Initiative: Senior Citizen Liaison Team (SCLT)
Institution: Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Problem: Older adults are often the most vulnerable people in the communities and are frequently targeted by criminals who seek to exploit the inherent fragilities associated with old age. With a higher than average proportion of older adults in the population (40 per cent over 60 years in some areas of Somerset opposed to 20 per cent nationally), older adult crime was having a significant impact upon in the community. A survey of people aged 65 years and older identified that 53 per cent had either been the victims of fraud or been targeted with fraudulent money schemes.
Solution: SCLT was created by Avon and Somerset Constabulary to address the issue of senior fraud. The team, which is fully run by volunteers, now provides a suite of bespoke safeguarding services which have been designed to protect the vulnerable elder community from financial abuse by telephone, land-mail or online.
Impact: In 2009, the number of burglaries in the Bristol area reached a high of 137 offences. By 2012, the number of offenses was reduced to 73, by implementing the strategies of SCLT. Since 2009, tens of thousands of elder citizens have benefited from the program and attending informational events arranged by the public presentation team.