Editorial: Elderly should be safe

We all have a duty to look out for the vulnerable in our society, says Rotorua Daily Post editor Kim Gillespie. Photo / Thinkstock

There's one piece of good news hidden away in our report on shocking behaviour towards the city's elderly.

The story, in yesterday's Rotorua Daily Post, told how 99-year-old Roy Tucker was taken advantage of by a man who entered his home uninvited, went through his things for more than an hour and stole items.

It was one of two incidents highlighted - the other involving another elderly person who was approached at his home and asked for money.

The good news? Rotorua police crime prevention manager Inspector Stuart Nightingale said this type of offending was unusual.

But sadly it's not unusual enough.

It's not that long since we reported on scammers operating in Ngongotaha.

One 86-year-old man who had been fleeced of $100,000 over two years was threatened with violence when he stood up to those who had been hounding him for cash.

Look back a little further and there's the story of local man Gavin Hayes, who gained national attention when we reported on his plight. The 82-year-old told us he'd lost the will to live after a teenage girl stole and wrote off his car. It was the second car he'd had stolen in a few months, during which young people had been coming into his flat and stealing from him.

Maybe this kind of offending doesn't happen all the time, but once is enough to break someone's spirit and make them feel unsafe in their own home.

Without wanting to sound like I'm patronising the elderly, we all have a duty to look out for the vulnerable in our society.

Sadly even common decency is too much to expect from too many.

We all, but some more than others, have a duty to not be opportunist dirtbags.

What do you think?
Email editor@dailypost.co.nz, write a letter to PO Box 1442, Rotorua or text OP (message) to 021 242 4568.