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Japanese news agencies reported on the 27th that Japanese National Police Agency released information stating that more and more old people are joining the ranks [lit: procession] of thieves. In the past year, the number of people over the age of 65 who have stolen things from supermarkets and convenience stores has increased by 343 people (a 1.3% increase), with the total reaching 27,362 people, comprising 26% of all reported instances of theft, almost identical to the number (27%) of “Young Thieves” (14-19 year-olds).
Allegedly, among the reasons given by “Old thieves” who were caught, 71.8% said it was because they wanted the thing [they stole] but weren’t willing to pay money to buy it. Another 13.2% said it was because they didn’t have the money to buy it. An additional 0.9% of old people just thought it was fun, and [said] that it felt like a game. In terms of the proportion of men to women, 48.2% of the thieves were women, 51.8% were men, almost the same numbers.
Reports say that goods stolen by old people mostly consist of foodstuffs. National Police Agency analysis suggests that perhaps these old people are concerned about their future livelihoods, and their motivation to steal is based in “thriftiness”. At the same time, the investigation illustrates that these old people have lived for a long time without society’s support, lonely, isolated and without help, causing the excessive psychological fatigue which lead them to relax their self-control.
