Georgia Police Chiefs Produce Video to Combat Elder Abuse
Georgia DHS-Division of Aging Services
Earlier this year, the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police undertook an initiative to make first responders more aware of the signs of elder abuse.
Between 2008 and 2012, abuse of at-risk adults in Georgia increased 65 percent.
To help combat that, the group produced a video to train law enforcement officers and 911 operators to recognize the signs.
This summer, the group started showing the video in Lagrange to first responders and to also senior citizens. LaGrange police Chief Lou Dekmar attended one screening for about 100 seniors. “As a result of showing that video, I believe our agency received ten calls from folks that had seen it reporting that they’d been a victim of elderly abuse or at-risk adult abuse,” said Dekmar.
He says, each time the video airs in LaGrange, his department gets more calls. The video has now been circulated among law enforcement agencies statewide, and the group is working to get the training incorporated into mandatory law enforcement education.
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