More tools needed to fight elder abuse

Two 75-year-old men show up at a bank. Each is with a womandecades younger than himself. Each withdraws $10,000. One of theseniors suffers from dementia and is being ripped off by a conartist. The other one is a vibrant rake heading to Vegas with his newgirlfriend. The problem society faces is telling them apart.

Crime against the elderly is a serious, under-recognized crisis.As described in chilling detail in the Sun-Times in a four-partseries that concludes today, it is too easy for trusting, isolatedelderly people to find themselves victims of a variety of scams.Repairmen who charge outlandish fees for non-existent work.Caretakers who drain bank accounts. Even children who betray alifetime of love for mere financial gain. To make matters worse, wedon't even know how bad the problem really is, because often elderlyvictims are so embarrassed--they think that by this point in theirlives they should know better--they don't report the crimes againstthem.

Much needs to be done. Every police department worthy of the nameshould have an officer specializing in crimes against the elderly--right now two-thirds of the forces in the Chicago area don't--andtrained with the often delicate police work needed to coaxinformation out of humiliated, confused victims. Banks should beadded to the list of "mandatory reporters"--professions required bylaw to notify the state if they suspect elder abuse in theircustomers. Banks may try to shirk this duty by claiming it violatesthe confidentiality of their customers, but they are uniquelypositioned to detect fraud, and if the law requires veterinarians toreport suspicions of animal abuse--which it does--then a banker whosees a feeble customer withdrawing huge sums of moneyuncharacteristically should also be compelled to act.

The Department on Aging needs more money. Its budget is less thana quarter of the funding for the Department of Children and FamilyServices, while its population of potential clients--those over 65--is nearly half the number of people under 18. Some sort of publicguardian for the elderly, such as is already in place for children,would also help.

Finally, this is one social problem where each one of us has animportant role. If we are elderly, we need to make a conscious effortto protect ourselves. This means being savvy and suspicious of peoplewho show up at your house or want money. This means getting youraffairs in order with someone you trust--and being sure that theperson you trust is actually trustworthy. Or as Ronald Reagan onceput it: Trust, but verify.

Those of us who are not elderly need to keep tabs on our agedrelatives. This can be difficult, as solicitousness can be seen asprying, and concern mistaken for conniving. Even under idealcircumstances, many people are not comfortable discussing financialmatters with their parents or their children. It is a discussion thatcan be very difficult for all involved, and can itself lead totrouble. For every senior ripped off by a con artist, there must betwo or three who are making life hell for a well-intentioned nephewwho is just trying to get his elder's electric bill paid.

But the effort must be made. Too many seniors lose the fruits of alifetime of labor, and once those fruits are gone, getting them backis nearly impossible. As our society ages, this problem will only getworse, and we need to act immediately to address it.