engleski

Legal Aspects Of Dementia Assessment Expertise

Judicial and medical care systems are two different scientific disciplines with different sets of knowledge and approach to the same problem: understanding the human being and behavior in the interest of just approach to his actions. Social, legal and moral norms regulate relationships and coexistence in a community. In most countries increase in elderly criminality has been observed, still low in figures compared to that of younger perpetrators. According to some indicators elderly criminality is hard to prove implying the existence of "dark figures". Some criminologists believe that "dark figures" of elderly criminality show strong public emotions that legal punishment is not the proper mean of treatment of the elderly and feeble persons. Thus legal norms do not explicitly address the elderly and their older age changes opposed to underage delinquency that constitutes separate legal status. The law does allow acknowledgment of phenomenological and etiological specificities of criminal acts performed by the elderly implying weaker punishment, individual approach and adjustment to specificities and differences of such age. Frequently daily judicial problem is: what to do with the elderly delinquents? During the expertise process it is important to determine if aging is physiological or if dementia has begun. In case of dementia, specific type and cause, course and prognosis need to be assessed with special insight into how important is the influence of social factors in a delinquent act. Alcohol abuse and some other influences cannot be overseen. These people are then labeled as partially or completely wayward. If greater criminal act has been performed or if there is social danger it is necessary to think of safety issues and proper medical treatment with institutionalized medical care.

elderly; demetia; legal issues

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