NSW Government announces specialist officers to crack down on abuse of vulnerable people

The NSW Government have announced that all 58 area commands across the state will gain at least one specialist Child Protection Officer as well as a dedicated Elder Abuse Prevention Office as part of their $583m investment into the NSW Police Force.

The funding for 1,500 new officers over the next four years is a record investment and the most substantial increase to the NSW Police Force in more than three decades. This investment is to start from 1 July 2019 when the government will work alongside Police Commissioner, Mick Fuller, to determine which locations to station the officers.

Following consultation between the Police Association of NSW and police commands across the state, two critical areas were identified as needing better policing resources: child protection and elder abuse.

The Minister for Police, Troy Grant, said protecting the most vulnerable members of our community - our children and the elderly - is undoubtedly one of the most crucial roles that the NSW Police can perform. Grant commented that the new funding will “ensure people have greater capability to keep a watchful eye on known offenders against children, and ensure our elderly are better protected from abuse.”

Alarming figures of Elder Abuse

A recent report from the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) disclosed that 46% of calls made to the NSW Elder Abuse hotline were in relation to financial abuse. This covers the misuse of powers of attorney, coerced changes to wills, unethical trading in title to property and the coercion of people without capacity into signing documents that will provide the perpetrator with access to their assets.

The study also warned that this is likely to get worse over the coming decades as the Australian population gets increasingly older. It is believed that by 2050, just over a fifth of the population will be over 65 years of age, with 5% of the population projected to be aged 85 and over.

Specialist Elder Abuse Officers will be established as part of the Crime Management Units and will specifically look at ways to prevent and support these vulnerable victims. During the announcement, Premier Gladys Berejiklian stated that “elder abuse is a big issue in the community and more cases of that are now being reported.”

However, Ms Berejiklian noted that NSW has some of the lowest crime rates in 20 years and that with the investment of an additional 1,500 police officers, “our men and women in blue will be able to meet future crime challenges head on.”

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