Elderly Need Our Care

Reports of elder abuse in Ventura County are soaring--and that’s good.

Really.

Prosecutors say the reasons they have filed more elder abuse cases in the first half of this year than in all of 1998 include greater community awareness and aggressive reporting by hospitals and social workers. The numbers also confirm that law enforcement agencies are taking a tough new stance against one of the fastest growing, yet still underreported, types of crime in the nation.

Elder abuse is defined as neglect, physical abuse or financial exploitation of any person older than 65 that results in harm or suffering. Authorities say it often goes unreported because victims feel ashamed or embarrassed.

Until recently, police agencies received little or no training on how to detect or investigate crimes against the elderly. But that is beginning to change, with dramatic results.

In the first six months of 1999, the district attorney’s office reviewed about 45 elder abuse cases compared to 40 in all of 1998. About half of this year’s cases are alleged financial scams aimed at seniors; most of the rest are alleged acts of domestic violence, often committed by grandchildren or other relatives.

So far this year, prosecutors have received no reports of alleged abuse or neglect at board and care facilities or nursing homes, although authorities suspect that such things go on, based on nationwide studies. These cases, like other incidents of elder abuse, can be reported to local police or to the county’s Adult Protective Services agency.

To take its campaign to the next level, the Ventura County district attorney’s office recently asked the Board of Supervisors for permission to seek a $137,000 grant that would pay for the expansion of a senior crime prevention program. The board rightly gave its blessing to this effort, and we add ours.

Our society should have no patience for those who prey upon an elderly person for financial gain or simply out of cruelty. The first step toward eliminating this scourge from Ventura County is to stop ignoring the problem and pretending that it doesn’t exist. The next step is for more people to report suspicious incidents they learn about. Such incidents should be reported to local police or to Adult Protective Services at 654-3200.