Elder Justice: Tools and Strategies for Law Enforcement
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NOTE: This is a free resource toolkit, NOT an eLearning course. There is no pre-test or post-test, and you will not receive a certificate of completion for reviewing this resource.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recognizes the need for additional resources to identify and combat elder abuse, neglect, and financial fraud and scams that target our nation’s older adults. As the population ages, there becomes an even greater need for federal, state, and local law enforcement officers to be prepared for their critical role in responding to and helping prevent crimes related to elder abuse and financial exploitation.
The DOJ’s Elder Justice Initiative (EJI) has developed tools, training, and resources to assist law enforcement. The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is making its resources as well as EJI’s available in this Toolkit. Enroll to view and use the interactive investigative tools, articles, officer checklists, sample protocols, state statutes, webinars, podcasts, resource maps, and training videos available at your fingertips.
Specifically, the Elder Justice: Tools and Strategies for Law Enforcement Toolkit includes the following sections:
- Introduction to Elder Crime, which includes a series of case studies compiled by the Elder Justice Initiative (EJI) and a webinar by the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) that provides a foundational understanding of abuse in later life. This section includes real-life stories that illustrate and raise awareness of crimes targeting the elderly, such as abandonment, neglect, sexual abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse, financial fraud, theft, identity theft, investment fraud, forgery, and scams.
- The Elder Abuse Guide for Law Enforcement (EAGLE), which includes access to the EAGLE website, and articles about the comprehensive resources it provides. EAGLE is an online tool funded by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that provides essential resources and training to help officers identify, prevent, and address various forms of elder abuse, including physical, financial, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect. This section provides access to the EAGLE website, and features articles from the COPS Office's Community Policing Dispatch archive that cover EAGLE-related topics for law enforcement personnel. These include EAGLE tools and general information, ways to get involved in elder abuse awareness, recent enhancements to make EAGLE more navigable and comprehensive, and guidance on using EAGLE to effectively handle elder abuse calls.
- Preventing, Identifying, and Fighting Elder Crime, which includes resources, articles and success stories about methods to recognize and fight elder crime, including: Community Policing Dispatch articles; a series of roll-call videos produced by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) designed to help officers recognize and respond to various forms of elder abuse; a publication that includes new and enhanced program ideas with tools to create or strengthen law enforcement’s unique role in Triad; and a podcast episode from The Beat on online scams, featuring an investigator from a district attorney's office who works to curb crimes against vulnerable adults.
- Additional Resources, which includes more tools and resources for law enforcement professionals to help prevent and effectively respond to elder crimes.
