The over-50s account for an increasingly large percentage of registered crime suspects, according to new research by the national statistics office CBS.

In 2007, one in eight suspects was over the age of 50 but that has now risen to one in six, the CBS says.

The reason for the shift is an overall drop in the number of suspects. While the number of over-50s has shrunk by 10%, the number of registered suspects under the age of 50 has gone down by 33%. Among 16 to 18-year-olds, the drop was as high as 50%.

The over-50s are most likely to run foul of the law for shoplifting, drunk driving and assault, the CBS said.