'˜Half of older people more fearful of crime'

That’s according to new figures released by the Northern Ireland Pensioners Parliament – an initiative launched in 2011 to give older people a say on the issues that matter to them.

The worrying finding about the fear of crime has prompted the update and relaunch of the popular ‘Feel Safe’ guide for older people.

First published in 2015, the Department of Justice-backed guide received widespread acclaim and has now been updated with information on new schemes like Quick Check 101 and the Nominated Neighbour scheme, whilst also providing additional advice on how older people can become more ‘scamwise’.

Over the last few months, Age Sector Platform held 11 ‘local pensioners parliaments’ across Northern Ireland – one in each council area – with almost 900 older people taking part.

At each parliament, PSNI and Policing and Community Safety Partnerships representatives were in attendance, answering questions on local crime and distributing information about crime prevention.

Interactive questions were posed to delegates at the events on many issues, including fear of crime, with 42 per cent confirming they felt more fearful compared to two years ago.

“We know that the number of crimes committed against older people is relatively low, but fear among the older population is still a problem that needs to be tackled on an ongoing basis,” said Valerie Adams from Age Sector Platform.

“When an older person becomes a victim of crime it can have a much longer lasting effect on them and older people within their local community. Anything we can do to help older people protect themselves from becoming victims in the first place will be time well spent.

“The updated Feel Safe guide is a fantastic resource for older people and it’s very easily read and digested. It’s unique in that it has been developed for older people by older people and features crime prevention advice on everything from burglary to internet crime and details of organisations that support older people who feel fearful or have become victims of crime.”

The PSNI and PCSPs, alongside other partners such as Victim Support NI, will help distribute copies of the guide.

It can also be downloaded at www.feel-safe.org.uk, while hard copies can be requested from the PSNI by calling 101.