First, I want it on the record that this posting is about one or two individuals who felt elder exploitation was not a crime, but rather a family matter. Whether or not they thought about their response in detail it still makes one wonder just the same; what are you thinking?
I have been assisting from time to time on a particular elder financial exploitation case, where the children are exploiting their mother. And here is the kicker. We are having trouble getting the detective to accept the case because this is a family matter and law enforcement are about catching and putting the bad guys in jail; not resolving family matters. This individual was sure elder exploitation was a crime to prosecute. The prosecuting attorney who is willing to take the case, can only wait until a detective processes the case and forwards the case for prosecution. And now once again, another elder exploitation case is pending. Pending a detective to accept the case and apply the necessary due diligence to present the case to the prosecuting attorney.
Now in defense of law enforcement, their fraud case backlog is huge. And I really do mean its a big problem. The people needed to process the cases, with the right skill sets, are few and far between. Funding is next to nothing, all cases are prioritized for the level of community threat, and frankly, elder exploitation is not sexy. Unless there appears to be a possible hastened death situation, their priority is child abuse, murder, rape and the war-on-drugs.
Having said this, let me explain some items that you might not know. First, before any case can get to court, it must first receive a case number from the police department that has jurisdiction in the case. This how it gets tracked, noted, filed and if necessary transferred to the proper jurisdictions. No case number, no detective to process, no litigation. But I digress, the issue is that the detective felt there isn’t new laws that make it a crime to exploit an elderly person. It was a family matter to be litigated privately. This individual was also surprised to find out that in WA, there recent changes to state law which gives law enforcement and attorneys the ability to better prosecute for elder exploitation and abuse. This means even if there is not, law enforcement are now able to check in on a vulnerable adult and if necessary, take steps to insure their safety from potential harm whether financial or physical.
The recent set of economic setbacks to all local, county and state agencies has greatly reduced the number of qualified staff able to work the high case load. I understand why the fraud case loads are continuing to back up and that they are as frustrated as the rest of us that there is not enough time in a day to process these cases. I and my fellow fraud fighters understand that public servants need to keep the rapists, murderers and drugs off the streets, but I am concerned that I continue to hear from my colleagues this type of response from veteran detectives/law enforcement officers. Really? This is really how you feel?
I am willing to consider that these few individuals were not thinking clearly; that maybe that cup of coffee was not fully loaded with enough caffeine to engage critical thinking. But this response tends to come from older and more experienced law enforcement personnel, and this concerns me. Why? Because they the men and women that the younger professionals are watching and learning from as they strive for excellence to become viable law enforcement professionals.
As the “Boomer” generation continues to age, their level of vulnerability is going to grow exponentially. This means that they are prey for healthcare fraud, ID theft and of course, abuse and exploitation from friends and family.And they are going to need all of our help.
So my challenge to all of you who continue in the fight against fraud and abuse… please help our law enforcement officers & detectives to believe that elder abuse and exploitation is really a crime worth punishing. That the next vulnerable adult they investigate may be the relative of a friend or neighbor; that they just might save someone from loosing their home and quite possibly their life.
Thank you for listening.
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