South West overwhelmingly supports older people ‘hate crime’ law

Credit: Credit: PA

People in the South West are overwhelmingly in favour of tougher legal penalties for criminals who abuse older people, new research by Action on Elder Abuse shows.

  • 95% think there should be tougher sentences for those who commit crimes against older people,

  • 31% assumed crimes targeting older people must already be classed as aggravated and another 65% thought they ought to be,

  • Only 3% of people thought crimes against older people should NOT be reclassified as aggravated crimes,

  • 95% think older people are specifically targeted for abuse due to their perceived physical frailty or mental vulnerability.

  • Almost 89% think the government does not do enough to support older victims of crime.

The recent poll also showed that nationally, more than 95% of those surveyed across the UK support elder abuse being made a hate crime.

A new law like this would see crimes against older people treated as seriously as offences where the victim is targeted for personal characteristics such as their race, religion, sexual orientation or disability.

This would see more cases of elder abuse reach the courts.

Currently, older victims of crime – often targeted due to their perceived physical or mental vulnerability – receive no special statutory protections in criminal law in any part of the UK.

Academic research estimates that 465,000 people aged 65 and over are victims of some form of abuse each year, ranging from physical beatings to sustained psychological torment and financial deceit.