Senior Citizen Liaison Team: Reducing Doorstep Crime Against Older Adults in Bristol, Exams of Law

Download Senior Citizen Liaison Team: Reducing Doorstep Crime Against Older Adults in Bristol and more Exams Law in PDF only on Docsity! 2012 Herman Goldstein Awards Senior Citizen Liaison Team: Driving Down Doorstep Crime and Protecting the Older Adult Population of Bristol. The Senior Citizen Liaison Team (SCLT) Section 1: Summary of Application Scanning: The UK has an aging population. By 2031, 1-in-4 citizens will be over 60. Older adults are prey to unscrupulous criminals who use deception and artifice to trick and steal money from their senior victims; these offences are described as doorstep crime (distraction burglaries and rogue trader offences). In 2009-10, Bristol (population: 450,000) suffered 167 distraction burglaries more than the entire country of Wales (population: 3-million), and more than all the police forces which border Avon and Somerset Constabulary combined (Devon & Cornwall, Wiltshire, Gloucester and Dorset) Analysis: The average victims of these offences are the most vulnerable in our society;  Typically retired females  Aged 80-89 years  Living alone. They suffer significant trauma to their lives following victimisation, such as social isolation, increased ill-health, shortened life-spans, fear and loss of confidence. Older adults are targeted due to vulnerability, likelihood of being deceived and intimidated by the offenders, their lowered reliability as witnesses due to memory and/or health issues and their likelihood of storing large quantities of cash in their homes. Response: The Senior Citizen Liaison Team was established in 2010 by a team volunteer officers, staff and members of the public in the South Bristol area to specifically target the disproportionate number of offences in Bristol, and to reduce the impact of such offending on the senior population. The objective of the SCLT is to provide a crime prevention, victim support and social inclusion service to victims, and potential victims of senior crime. The ethos of the SCLT is simple, ‘If you have contact with the Senior Citizen Liaison Team, you are far less likely to become a victim of crime’ Many older people suffer from an increased likelihood of victimisation in particular types of crime, the SCLT focus on these areas and strengthen the older adult population through education and awareness. The SCLT have achieved their goals by giving crime-beating presentations to thousands of seniors in identified hot-spot areas. The message is also spread via the award-winning Senior Siren Newsletter, which is published quarterly and read by 20,000+ people. If a member of the senior community becomes the victim of a doorstep crime, the SCLT activate their ‘Platinum Service Scheme’ which provides an  To reduce the levels of doorstep crime over those experienced in the 2010/11 period.  To promote the scheme and expand to offer the service to the wider Avon and Somerset area and beyond. ANALYSIS Traditional police methods of dealing with doorstep crime, and specifically distraction burglary have followed the theme of targeting perpetrators post- offence and target-hardening vulnerable victims in areas of high risk. The difficulty in achieving this objective has been the lack of a suitable medium for delivery of one or more these services which has the capacity to reach a large proportion of the target group. Crime data has been analysed for both distraction burglary and rogue trading (Fraud by False Representation Other). The period covered is between June 2009 (when rogue trading offences began being recorded consistently on Guardian) and January 2011. Hotspot mapping for rogue trading is based on the same time period; however distraction burglary hotspots are based on a longer time period of Apr 2008 – Mar 2011. There are a relatively small number of both Distraction burglary and Rogue Trading offences reported which should be kept in mind when reading the following findings. Key Findings 1. The number of distraction burglary offences continues to decrease, reflecting the national trend. This has not, however given rise to increases in rogue trade offences as reported nationally. There is an average of 10 distraction burglary offences being reported per month in Bristol with an average of 4.6 offences per 10,000 of population. Since June 2009 there has been a steady decrease in the number of Distraction Burglaries being committed in Bristol. Year on year there has been a 60% decrease3. The decreasing trend reflects the decrease in offending that has been seen nationally. It has been reported in the National Problem Profile that the reduction in distraction burglary offences has given rise to rogue trading offending4. This is not the case in Bristol district. There is an average of 3 rogue trading offences a month in Bristol with an average of 1.4 offences per 10,000 of population. Offending has fluctuated since June 2009 however year on year there has been a 43% decrease5. 