Report: Elderly crime victims being failed by the police

The level of care shown to elderly crime victims is not good enough in more than half of cases, according to a report.

The treatment of crime victims aged over 60 was examined for the first time by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI).

They looked at 32 cases from each of six police forces: Greater Manchester, North Wales, Dorset, Humberside, Cambridgeshire and Gloucestershire.

Of the 192 cases, the care shown to victims was not good enough in 101.

Some 153 cases should have been referred by police to a local council for safeguarding purposes but this did not happen in around half of them.

The report said crime against older people was not well understood, adding: “There has been little police analysis of the problem, including the links to disability hate crime and domestic abuse.

“We found that police forces had only a superficial understanding of the problems, although all had recognised that fraud was an increasingly common concern for older victims.

“We were concerned to find that the number of crimes against older people referred by the police to the CPS has declined for two consecutive years, but there has been no co-ordinated action to find out why and what should be done.”

In one case, a 70-year-old wanting help with managing finances gave her bank details to the friend of a neighbour but she was taken advantage of and large amounts of money stolen.

It took 11 days for police to visit and two months for the suspect to be invited to an interview.

The elderly lady was not helped to go through her bank statements to see exactly what had been stolen and the case was eventually dropped due to lack of evidence.

HM Inspector of Constabulary, Wendy Williams, said: “As people are living increasingly longer, it is imperative that the needs of older people are properly understood by those charged with protecting them.

“While the care and concern of police officers for all victims of crime cannot be doubted, older victims often present unique challenges which need to be considered.”

Deputy Chief Constable Janette McCormick from the College of Policing said: “It is concerning the inspectors found the service to some elderly people fell below expected standards and we will be working with agencies, including the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Crown Prosecution Service, to examine the report and its recommendations in detail and continue to support policing to improve the protection of vulnerable people, whatever their age.”

A CPS spokesman said: “Over the next six months we will improve how we identify cases where older people have been deliberately targeted and consider if they need assistance such as intermediaries or interpreters in court.

“We will also make better use of restraining orders and other ancillary measures that further protect victims beyond any sentence given to offenders.”

(c) Sky News 2019: Report: Elderly crime victims being failed by the police