What You Should Know About National Crime Prevention Month

Elderly Care in Lake Forest IL

October is National Crime Prevention Month. This is the ideal opportunity for you to learn more about the potential crime risks that your aging parent faces and make meaningful changes to your care approach that will help them to avoid these crimes and stay safer and more secure as they age in place.Elderly-Care-in-Lake-Forest-IL

 

Some things that you should know about elderly crime statistics during National Crime Prevention Month and throughout the rest of your caregiver journey:

  • Older adults ages 65 and older throughout the United States experience non-fatal violent crimes at a rate of approximately 3.6 per 1,000
  • Older adults ages 50 to 64 throughout the United States experience non-fatal violent crimes at a rate of approximately 15.2 per 1,000
  • Elderly adults account for approximately 2 percent of violent crime throughout the United States
  • Elderly adults account for approximately 2 percent of serious violent crime throughout the United States
  • Older adults aged 65 and above experience more identity theft than younger people
  • Approximately 5 percent of the older population throughout the United States experiences identity theft each year
  • This accounts for more than 2 million adults over the age of 64 throughout the United States
  • 3.2 percent of the older adult population experiences identity theft involving their current credit cards
  • 1.4 percent of the older adult population experiences identity theft involving their bank accounts
  • About 59 percent of violent crimes that occur against older adults happen when that adult is in or near their own home
  • Approximately 18 percent of older adult victims of violent crime suffer an injury during such crimes
  • Approximately 72.3 elderly adult households out of every 1,000 throughout the United States experiences property crime each year
  • This accounts for 93 percent of the crime that is perpetrated against elderly adults
  • Property crimes include theft, burglary, and car theft
  • Elderly adults are more likely to experience theft than any other type of property crime
  • Approximately 51.8 elderly adult households out of every 1,000 throughout the United States experiences theft each year

 

If you are concerned about your aging parent’s safety or worry that they will become a victim to a crime and want to take a meaningful step to protect them, starting elderly care can be a fantastic solution. An elderly home care service provider can be with your aging parent on a schedule that works for them according to their needs, challenges, and limitations, and ensure that your parent is making the decisions that are right for them to protect them from the potential crime risks that they face. Simply being with your parent can help to reduce the risk of them experiencing a crime against them, but the care provider can further this benefit by helping them understand the actions that they do that might increase their risk, such as how they behave on the internet and when they are outside of the home. This personalized approach to care can give you peace of mind knowing that your loved one is safer, but can also encourage them to have a more active, engaged, and independent quality of life.

 

If you or an aging loved one are considering elderly care in Lake Forest, IL, contact the caring staff at Companion Services of America today at (847) 943-3786. Our home care service area includes Northbrook, Highland Park, Deerfield, Glenview, Buffalo Grove, Evanston, Des Plaines, Skokie, Lake Forest, Wilmette and the surrounding areas.

 

Source:  https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cae0313.pdf

Jamie Shapiro