3 Percentage decrease includes incidents recorded as a Distraction Burglary in a Dwelling in the date range 01/06/10 – 31/01/11 (n=46) compared to the same incidents recorded 01/06/09 – 31/01/10 (n=115) 4 National Distraction Problem Profile, Operation Liberal (2010) 5 Percentage decrease includes Rogue Trade incidents recorded in the date range 01/06/10 – 31/01/11 (n=12) compared to the same incidents recorded 01/06/09 – 31/01/10 (n=21) This may be due to rogue trading incidents going unreported. The United Kingdom Office of Fair Trading6 state that this may be for a number of reasons such as:  the victim being embarrassed by the incident  fear induced by pressure from the offender  the victim not being aware they have been duped  the victim not realising that what has taken place is actually a criminal offence and feeling that nothing will happen if they do report 2. Offending fluctuates throughout the year and is not affected by the seasons. There is no clear seasonal pattern in distraction burglary or rogue trading offences, however it should be noted that offence levels are relatively low and this may impact on the identification of seasonal trends. In contrast, nationally the Spring and Autumn periods generally see higher offence levels. 3. Both distraction burglary and rogue trade offences mainly occur in the week during daylight hours. Historically, distraction burglaries have taken place on weekdays and this continues to be the case, with very few offences occurring over the weekend when elderly victims are more likely to be visiting or being visited by family. The large majority of offences occur during daylight hours, with a very small number occurring during the hours of darkness. Offenders may choose to offend during daylight as their victims are less likely to answer their doors if it is dark and their choice of MO will also lend itself to being during the day (i.e. during business hours). Although there is no peak time, offences are more common during the afternoon between 1200 hours and 1800 hours. 4. Victims of doorstep crime offences are most likely to be retired females between the ages of 80-89. In both distraction burglary and rogue trading offences, two thirds of victims are female. In Distraction burglary Offences 50% of all victims are between the ages of 80-89. When comparing victim age to the age of the general Bristol population, as age increases the percentage of victims becomes proportionally higher than the percentage in the general population. The percentage of victims aged between 20 - 60 is proportionally much lower than the percentage of people this age in Bristol (11% victims vs 61% of population). On the contrary, once over the age of 60 the percentage of victims is proportionally higher than the percentage in the general population (89% victims vs 16% population). Over 60s are 23 times more likely to be a victim than those aged 20 - 60. This difference increases even further when looking at over 80s (62% victims vs 4% of population). 87% of all Distraction burglary victims are retired. 6 Doorstep selling: A report on the market study, OFT (2004) Offenders are likely to target elderly victims due to their vulnerability as they are more likely to believe the ‘distraction’ method and are more easily intimidated than younger members of society. They also tend to be less reliable as witnesses due to their memory. Elderly people are also more likely to store large amounts of cash at their home address so offenders will benefit more from targeting this victim group7. 5. The main preventative for successful doorstep crime offences is for the victim or an outsider to intervene or question the offender. Out of the 36% of distraction burglary offences in which the offenders were unsuccessful, three-quarters were either refused entry to the property or questioned by the victim and a further 10% were interrupted by a concerned neighbour or family member. Only 15% of the offenders left of their own accord. In all of the unsuccessful rogue trade offences the offenders were interrupted by the victim or an outsider. Outsiders include neighbours and family members but also employees at local banks. In over 20% of these offences the suspect has taken the victim to the bank. In a few of these instances the bank have become suspicious and alerted the police however in the majority this was not the case. 6. Doorstep crime hotspots are mainly in areas with high numbers of vulnerable, frail or older residents.  