More than 3,300 crimes - mostly violence - recorded in Lancashire Care Homes in the last five years
Violence, theft, homicide and sexual offences have been recorded in care homes and nursing homes in Lancashire.
More than 3,300 crimes have been committed in care homes and nursing homes across across the county in the past five years, with violent offences making up an eye-watering 58 per cent of recorded crime.
Data obtained by Liverpool-based law firm Legal Expert, under Freedom of Information laws, reveals Lancashire Police has recorded 3,376 crimes in the county’s care homes since 2019 with violence, criminal damage, theft and sexual offences the most prevalent.
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The most common type of offence recorded by police was violence, including with and without injury, of which there were 1,947 instances.
These could include; hitting, slapping, punching, kicking, hair-pulling, rough handling and scalding, according to the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)
Criminal damage was the second most prevalent, with 395 on record since 2019, this is not including arson, of which there were 23 separate offences.
Theft offences were the third most common type of crime, of which 309 were logged including; theft from a person and theft of a motor vehicle.
A total of 226 sexual offences have been recorded as taking place in a Lancashire care home setting in the past five years, including 31 rape offences.
Three homicides were also logged by police, two in 2021/22 and another in 2023/24.
Lancashire Police, who cover areas including; Blackpool, Lancaster and Moreambe to Preston, Chorley and Blackburn, recorded a total of 806 criminal offences in care homes between 2020/21, up from 770 the previous year.
Figures then fell by 21 per cenr to 637 recorded crimes in 2021/22. A further 627 were logged the following year as well as 536 between 2023/24.
A spokesman for Legal Expert said: “In the majority of cases (1,138), police confirmed that they had identified a suspect of the crime however, “evidential difficulties prevented further action.”
“This can include instances where the victim has withdrawn support for further police investigation for one reason or another.
“However, the second most common police outcome of crimes in Lancashire care homes was that prosecution was prevented because the identified suspect was deemed too ill (mentally or physically) to prosecute, of which there were 580 instances in the last five years.
“Lancashire Police confirmed 100 cases that resulted in a charge, summons or postal requisition since 2019 as well as a further 14 cases that are still under investigation.
“If you or a loved one has suffered hard that could have been prevented due to negligent actions in a care home, LegalExpert has a team of specialists on hand to offer free advice and guidance.”
The compaby operates a 24-hour helpline and live chat service which you can access on their website.
For futher information, see https://www.legalexpert.co.uk/clinical-medical-negligence/care-home-negligence-injury-claims/