Half of OAPs arrested in greater Bristol let off without charge

More than half of the pensioners arrested in the Greater Bristol area in the last three years were let off without charge.

A total of 456 men and women aged 70 and over were arrested by Avon and Somerset police for a variety of alleged offences between September 2007 and September 2008.

But no further action was taken against 184 of these, and 51 were let off with a caution.

A further 12 were only bailed to their local police station while three were given a fixed penalty notice.

As previously revealed by the Bristol Evening Post, the geriatric offending covered everything from theft to assault, drunken behaviour to drug dealing, possession of weapons to racial abuse.

Men and women aged 70 to 99 were arrested for more than 60 different types of offences between them.

New figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that some of the most serious offences resulted in no charge.

No further action was taken against a 76-year-old arrested for threats to kill and battery, or a 71-year-old arrested for conspiracy to murder.

A 92-year-old arrested for a positive breath test was let go without charge, as was an 87-year-old man arrested for assaulting a police constable.

The oldest person to be arrested, a 99-year-old suspected of a burglary, was given a caution, as was a 73-year-old man arrested for soliciting a prostitute.

Of the 172 pensioners actually charged with offences, 124 were released on bail, while 48 were remanded in custody for their first court appearance.

Eight of the arrests were dealt with under the Mental Health Act.

Avon and Somerset police refuses to comment on figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.