Google ‘scams and fraud’ and you will receive nearly 74 million hits. The subject grows on an almost daily basis especially as criminals tweak their cons to facilitate a particular victim. Here in Wrexham, we are no different to other parts of the country – we too suffer at the hands of criminals to offences of fraud in one way or another.
But, Wrexham County Borough Council believes in enhancing protection for its community members and has engaged the help of a team to work in partnership with your local Trading Standards Officers and your local Police Officers.
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Operation REPEAT (Reinforce Elderly Persons Education at All Times) is a structured programme of training sessions to health and social care staff, which includes volunteers, support workers, carers and professionals who have individual contact on a regular basis with members of the local community who are susceptible to doorstep crime and scams.
Health and social care professionals are some of the best placed people to monitor those at risk, as research suggests 80% of all such victims are already in receipt of health and social care services.
Starting this week a number of training sessions will take place here in Wrexham to cover both the town and rural communities. Working with our Trading Standards and Police Officers, Operation REPEAT will engage with our care organisations to enable their staff to be in a position to support and better safeguard our older vulnerable people from doorstep crime and scams.
Historically, doorstep crime and scam prevention was directed at the victims themselves, with the Police and other organisations using leaflets and meetings to pass advice onto older and vulnerable people. Unfortunately, leaflets are often discarded and those in need of the message may not have capacity to remember what they were told the previous day.
The principal aim of Operation REPEAT is to allow key messages to vulnerable clients to be continually reinforced on a daily or weekly basis by health and social care sector staff. By utilising the existing community workforce to deliver this advice, there is an increased awareness of these crimes within the community and a more targeted approach at prevention.
For more information or to sign up for training contact info@oprepeat.co.uk or Sarah.Andrew@wrexham.gov.uk
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