Elder Abuse

By Gary L. Lacy

Abuse against the elder citizens of our county will not be tolerated.

Elder abuse, which can involve physical abuse, psychological abuse, financial exploitation and neglect, has been recognized to be one of the most underreported crimes. Once discovered, cases of elder abuse can often be difficult to investigate and prosecute. The victims are often times frail, trusting, dependant upon others for their care, and very proud. The offenders are usually family members, those who have assumed a caretaking role or otherwise have developed a trusting relationship with the elderly individual. Consequently, the elderly can be easily abused and those who abuse the elderly are often able to avoid detection and prosecution.

To address this situation, local law enforcement has stepped up its training and understanding of these issues. Within the District Attorney's Office, a deputy district attorney has been specially trained in the prosecution of elder abuse cases and these cases are handled exclusively by this attorney. A trained advocate on elder issues within the Victim/Witness program of the District Attorney's Office personally makes contact with any elderly person who has been victimized to assist this person in dealing with various aspects of the crime. This advocate assists the elderly individual with such things as providing the victim with information about the legal processes associated with a criminal prosecution, restitution, counseling, transportation, and any other support necessary to ease the trauma the person has endured. I personally speak on a regular basis to civic organizations, health care providers and others who are involved with providing assistance and services to seniors about elder abuse matters. I attempt to educate and advise these groups on how to recognize the different forms of elder abuse, what to do when they become aware of abused elders and how to protect themselves and the elderly they assist from telemarketing fraud scams. As a result of the specialized training and the increased focus on this problem combined with the outreach efforts to the community, our investigations and prosecutions of elder abuse cases have steadily increased and the elderly who have been victimized have been better served by the justice system.

While it is very important to properly address the crimes which have already been committed against the elderly, it is even more important to try to protect the elderly from future harm. To this end, a coalition of various county government and private organizations has been formed. This organization is called the El Dorado County Elder Abuse and Protection Council. I am the chairman of this council and in this capacity I work very closely with members of other county departments and other agencies and groups within the county to solve problems facing the elderly within our community. Our collective goal and my personal commitment is to protect our senior citizens from harm as well as to improve the quality of life for these members of our community.