CRANSTON, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island’s prison population is continuing to shrink as the percentage of older inmates rises.

WPRI reports a 2018 Department of Corrections Population Report indicates one in four adults in the state’s correctional institutions in 2018 was over the age of 50, with more than 7% over 60.

The 2009 population report disclosed that 17% of inmates were over 50 and 5% were over 60.

The department says it categorizes inmates 50 and older as geriatric.

The American Civil Liberties Union is also watching the aging prison population closely. Steve Brown, executive director of the ACLU of Rhode Island, says everyone “should be concerned as taxpayers.”

Data compiled by the nonprofit projects the number of elderly inmates to triple in the next 15 years.

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Information from: WPRI-TV, http://www.wpri.com