£3,800 boost to help prevent Sheffield's elderly becoming crime victims

Age UK Sheffield received the funding from Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings as part of the Commissioner Community Grant Scheme which will be used to provide training on key crime prevention issues to all the charity’s support workers, as well as the design, print and distribution of awareness-raising leaflets for older people.

Steve Chu, Chief Executive of Age UK Sheffield, said: “People aged 50 and over, and particularly those affected by poor health, are at high risk of becoming the victim of scams, burglaries, and muggings, as well as distraction crime and cyber crime.

“Some of the older people who contact us can’t afford to properly secure their homes - windows may be damaged or rotten, for example, which increases their risk of being targeted by thieves.

“While general crime prevention information is available, older people can be a hard-to-reach group. The people we work with are among the most vulnerable in Sheffield - but they are also among the least able to deal with the consequences.

“The funding from the PCC will help us better communicate with older people by providing crime awareness-raising sessions for staff, and extend our home visits for our clients.

“We will also run information events – we will be taking a stall in the Moor Market on Friday February 24 and Friday March 31 to hand out leaflets and share advice and tips to customers.

“We’re very grateful to the Police Crime Commissioner for awarding us this funding. Working with the Police, we hope to help prevent the people we work with from becoming another of the Force’s statistics.”

Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner said: “Some older people will be finding it very difficult to keep up with today’s changes in technology and the opportunities this presents to criminals to scam and harm them.

“I am pleased that funding from the community grant scheme can be directed to help vulnerable people, providing them with information to keep them safe.”