After hundreds of people were victims of elderly abuse in the last year, Knoxville city leaders met this morning to discuss the issue of elder abuse with hopes of lowering those numbers.
The discussion began at 8:00 a.m. this morning, directly after people who work with older adults were educated on how to combat these types of abuse.
In June, District Attorney Charme Allen and her staff organized "Elder Abuse Day." A day for volunteers to speak with clients about abuse and crimes often targeted at the elderly.
Last year, there were 483 reported elder abuse investigations in Knox County; 422 of those in Knoxville. Those abuse cases include allegations of emotional abuse, financial exploitation, neglect, and physical and emotional abuse. The 483 investigation numbers included:
- 105 allegations of emotional abuse
- 136 allegations of financial exploitation
- 311 allegations of neglect
- 78 allegations of physical abuse
- 13 allegations of sexual abuse
Elder abuse is defined by The National Center on Elder Abuse as, "intentional or neglectful acts by a caregiver or 'trusted' individual that leads to, or may lead to, harm of a vulnerable elder." Studies say 1 out of every 10 people age 60 and older will suffer from some type of exploitation.
Today, Allen alongside Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero, Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch, and U.S. attorney Nancy Harr spoke about their plan to help lower that number. Discussions circled around a new prevention program aimed at raising awareness, providing training for law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, health-care professionals, and others across the community.
Chief Rausch says that crimes against people 50 and older have increased every year for the last five years, adding, "this program will lay the groundwork to fight against elder abuse." KPD officers will get special training to help spot the signs of elder abuse.
District Attorney Allen says, once she saw the numbers, "it was immediately evident that we needed a special unit." She currently has two prosecutors dedicated to allegations of elder abuse, and is hoping to add a third. She says they estimate the number of abuse cases will be over 1,000 by the end of this year.
The majority of Tennessee's elder abuse laws were written in the 1970's and have not been updated since.
The grant-funded program is managed by Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee's Office on Aging. The grant was awarded to the city of Knoxville and Knoxville Police Department from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Violence Against Women.
The news conference was followed by the official kickoff of the program, which will begin with a day of training activities for professionals who work with older adults.
Anyone who observes or suspects an instance of elder abuse can contact Adult Protective Services at 1-888-APS-TENN (1-888-27-8366).