PCSA funds major new research on ‘mate crime’

2 June 2026

Three women and a man pose in front of a tree for an official photograph to launch a research a report — Dr Charles O’Mahony, Principal Investigator, Helen Hall, PCSA CEO, Fiona McNulty, Community Safety, RISE, Corlann, and Petal Pilley, Director at Blue Teapot Theatre Company. Credit Brian Harding.

The Policing and Community Safety Authority was pleased to fund new research that highlights hidden exploitation and abuse of disabled people.

The report ‘Living Independently & Free from Targeted Abuse (LIFT): Understanding Mate Crime and the Experiences of Disabled People’ was led by Dr Charles O’Mahony at the University of Galway.

It examines the issue commonly referred to as “mate crime”.

This is where individuals are befriended and manipulated for the purposes of exploitation, coercion, abuse, or criminal activity.

PCSA CEO Helen Hall said: “The PCSA is delighted to have funded this innovative project, which illustrates the value of bringing academics, practitioners and people with lived experience together to bring real insight into community safety issues.

“I hope that this research contributes to improving policing services for those at risk of exploitation and abuse by people they trust, by highlighting the need for greater awareness, improved reporting, and a consistent, effective and multi-agency response to a problem that is often invisible.”