Daleville Police Chief Harvey Mathis is applauding a new law aimed at protecting Alabama’s senior citizens from abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.
Mathis said the Protecting Alabama’s Elders Act (SB29) is more specific, better defines abuse and neglect of the elderly, protects senior citizens from exploitation and provides a number of penalties for those who perform crimes against individuals 60 and older.
“I’ve worked with crimes against the elderly before when I was an investigator with the Dale County Sheriff’s Office, and the law left a lot of interpretations,” he said. “In my opinion the law (38-92) before was vague, unspecific and not as aggressive. It hindered us. This one is more inclusive and very concrete.”
Law SB29 was passed by the Legislature last year and became a law on Aug. 1, 2013. However, Mathis said he and other law enforcement agencies recently received a memorandum informing them of the new law in case they were unaware.
The Protecting Alabama’s Elders Act was created by an interagency council of more than 30 public and private agencies and organizations to include the Alabama Department of Senior Services, Department of Human Resources and the Attorney General’s Office for the purpose of combating elderly abuse.
Mathis said the new law would provide law enforcement agencies and prosecutors with the tools they need to prosecute those who target senior citizens.
“The elderly are defenseless,” he said. “The penalties before weren’t as stiff. This new law gives officers and prosecution something to go after (for) those who prey upon our senior citizens.”
Under the Protecting Alabama’s Elders Act, a person can be prosecuted as first, second or third degree abuse or neglect depending on the intent of the perpetrator and the severity of the harm to the victim.
The law ranges from a class A felony (10 years to life) for intentional abuse or neglect that leads to serious physical injury to a class C felony (one to 10 years) for financial exploitation of property valuing $500-$2,500.
The financial exploitation penalties apply to senior citizens who have been exploited by deception, intimidation, undue influence, force or threat of force.
Mathis said among the biggest changes is the financial exploitation rule, which gives law enforcement agencies the authority to arrest a guardian, caregiver or conservator under a power of attorney for exploiting and obtaining an elderly person’s money or property illegally.
Mathis said the law also allows law enforcement to arrest a predator regardless of if they were or were not present in the county of the person who was subject to the financial exploitation.
“A vulnerable part of our population is our elderly,” he said. “It is so disheartening to see our elderly preyed upon. I wish they (the Legislature) had done this before.”
Prior to passage of the new act, penalties for elderly abuse could be found in the Adult Protective Services Act (APS), which applies to victims who can be categorized as a “protected person.” The Protecting Alabama’s Elders Act does not change the current APS penalties, but does add new sections to the Alabama criminal code.
The new sections in the Protecting Alabama’s Elders Act provide law enforcement and prosecutors with additional avenues to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.
Mathis said he’s excited about the new law and believes it will give his officers a new weapon to pursue those who are going after the elderly.
To report an abuse, neglect and financial exploitation case against an elderly person, call the Daleville Police Department at 598-4442.
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1 comment:
SheenB posted at 3:14 am on Sat, Feb 15, 2014.
Thanks for this informative post. I must say that scams are part of human culture. As soon as cash was invented, someone most likely came up with a way to get it dishonestly. Unfortunately, one of the most susceptible groups is the elderly, who fall prey frequently to fraud artists.