KEEPING SAFE EVENT IN DONCASTER

Dr Billings opened the annual Keeping Safe Event at The Hub, Doncaster College, on Friday, 1 December.

The event was organised by the Safeguarding Adults Board, chaired by Dr John Woodhouse, and brought together a range of organisations and individuals interested in safeguarding vulnerable people in the Doncaster district.

The Commissioner talked about his Police and Crime Plan for South Yorkshire – which sets the priorities for the police and has  three priorities, the first of which was Protecting Vulnerable People.

He said: “I spend quite a bit of time with the police thinking about who the vulnerable are in our society and whether there are new vulnerabilities that the police need to be more aware of.

“We are, for instance, becoming a more elderly society. People are living longer. But in older age we are prone to diseases such as dementia. We need to figure out how that could make us more vulnerable to crime or lead to more demand on police time.

“We are also using the internet more. More than half of all crime will soon be on-line. That will need a more digitally minded police force to deal with those crimes and a public that is more alert to the possibilities of scams and frauds.”.

The event continued throughout the day and delegates were invited to hear from a number of speakers and take part in workshops.