Old And Facing Federal Prison

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) incarcerates nearly 160,000 inmates in its 122 institutions. Of those, less than 3% (4,544) are over the age of 65, many of them have been in prison for many years. However, older inmates, particularly incoming white-collar offenders, pose challenging issues for the BOP.

According to the BOP, most of those in federal prison, nearly half, are in for drug offenses, and 22% are there for weapons/explosives/arson … few of these type of crimes involve senior citizens. However, older Americans who participate in fraud can face years in prison similar to those with drug or other offenses. With their incarceration comes additional challenges for the BOP that struggles with a myriad of problems including shortages of staff.