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Sentences for targeting elderly not set to change
27 September 2009 By John Burke, Public Affairs Correspondent
The government looks set to resist calls for longer sentences for criminals who target elderly people, following the death last week of 82-year-old Paddy Barry.
The grandfather of entertainer Keith Barry died six days after a break-in at his Mount Sion Avenue home in Waterford city.
Senior gardai told The Sunday Business Post that there was no indication that elderly people were more at risk despite an increase in certain types of burglaries.
Keith Barry had told RTE radio that his grandfather had been beaten and had sustained a broken arm during the robbery, but preliminary postmortem results now show that there was no indication of a physical attack. Gardai believe the retired widower may have suffered injuries consistent with a fall.
Central Statistics Office figures for 2009 show that 12,608 burglaries occurred up to mid-year, and the final number is expected to surpass the 24,707 burglaries last year. An upswing in the number of burglaries occurred in the fourth quarter of each of the past three years. Figures also showed that aggravated burglaries - involving a weapon or violence - were on the increase.
Age Action, the advocacy group for older persons, highlighted the fact that pensioners were less likely to be victims of crime compared to other age groups.
The risk of becoming a victim of crime falls dramatically once people pass their mid40s.A person aged between 25 and 44 has a one in 20 chance of being a victim of crime. That falls to one in 30 for those aged between 45 and 64. Over-65s have a one-in-58 chance of being a victim of crime.
However, over-65s are three times more likely to fear for their wellbeing when walking home in their own neighbourhood after dark, compared to younger people.
In 2006, there were 105,700 victims of crime recorded in the state. Of these, 41,200 victims were aged 18 to 24,while 8,300 victims were aged 65 or older.
The previous census showed that there was roughly the same number of people from each age group living in the state - 463,000 people aged 18-24 and 476,000 aged 65 plus. In total, 4.6 per cent of the population were victims of crime according to the Crime Council’s 2006 study. Almost 9 per cent of all 18-24s were victims of crime while only 1.7 per cent those aged over 65 fell into the same category, according to a major study by the National Crime Council.
Age Action has, in the past, warned against overemphasising the risk of attack or criminal injury to which older people are exposed.
‘‘We are anxious that older people do not respond to this latest attack by retreating into fortified homes, for fear of being victims of crime," said Eamon Timmins, Age Action’s head of advocacy and communications, last week.
Monitored alarm company Eircom PhoneWatch’s most recentlypublished nationwide burglary report showed that eight out of ten burglaries occurred while the residents were at home. Typical break-ins happen between noon and 4pm, and involve breaching a rear door or window.
CSO figures obtained by this newspaper show that, on average, older persons are as likely to be targeted for burglary in their home as any other age group. However, they are six times less likely to suffer a robbery from the person compared to a person aged 20 or under.
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