What Officers Need To Know

Legal Terms Officers Need to Know

• Legal Issues Related to Elder Abuse: A Pocket Guide for Law Enforcement (2014)
  A comprehensive guide for law enforcement responding to elder abuse, including a list of alternative charges and explanations for aspects of elder abuse such as powers of attorney and other legal terms law enforcement needs to know.
• Durable Power of Attorney Abuse: It's a Crime Too
  3-page document explaining the circumstances under which a durable power of attorney document may still constitute a criminal offense. 

Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias and Elder Abuse

• Safe Return: Alzheimer’s Disease Guide for Law Enforcement (Alzheimer’s Association)
• A Booming Problem: Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and Elder Abuse (COPS Office)
• Approaching Alzheimer's: First Responder Training Program (Alzheimer’s Association)

• Communicating with Someone with Dementia (Alzheimer’s Association)

HIPAA Requirements

• HIPAA and Law Enforcement (Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems)
• Guidelines for Releasing Patient Information to Law Enforcement (American Hospital Association)

Training Manuals and Materials

• New York State Elder Abuse Prevention Training Manual 2011 (Lifespan)
  This manual is designed to serve as an introductory guide to help raise awareness among all professional groups who come in contact with older adults in the community.
• Responding to the Needs of the Elderly: Law Enforcement Field Guide & Resource Manual on Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Financial Exploitation 2006 (New Hampshire Department of Justice)
  A manual intended to assist patrol officers, investigators, and those who work with elderly victims of abuse and exploitation throughout New Hampshire as they strive to meet the growing demand of an aging society.
• Physical and Emotional Abuse of the Elderly Problem-Oriented Guide for Police (2010)
  A 64-page guide for law enforcement on responding to physical and emotional abuse of the elderly.
• Teaming Up to Fight Financial Abuse of Older Adults 2017 (COPS Community Policing Dispatch)
  Article describing how multidisciplinary teams can assist law enforcement in elder abuse/financial exploitation cases.

• Memorandum on Financial Institution and Law Enforcement Efforts to Combat Elder Financial Exploitation
  One resource that may aid law enforcement investigations of elder financial exploitation, even at the local level, is Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) that financial institutions file with FinCEN.  Learn how SARs can assist law enforcement investigations.