HOMICIDE AGAINST THE ELDERLY: A RESEARCH NOTE* JAMES ALAN FOX JACK LEVIN Northeastern University zyxwvu By virtue of the type of data generally used (victim surveys), previous research on the victimization of the elderly is limited in two respects. Not only is the crime of homicide outside the domain zyx of victimization data, but sample surveys uncover too few incidents of victimization of the elderly to permit in-depth analyses. Using the supplementary homicide reportsfrom 19761985, we compared patterns and rates of homicide among the eld- erly and younger populations. Our results suggest that the elderly are in fact the least at risk for homicide generally, as has been reported for other crimes. When examining specific subtypes of homicide, however, the eld- erly are actually at greater risk than their younger counterparts for homi- cide committed during a robbery. zyxwv Singling out the elderly as special victims of crime, the first White House Conference on Aging suggested in 1971 that elderly victimization had reached “crisis” proportions and recommended making police protection of the elderly a top priority. Yet, research conducted before and after the White House conference has consistently shown that the elderly are victimized less than any other age group for most types of serious crime (Antunes et al., 1977; F. Cook and T. Cook, 1976; Covey and Menard, 1988; Liang and Seng- stock, 1983; Malinchak and Wright, 1978; Ollenberger, 1981; Ragan, 1977; Yin, 1985). For decades, lower victimization rates among the elderly have been reported in connection with assault, robbery, rape, theft, and burglary (F. Cook and T. Cook, 1976). Moreover, the elderly are reportedly no more likely than any other age group to suffer severe physical injuries or large financial losses as a result of crime (F. Cook et al., 1978). Finally, victimiza- tion rates for the elderly have been on the decline since the early 1970s (Covey and Menard, 1988). Most previous studies of elderly victimization have relied on survey data, such as the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ annual National Crime Survey (NCS), in which a national sample of persons aged 12 and over is interviewed about personal (rape, assault, robbery, and theft) and household victimiza- tions (burglary, household larceny, and motor vehicle theft). Because of a zy * We would like to thank Kristina Rose of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service for her assistance and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. An early version of this paper was presented to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) in Washington, D.C., 1988. CRIMINOLOGY VOLNME 29 NUMBER 2 1991 317