Cllr Mo Marsh

In a review brought to the Environment Scrutiny Committee and presented by Cllr Mo Marsh, fresh recommendations on safety and perceived fear of crime felt by older people were heard.
 
Chair of the Panel, Cllr Mo Marsh said:
“Fear of crime amongst the elderly is a problem that deserves to be tackled properly by this local authority.  However, it is not an issue that can be dealt with in isolation.  We heard from residents, Age Concern,  East Sussex Fire Brigade and experts from the NHS.
 
"The most worrying factor for me was the issue of domestic violence.  The common perception of the little old lady being scared to leave her house and the perceived fear of crime that is felt from the outside world is actually incomparable to the largely unknown, unreported and unpublicised levels of domestic violence against the elderly in their own homes.”
 
One of the committee's key findings was the availability of information and how it is best delivered to older people.  It was recommended that any future information for older people about community safety must be user-friendly, clear in its purpose and its intended audience.
 
Investigations around older people and alcohol abuse were still outstanding.  However it was recognized as a neglected area of research and that the needs of older people with alcohol problems were often overlooked within the general population and that they were likely to suffer from serious health issues.
 
The review from the Scrutiny department at  Brighton and Hove City Council also placed great importance on information sharing in the area of domestic violence against older people, in order to tackle the lower levels of awareness on this difficult subject.  The Chair of the review argued that there was a need to better protect older people in the community from domestic violence and abuse, in the same way that it would take to protect against violence in the home that face women and children.

For more information about Brighton and Hove Council view:
www.brighton-hove.gov.uk