Proposals for the safety of older people

A Law Centre (NI) response

October 2007

1. About Law Centre (NI)

1.1  Law Centre (NI) works to promote social justice and provides specialist legal services to advice organisations and disadvantaged individuals from our two regional offices in Northern Ireland .  Our services are provided to almost 500 member agencies.  Five specialist lawyers carry out our immigration and asylum work and we facilitate the Immigration Practitioners’ Group which consists of lawyers and voluntary sector organisations from across Northern Ireland .

2. General Comments

Law Centre (NI) welcomes the publication of the Consultation Document on Proposals for the Safety of Older People in June 2007 and the opportunity to respond to the document.

Law Centre (NI) agrees that the levels of crime and personal safety are concerns for everyone, both young and old. Further that crime can potentially impact on older people in a number of ways, including being physically catastrophic, and/or resulting in long-lasting psychological damage to the victim. Vulnerability to assault and abuse can isolate older people, and the fear of crime, whilst difficult to quantify, can compound that sense of isolation, even, for example, when living in the heart of urban communities

Law Centre (NI) agrees that victims of crime need to be reassured that crime is being dealt with appropriately by the criminal justice system. This is true regarding the sentencing of offenders needing to be seen as proportionate to the crime committed but also that sentencing is acting as a deterrent to potential offenders. However it is important to remember that the criminal justice system should also be about rehabilitation and prevention and we believe the emphasis on custodial sentencing and increase in the numbers serving prison sentences can be counter-productive.

Similarly the completion of jail sentences is seen as important. We are concerned that recent media coverage on the early discharge of offenders will be seen by some older people as inappropriate and will cause them deep concern. There needs to be a greater emphasis on building an understanding of how the criminal justice system works as much of the public debate is ill-informed.

3. Context

Law Centre (NI) welcomes the Northern Ireland Community Safety Strategy and the wide range of regional and local projects and programmes that have been developed on the nine key issues identified in the strategy.

We also welcome other linked strategies identified including “Ageing in an Inclusive Society”, “People and Place” and “Investing for Health”.

Clearly all of these strategies go some way in reducing crime and the fear of crime and will potentially have a positive impact on the health and well-being of older people and their families.

4. Strategic Aims

Law Centre (NI) notes that the Northern Ireland Community Safety Strategy is currently being revised (4.1).  As such it was identified that “it may be appropriate to integrate the outcome of this consultation process in the new Northern Ireland Community Safety Strategy to ensure greater inclusivity of community safety issues impacting on older people”.

Law Centre (NI) welcomes this approach considering joined up policy development will produce considerable benefit on the health and well-being of older people and their families.  We would recommend that this approach include other policies that have a potential impact, such as regional procedures on “Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults”. Whilst we recognise that the proposals in this consultation on Safety of Older People focuses largely on Crime in the Community, we would also want it recognised that some crimes and abuses are committed against older people by family members and formal and informal carers.  A holistic approach seems to us the best way forward.

In terms of measuring success, Law Centre (NI) agrees that utilising and analysing information on recorded crimes in assessing  crime levels will be important, as will liaising with the many and varied organisations working with older people. Law Centre (NI) would, however, comment that older people themselves are the most important voice in these processes and ways to ensure their voices are heard (and acted upon) must be a priority. We believe that organisations such as Age Concern NI, Help the Aged NI and Age Sector organisations would be well placed to enable the voices of older people to be heard through listening events, group meetings and other innovative and inclusive mechanisms.

Law Centre (NI) welcomes the initiatives outlined (4.5 et al) and the proposals to expand the various schemes in relation to the strategic aims to reduce crime, fear of crime and anti-social behaviour experienced by older people.

Regarding the strategic aim “to reduce the impact of crime against older people and raise awareness of community safety issues, enabling them to feel more confident about their personal safety”, Law Centre (NI) would make the following comments:

	We welcome the carefully considered approach adopted by most agencies in balancing the need to get the crime prevention and personal safety message across against causing additional worry and increased and disproportionate fear of crime.
	Law Centre (NI) recognises the media as a key influencer in the balanced and responsible reporting of crime; on one hand its role in not increasing the fear of crime, but as importantly making sure that the message of societal repugnance of crime and/or attacks on vulnerable people is clear and unambivilent.
	Whilst developing a good practice guide on developing and delivering community safety is essential, raising expectations should be matched by identified, adequate and sustainable funding sources.
	We would welcome more formal involvement of older people; for example in the development and monitoring of projects to meet their expressed needs and in evaluating the outcomes of efforts.

5. Equality Issues

A series of questions were posed on evidence of higher or lower participation or uptake by different groups in relation to the policy within any of the nine categories.  Further questions posed concerned evidence that different groups have different needs, experiences, issues and priorities in relation to the main policy areas. Whether particular actions under any of the three aims that would help older women, older disabled people or older members of ethnic minority groups and finally whether there is an opportunity to promote equality of opportunity or good relations by altering the policy, or by working with others, in Government or the community at large.

Law Centre (NI) considers that the people best placed to comment on these matters are older people themselves.  Law Centre (NI) hopes that they have been provided with adequate opportunity to do so.