When you think of certain age groups being vulnerable to crime, what do you think of? Does crime mainly affect the young, old or the ones somewhere in between? Well it affects us all but in different ways and to varying degrees.

Young people are more likely to be victims of personal crime such as theft of their mobiles or to be involved in types of crime such as theft, Anti-Social Behaviour and criminal damage. 

Younger people may feel pressured to join in with their peers for fear of not fitting in whilst older people face other problems such as transport, disabilities, access to building, etc which make it harder to access our services.

 

So how does Norfolk Constabulary help the different ages?

We have two dedicated websites for young people, Beatwise and Wisekids. Beatwise is aimed at 13-18 yr olds providing safety advice to helps youngsters stay safe, learn about the law and how they can interact with Norfolk Police.

Wisekids has been designed specifically for 7-12 yr olds. It features safety advice and information on the police, like the vehicles they use or the police dogs who work with them. There is also pictures for children to download and colour in, a story that gives them a chance to play detective and solve the case and a chance to crack the code the police officers use.

 

Why reach out to young people?

Research tells us that 24% of all children have been a victim of theft or violence. This is four times higher than adults due to young person’s vulnerability. Children are less likely however to report crime than adults.

Norfolk’s population was 853,400 in mid-2009, an increase of around 6,100 from mid-2008.

 

Helping older ones remain crime free

Norfolk continues to have a relatively elderly age profile, with around a fifth of the population aged 65 and over and one person in ten aged 75 and over.

People of pensionable age just exceed the under 16s nationally, though in Norfolk there are currently almost three pensioners for every two children under 16.

Older people are more likely to become victims of bogus callers / rogue traders.

Bogus Callers and Rogue Traders prey on the vulnerable members of society, often stealing irreplaceable sentimental items or taking large amounts of cash from those who can least afford it.

We give a high priority to catching and dealing with these people and have had a number of successes in tracking them down but we also want to help people living in our county to avoid becoming a victim of these criminals.

A section of this website has been dedicated to informing and educating residents about bogus callers and rogue traders.