
To begin with, different means can be taken if prisoners are found to have dementia prior to their imprisonment.
Regarding elderly persons charged with minor offenses, prosecutors offices are promoting efforts to assist them in finding a place to live when they are released for such reasons as suspension of indictment.
In some cases involving defendants with dementia who have been granted a stay of their punishment and are caught again shoplifting, courts choose to hand down suspended sentences on them again, for such purposes as admitting them to facilities. It is also indispensable for defense lawyers to understand the traits of dementia first, before giving defendants assistance.
The problem is a shortage of facilities that can accept such persons. The Justice Ministry and prosecutors offices should step up cooperation with the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, local governments, welfare facilities and others, thereby increasing the number of institutions that will cooperate in this respect.
It is hoped that the judicial authorities as a whole will think about how to handle criminal offenders with dementia.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 14, 2018)
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