Merging ‘Critical Criminology’ with ‘Critical Gerontology’

Abstract

This paper analyses the extent to which aging has been overlooked by ‘critical criminology’. The notion of ‘aging’ is introduced and the paper argues that there are strong conceptual insights from another discipline that Critical Criminology should learn epistemic and ontological lessons: Critical Gerontology, One can portend that there are three key theoretical approaches within the paradigm of ‘Critical Gerontology’: ‘political economy of old age’; ‘feminist gerontology’; and ‘postmodern gerontology’. The invisibility of criminological perspectives is explicitly missing when one considers older people and crime. We can begin, however, by questioning what ‘critical criminology’ can be defined as and map out some of its leading theoretical approaches: left idealism; left realism; and culture of crime control. Ultimately, the paper highlights how insights from critical gerontology to critical gerontology opens up dialogue with older people and aging issues – a silent issue for too long.