Česky
A small part of the spot was filmed in our hospital, so we took the liberty of interviewing Mr. Tomáš Langer, the chairman of the association.
What is the purpose of the Safe Zone Association?
The registered association Safe Zone is focused on prevention, awareness, self-protection, self-defence of the population in the form of lectures, courses and appearances at public events. We offer this activity to children, the elderly, disabled persons, schools, hospitals, etc. We communicate with the crisis management (CM) and crime prevention (CP) departments of Prague and other cities, the Police Presidium, forensic experts. We have received information about the possibilities of preventive lectures for the elderly and children from the KŘ and PK departments.
With our project of incident prevention in relation to the elderly, we approached several clubs for the elderly, homes for the elderly or organisations offering comprehensive services to the elderly. One of the very active organisations is the civic association Život 90, with whose representatives we have arranged lectures on prevention.
What preceded the making of the video?
We started working on the script and preparing the necessary materials. However, we had to abandon the original idea of using and incorporating footage from public cameras available on the Police Weekly website. The main reason for this is that most of the footage shows the attack itself and its course, not the situation that preceded the attack. This was the key moment when we started to think about creating a whole story with our own footage, in which we would point out that, according to our motto SOMETIMES A LITTLE IS ENOUGH, sometimes even a seemingly "small" initial "mistake" can have fatal consequences. With the first scenario we approached forensic psychologist Mgr. Zoja Kalivodová, CSc. She liked the basic idea and agreed to be an expert consultant for the filming itself.
Why was the filming in Beroun?
Last year, the Safe Zone Association started cooperating with the Beroun DDM, a contributory organisation. We started discussing our intention with the director of the DDM, Petra Zavadilova. With her help, some of the DDM staff who acted as actors, a cameraman and the premises where we had a music and editing studio were available to us almost immediately. This simply gave us the decision to film in Beroun.
How did the spot come about and what is its main idea?
The filming was scheduled for the end of September. The shooting itself took just one day, then the image was edited, the music was composed, etc. After a few days, a working version was created and a forensic psychologist was consulted.
The basic motive of the whole story is to draw attention to a quite common mistake of the elderly, and the resulting easy possibility or perhaps even direct invitation to their subsequent assault. The theme of the story was intriguing, but the ending was lacking. It was clear that we would need footage of the hospital environment to film.
Is that how the collaboration with our hospital came about?
We approached the management of the Rehabilitation Hospital Beroun and they liked our idea. Thanks to this support, we were able to finish the story and show what happens to an attacked person after an assault and how it affects their psyche, especially if they live alone. The end of our senior citizen's story, which takes place in his apartment, highlights the possible post-traumatic shock that aggressive behaviour, or in this case the attack itself, can trigger.
The intention of the last sequences of the video is to convey the message that there are state and non-state organizations that are actively addressing the issue and offering solutions.
The spot is very harsh. Do you think it is understandable across generations?
It is very real. Not only in its aggressiveness, but unfortunately also in the indifference of the environment. The seemingly minor mistakes shown in the video are probably made by everyone at some point, but they need to be pointed out. This applies not only to the elderly, but also to younger people. We deliberately chose a senior citizen because, according to statistics, similar assaults, even if not as aggressive, happen quite often - in front of a post office, at an ATM or at a public transport stop.
And if this spot reaches clients in homes for the elderly, or if grandchildren show it to grandparents at home, we have a chance that the number of robberies of seniors will decrease.
What are Safe Zone's next plans?
We'd like to continue with more filming. We have two topics open at the moment, which are partner domestic violence and bullying in a school setting. However, everything is still in script preparation.
In conclusion, we would like to express our warm thanks to everyone involved for the help and support we have received.
You can watch the spot here: Don't be an easy target - the story of a senior citizen
