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Raising Awareness of Vulnerability Crimes

A person is vulnerable if they can’t protect themselves from harm or exploitation due to their personal or situational circumstances.

Help us to clamp down on vulnerability crimes, protect vulnerable people and keep the communities of Ceredigion safe.

Anyone can become vulnerable and fall victim to crime, at any time, due to their personal or situational circumstances.

Personal circumstances might include:

  • Disability
  • Ethnicity
  • Gender
  • Mental health problems
  • Religion
  • Sexual orientation
  • Age

Situational circumstances might include:

  • Illness
  • Job loss
  • Debt
  • Isolation
  • Lack of power
  • Lack of support
  • Financial problems
  • Presence of an abuser (physical, emotional, sexual or financial)
  • Alcohol and substance misuse

What are vulnerability crimes?

Types of vulnerability crime might include, but are not limited to:

  • Domestic abuse
  • Scams and fraud
  • County Lines (where illegal drugs are transported from one area to another, often by vulnerable people who are coerced into it by gangs)
  • Cuckooing (where dealers take over a property belonging to a vulnerable person and use it as a base for their criminal activity)

… and many more.

What are the signs?

You can’t always spot the victim of a vulnerability crime. But you can help spot the signs.

Some signs to look out for in a potential victim include:

  • Appearing anxious or scared
  • Becoming withdrawn
  • Breakdown of relationships
  • New clothes and possessions
  • Nocturnal activity
  • Decline in standard of schoolwork
  • Drug or alcohol use
  • Physical harm
  • New ‘friends’
  • People coming and going from an address

How to report a vulnerability crime

Ceredigion has one of the lowest crime rates in the UK, but we need your help to keep it that way. If something doesn’t seem right, it usually isn’t. You can report your concerns in the following ways:

If someone is in immediate danger and you need support right away:

  • Call the Police on 999

If it isn’t an emergency, but you want to discuss with the Police:

To anonymously report a crime or suspicious behaviour, contact Crimestoppers:

If you think you might be the victim of a crime, contact Dyfed-Powys Victim Support:

  • Call Goleudy, your local victim care team in Dyfed-Powys on 0300 123 2996 between 10am - 6pm, Monday to Saturday
  • Email - goleudy@dyfed-powys.pnn.police.uk
  • If you need support outside of open hours, call Victim Support on their Support line for free on 08 08 16 89 111 or request support via the website www.victimsupport.org.uk

Resources

Vulnerability Crimes e-Learning Module

If you would like to learn more about vulnerability crimes, this eLearning module can help you understand what makes a person vulnerable, what types of crimes they could become victims of and what to do if you have any concerns about someone who you think may be a victim of a vulnerability crime. In order to access the course, visit the Learning@Wales website and sign in as a guest.

Further support

If you are a Ceredigion resident, you may be interested in some of the following groups who are here to help:

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