New research on crimes against older people released

Tuesday, 14 February 2012

The CPS is prosecuting more hate crimes, more successfully and with more defendants pleading guilty than ever before.

As the CPS publishes its Hate crimes and crimes against older people report 2010-11, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, said: “All crime is unacceptable but offences that are driven by hostility or hatred based on personal characteristics are particularly damaging to any civilised society."

The fourth annual report from the CPS has for the second time continued to include crimes against older people for analysis.

Although there is no statutory definition of a crime against an older person, prosecutors are now able to identify these cases and analysis of these initial statistics show referrals from police have risen year on year and it is important we continue to monitor these offences."

Mervyn Kohler, of Age UK said: “The rate of successful prosecutions involving crimes against older people is encouraging, and the process of identifying, recording and flagging a crime against an older person is robust. The escalating crime numbers is more likely to reflect the growing (and welcome) sophistication of the police and the CPS in this field, rather than signal a systemically ageist society.”

Click here to read the report in full.