HEMTJÄNSTEN OCH DET BROTTSFÖREBYGGANDE ARBETET - En studie om brott mot äldre

Abstract

Aims and objectives: Crimes against elder are increasing in the society, both within Sweden and in Europe. The thesis aims to study the Home care that visits people 65 years and older, and to investigate whether the Home care can become a crime preventing actor in their everyday life routine. Further on, the study would like to examine if and if so, how the Home care-givers perceive the elderly as victims of a crime. Home care is the main actor that many elderly people meet in their everyday life. When crime affect the elderly the Home care can have a significant meaning in preventing crime and to be alert of what happens in and around the elderly person. This thesis aims to describe how Home care in their everyday work-routines can contribute as a crime preventing actor in crimes against elderly citizens. Method and data: The study is conducted qualitatively by nine semi-structured interviews by professionals who works in relevant field of work such as the Police Department, Social Services for elderly and Home care. In the thesis focus is concentrated on central Gothenburg in Sweden and on the elderly citizens living in their homes. The Home care-helpers in the thesis are stationed within municipal activity and do not include the private actors in the field. Results: The main findings are that the Home care do have routines in their everyday work which in some manners already can apply to crime prevention, although the Home care-givers are not aware of this. Also, the Police officers who do already work in field of crime prevention, are trying to include the Home care as a partner in a bigger cooperation that already exists in Gothenburg. Trust is significant in work with elderly people who has a vulnerability. Further aspects to consider for the elderly in their everyday life and as a victim of crime, are the consequences that they suffer from afterwards. An awareness amongst Home care can contribute to the understanding of the way perpetrators use trust and other fashions in their efforts to get into homes of the elderly, and are relevant to how crime prevention needs to be organized among those professionals who meet and are in contact with elderly and elderly victims.