Aged Crime Prevention Officers
Written by Oliver Cumming
Aged Crime Prevention Officers aim to ensure timely and appropriate supports are available to vulnerable people.
Aged Crime Prevention Officers (ACPOs) are specialist police officers tasked with preventing and responding to instances of abuse, neglect and exploitation against vulnerable people including the elderly, people with disability or people experiencing homelessness.
What do ACPOs do?
ACPOs work in partnership with local police, stakeholders, and community groups to develop and implement crime prevention strategies. ACPOs aim to ensure timely and appropriate supports are available to vulnerable people.
ACPOs support vulnerable people by:
- providing support to vulnerable victims by conducting safety audits, referrals to appropriate services and follow-up
- monitoring victimisation and offending patterns involving vulnerable people and developing effective strategies to address them
- providing local police with education and training relevant to abuse of older people, people with disability and homelessness
- monitoring, reviewing and providing tactical advice to local police on the operational response to crime involving older people, people with disability and people experiencing homelessness
- participating in community events, forums and awareness campaigns to promote ageing and disability abuse prevention strategies.
The Ageing and Disability Commission have prepared a list of locations and contact details of ACPOs in NSW.
Contact the Guardian Support Unit
Contact the Guardian Support Unit on 1300 361 389 or pg.engagement@opg.nsw.gov.au.
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