BENGALURU: Police Commissioner B Dayananda said the Bengaluru City Police will take the initiative to create road safety awareness among elders.
Taking part in World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on Thursday, Dayananda said that while elders face psychological and physical abuse at home, they were more prone to crimes such as theft, chain snatching and road accidents.
“Statistics reveal that elders are vulnerable to road accidents and 60% of the pedestrians killed are senior citizens. To stop this trend, Bengaluru Traffic Police will be holding programmes to create awareness,” he said.
On the occasion, Elders Helpline 1090 and Elderline 14567 (National Helpline for senior citizens) conducted a workshop on the Role of Police in Combating Elder Abuse with special emphasis on Cyber Safety of the Elderly.
Dr Radha S Murthy, managing trustee at Nightingales Medical Trust, who inaugurated the workshop, said, “There has been a 251 per cent increase in cases related to elder abuse, most of which are property related; 35 per cent of the cases are about verbal abuse, while 30 per cent are physical.”
Police officials also shared details of the steps they had taken for the safety of elders, and said all police stations have been asked to compile a list of senior citizens living alone in their areas and conduct monthly meetings with them to address their issues.
Addressing cyber crime against Elders, Santosh, Inspector of the Cyber Crime Division shared a few tips with the elders present at the conference, on being wary of fraudulent messages and calls.