facilitation: older people's crime prevention events
safety of seniors - facilitation of older persons events
Ards & North Down Policing Community Safety Partnership wanted to reduce crime and fear of crime among older people. McGarry Consulting managed the consultation and report writing process on behalf of AGE North Down & Ards (AGEnda). 5 events were held across Ards & North Down, with all at maximum capacity (average attendance ~100 people). Almost a dozen partner organisations including the PSNI, NIFRS were also in attendance.
The events allowed older people to talk about crime, and how to reduce it. Young people were invited to help bring a different perspective. Videos were recorded, press releases provided and a report published that included crime prevention tips. The event and report were considered a fantastic success. In particular given the tight timeframe in which they had to be delivered. Partners loved the stalls element that allowed older people to meet different support organisations, often for the first time.
Was The Event Beneficial?
Over 94% of participants would go again to similar events; and wanted more similar events. The report was used as an example of best practice by the PCSP and Department of Justice. The events were promoted in PCSP magazines and highlighted as a best practice example by the Department of Justice.
McGarry Consulting have subsequently ran 10 more similar events, each attracting on average 100 older people. McGarry Consulting have formed an excellent working relationship with AGEnda and partners that allows us all to run events smoothly and maintain over 95% positive feedback.
Attend Another Event?
FEAR OF CRIME - VIDEO STORY
McGarry Consulting delivered a video as part of the consultations and facilitations. This was used to bring the events to life and highlight what they were like in practice. Support organisations were able to promote themselves, what they do and how to get into contact with them. The video and supporting materials allow many people who couldn't make the event to learn more, and for those that did go it provides an opportunity to recap. Our video is short (4 mins) and provides a great guide to how we run the events, and why these events are considered best practice by the PCSP.
FEAR OF CRIME PRESENTATION
At the end of the consultations, McGarry Consulting presented the results to the Older People's Parliament. This included overview of the events, the attendees, the partners, and the tips we learned on the day. Every participant registers at the door and completes an evaluation form before they leave. This allows us to confirm numbers and get immediate feedback on the events. McGarry Consulting's presentation, including evaluation findings, is contained below:
CONSULTATION PHOTOS 2016-2017
Photographs taken from the various events held across North Down & Ards. Events are well organised with audio-visual support in place, and a large number of partners and old people in attendance. The levels of interest and engagement from older people is great to see and ensures that everyone gets a lot from the events.
CRIME PREVENTION TIPS & CONTACT NUMBERS
At the event people were given plenty of opportunity to visit the stands and talk to support organisations (per photos above). Many of the organisations had advice leaflets and free goodies (e.g. alarms, pens). Partners loved the events as they were condensed within a week and allowed them to interact with 500 older people in an informal basis, and promote their service. Older people loved the event as it brought so many people together, was informative, allowed them to ask questions and ensured they got tea/coffee and lunch. Schools attended some of the events and this allowed greater interaction between young and old, and help explain their different perspectives.
A primary concern for McGarry Consulting was that we wanted to inform people, not scare them. This was reflected throughout in terms of comments, statistics, tone, humour, healthy discussion and informality. We also wanted to ensure that people would not be over-burdened with information. Throughout we provided real life examples of incidents and tips of how to reduce the risk of them in the future; and encourage groups to discuss how they would respond in such situations. McGarry Consulting provided each attendee with crime prevention tips on one page, and list of key contact numbers (including hours available and if it was a free call). This ensured that they had handy quick reference guides. Click/tap the buttons below to see the guides.