In it for life

摘要

Bingo draws a crowd; so does the baking class. Low beds, high loos and handrails assist the frail. Only the glint of razor wire outside shows this is not a social club. Detmold, near the German city of Hanover, is a harbinger of future prisons: once a pen for the young and hardy, they are now housing the old and feeble, too. In most rich countries, the elderly are the fastest growing category of prisoner. Definitions of old age in jail vary, but the trend is clear. In the decade after 2000 the over-55s grew by 181% in America (the total prison population by 17%); the over-60s rose by 128% in England and Wales (against 34% overall); and in Australia the over-65S increased by 140%. By 2030 perhaps a third of American prisoners will be over 55.