Distraction burglary Hotspot – Bedminster There were 11 offences in this hotspot on 9 different victims. All of the victims were over the age of 75. A Council report into vulnerable citizens in Bristol showed this area as having a high proportion of frail old people8. Problem Analysis Triangle By applying the problem analysis triangle (PAT) we were able to analyse the problem of Doorstep Crime and plot our strategy to reduce the issue. Victim As identified in the analysis, victims of doorstep crime are usually aged 80-years+ and reside alone in urban areas with a high proportion of older adults. In the case of rogue trading incidents, it is clear that under reporting of offences has impacted the decreasing number of incidents of such offences. Historically, older adults have been not received any special treatment from the police and other law enforcement agencies and it is fair to say that interaction with the senior community in any beat area is entirely controlled by the local beat manager of the area. Some officers have positive relations with senior groups, whilst others had no engagement opportunities in place. 7 Distraction Burglary and Rogue Trading Problem Profile, Stacy Mansfield (2010) 8 Bristol City - Vulnerable Citizens, Tim Fletcher (2010) cost basis, the newsletter is entirely funded by corporate sponsorship and has become self sufficient thanks to the sale of message space to partners in all editions. Contributions from specialists (Intelligence bureau and doorstep crime team) played an important part in the publication and became highly regarded features whereby readers could use ‘live’ information to counteract their own likelihood of becoming victims of crime. The Senior Siren won the ‘Best Engagement Initiative Category’ at the 2011 Public Sector Communications Awards. Platinum Service Scheme With the knowledge that many doorstep crime victims are re-victimised we decided to initiate a programme which offered an unparalleled level of support to victims which was uniquely tailored to their individual needs. This concept spawned the Platinum Service Scheme (PSS) PSS caseworkers are allocated to assist victims in overcoming the distress caused by victimisation by doorstep criminals, and liaise very closely with a variety of voluntary and statutory agencies in the provision of assistance. Services offered by PSS caseworkers include: ~  Expedited channels of referral to crime prevention facilities such as Bristol Care & Repair services, SSAFA Forces Help, Gardening Services, etc.  Access to social inclusion trips which are run periodically by the SCLT to local amenities (National Trust, seaside, etc) to help victims engage with others who have similar experiences.  Long term befriending and support service if required (WRVS).  Enhanced crime prevention advice, including covert camera and telephone support if required. Realising that this aspect of the SCLT service would be very advantageous, and also mindful of the long term capacity of the staff to deliver this level of service, we approached the well respected national charity WRVS with a proposal to collaborate on the Platinum Service Scheme. This partnership enabled the PSS to be expanded to cover all of the City of Bristol and beyond to many other areas in the Avon and Somerset area. Again, this was highly cost effective and allowed the provision of an exceptional service with no additional police resources required or financial expense. Location Targeting the location aspect of the PAT proved relatively straightforward. Using the analysis to determine hotspot locations for doorstep crime, we arranged a number of Senior Safety & Awareness Fairs at prime locations in the target neighbourhoods. These events are attended by a large variety of voluntary and statutory partners who set up information booths and give themed presentations to the audience. The events are located at the heart of the community and are advertised by way of our crime prevention visits, letter drops, radio advertising, etc. Free catering, sponsored by corporate donations, ensures a high attendance from the target community and many hundreds of highly vulnerable citizens have received information and advice that offers them protection against future doorstep offending as well as many other social inclusion opportunities. ASSESSMENT Evaluation of this project was undertaken regularly during the delivery phase of the process. This enabled fine-tuning of the various aspects of the programme to make the best use of retro and introspective assessment of work on a daily basis. The Senior Citizen Liaison Team have conducted literally hundreds of crime prevention presentations to thousands of older adults over the 18-month course of this assessment. The location of the presentations have been targeted at high risk areas and neighbourhoods where an identified series of distraction burglaries have been taking place by making use of data provided by the doorstep crime analyst at the Force Intelligence Bureau. This has allowed presentations to be specifically themed for the most recent crime series and have allowed vulnerable older adults to be fore-armed and prepared for any potential burglaries upon themselves. In areas that have been identified as hotspots of doorstep crime (Southville, Bedminster, etc), the SCLT have responded by arranging Senior Safety and Awareness Fairs where partner