Safety in Old Age

During 2009, 1,716 people in the City of Lugano were victims of property-related crimes. Of these, 194, representing 11.3%, were elderly people, meaning those over 70 years of age. The crimes that these people were most frequently victims of included fraud, pickpocketing, burglary, robbery, and personal data abuse.

Although, from a statistical point of view, elderly people are not more exposed to property crimes than others, the City has joined the national campaign for the prevention of crime against the elderly, launched at the national level by the Intercantonal Center for Crime Prevention (Prevenzione Svizzera della Criminalità). This decision was made because it was considered very important to safeguard the safety of a segment of the population that is potentially more vulnerable.

For the "Safety in Old Age" campaign, an information booklet – accompanied by a letter from the City – was sent out. It contained advice on how to behave in order to prevent these crimes.

The campaign also included an evaluation phase through a questionnaire submitted to a sample of elderly people.

The following organizations actively collaborated on the project: Associazione ticinese terza età (ATTE), Pro Senectute Ticino e Moesano, and the Istituti sociali comunali.