Older victims of crime need more support, says commissioner Eddie Lynch following release of new report

The study – published by the Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland - also revealed older victims emphasised a sense of being left to navigate the justice system by themselves, with one older participant stating: “It has broken my heart and confidence.”

The report, ‘A Different Crime: Offending Against Older People’, is a follow-up to an earlier report in 2019, and consulted with older victims of crime, as well as professionals working in the justice systems. It provides analysis into older people’s experiences as they pass through the criminal justice system, compared to the findings four years ago.

Today’s research suggests that several of the contributory factors for the poor experiences reported by older people, which were highlighted in the Commissioner’s first crime report, remain. These include limited adjusted services for older victims and a fear of reporting because the offender is known to them.

The Commissioner is now calling for justice agencies to monitor the experiences of older victims more effectively and to improve investigation and prosecution outcomes.

Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland, Eddie Lynch, said: “Although statistics show older people are less likely to be victims of crime, we found crimes such as violence without injury, criminal damage and harassment continue to have a lower outcome rate for older people than for most or all other age groups.”

“I’m disappointed that four years on, we are still seeing evidence that older people are being served less effectively by justice agencies than other sections of society.”

Today’s report found that when crimes are committed against victims aged 65 plus and recorded by the PSNI, the crimes outcome rate of 14% is the poorest rate of any category.

The report also suggests there may be some crimes which are simply not reported and are therefore not represented in official figures, suggesting a strong case for better institutional understanding of older victims of crime.

Geraldine Hanna, appointed as Commissioner Designate for Victims of Crime in June 2022, said: “The report highlights the lack of victim data and the difficulty in tracking the experience of older victims through the justice process. The system must improve its ability to capture the justice journey of older victims and the reasons why they may choose to withdraw from the criminal justice process.

“This is an area I will focus on during my term to increase transparency and ensure better outcomes for victims.”

Mr Lynch added: “It is crucial that older people have confidence in the response of the statutory agencies.

“I look forward to working in partnership with Commissioner Designate for Victims of Crime and other relevant authorities on these findings to ensure older people feel fully supported and safe throughout the criminal justice process."

The PSNI welcomed the publication of the report and outlined they will ‘look at it closely’ to ‘reassure and protect’ older people.

Superintendent Michael O’Loan, the Service lead for Older People, said: “This report provides very helpful insight into the views and concerns of older people across Northern Ireland.

“Whilst older people are less likely to be a victim of crime we know that they are disproportionality affected by the fear of crime and that this can have a detrimental impact on their quality of life.

“The Police Service will look at the detail of this report closely to determine what further steps it can take to reassure and protect older people and to also bring those responsible for such crimes to justice”.

The Department of Justice have been contacted for comment.