agencies are invited to join the SCLT at venues to give themed presentations on home and personal safety. These events have been highly successful, with many of the most vulnerable members of the community attending more that one of the fairs. The Platinum Service Scheme (PSS) element of the SCLT has proved highly beneficial to the 60+ clients who have now been attended by PSS caseworkers. Many lifestyle and social inclusion benefits, well beyond the realm of law enforcement, have been extended to clients. Case study: In late 2010 the SCLT were referred to a family living in a high risk doorstep crime area of Bristol by a PCSO as being highly likely to become victims of senior crime. Mr & Mrs ‘K’ are both in their eighties and suffer significant illnesses which affect their daily lives. Upon visiting the ‘K’ family to see what assistance could be offered to target- harden them against potential deception offences, the SCLT officer noted that the ‘K’s home was in a severe state of disrepair and very poor decorative state. Their carpets and curtains were threadbare. The SCLT caseworker, working in their own time, arranged for quotes to redecorate and refurbish the home and submitted applications for assistance to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund. The application was agreed by the RAFBF and a grant of over £15,000 was allocated to fund the work, including significant home security improvements to the house. The caseworker arranged for the ‘K’ family to be accommodated at a RAFBF holiday home for the duration of the works, and they were able to return to a house which had been totally redecorated and was a pleasant and welcoming environment. A referral was also made to the Citizens Advice Bureau to assist with a benefits health check, which revealed that the ‘K’ family were entitled to more than £160 per month in unclaimed benefits. And finally, through the referral made to the RAF Benevolent Fund, the ‘K’s were awarded an ongoing maintenance grant of £35 per week for the upkeep of their home. Mr ‘K’ (83-years) ~ Local Resident of Hartcliffe, Bristol ~ “Since meeting Sgt Ash Jones of the Senior Citizen Liaison Team and being helped by them, we have received over £15,000 of help with redecorating our home and we have been on holiday to the RAF veterans home in Weston-super-Mare. I cannot adequately say how much thanks I have for their work” Sharing Success The SCLT have used all opportunities to promote the work of the team, including media and presentations to internal and external agencies. This has resulted in similar schemes being taken up by Gwent Police (Abergavenny) and assistance has been provided and collaboration on best practice continues with regular meetings with the fledgling teams. A recent partnership with the national charity, WRVS, has meant that over ten WRVS Platinum Service Caseworkers have joined the main SCLT and the reach of Platinum Service Provision has now expanded to cover the vast majority of the Avon and Somerset Constabulary area with the probability of expanding this partnership to cover the Gwent Police area.. Impact upon Crime It is important to note at this stage that recent statistics show a national trend towards a decline in recorded distraction burglary. However, since the SCLT came into existence in January 2010 there has been a marked reduction in the number of such offences being recorded in Bristol. With a 56% reduction in reported offences over this period. Perhaps more importantly, the victims who have attended the presentations, read the Senior Siren newsletter, or have become clients of the Platinum Service Scheme have received a level of service is truly unique in its caring and compassion for the victim/client. I feel able to say with total conviction, that older adults who are victims (or identified as potential victims) of doorstep crime in Bristol receive the highest level of service available anywhere in the country, and possibly the world. It also has to be remembered that all participants in this project are volunteers, who carry out their SCLT duties in addition to their core role as community police officers, and within their own time. Total distraction burglaries in Bristol ~  2008/09 = 137 offences. Appendix: Figure1: Distraction Burglary in Bristol (Showing decline of 56% since the commencement of the SCLT in the 1st quarter of 2010) Distraction Burglary ~ Bristol 30 27 29 41 58 40 43 2624 22 10 32 18 11 22 2222 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 Figure 2: Targeting Crime Hotspots with Senior Safety & Awareness Sessions Southville area of Bristol targeted by a series of distraction burglary offences in December 2010 SCLT responded with a senior safety & awareness fair held at local community centre within days of series identified. Figure3: The Senior Siren Newsletter (Mass communication tool) Senior Siren ~ Winner of the 2012 Public Service Communications Award (Best Engagement Initiative category)