There’s an elderly neighbor you’ve chatted with in the neighborhood for years. When you see her coming to get her mail as you walk up the street, you slow down and greet her at the mailbox. She says hello but seems wary, as if she doesn’t quite recognize you. You ask her about a nasty bruise on her forearm. Oh, just an accident, she explains; the car door closed on it. She says goodbye quickly and returns to the house. Something isn’t quite right about her. You think about the bruise, her skittish behavior. Well, she’s getting pretty old, you think; maybe her mind is getting fuzzy. But there’s something else — something isn’t right.

Lately in the papers and on the news, you may have seen incidences of elder abuse.  Tens of thousands of seniors across the United States are being abused: harmed in some substantial way often by the people who are directly responsible for their care, often in their own homes.

What is Elder Abuse?

 Elder abuse can take many forms.  These types of abuse are broadly defined as follows:

• Physical Abuse - Inflicting, or threatening to inflict, physical pain or injury on a vulnerable elder, or depriving them of a basic need.
• Emotional Abuse - Inflicting mental pain, anguish, or distress on an elder person through verbal or nonverbal acts.
• Sexual Abuse - Non-consensual sexual contact of any kind.
• Financial Exploitation - Illegal taking, misuse, or concealment of funds, property, or assets of a vulnerable elder.
• Neglect - Refusal or failure by those responsible to provide food, shelter, health care or protection for a vulnerable elder.
• Abandonment - The desertion of a vulnerable elder by anyone who has assumed the responsibility for care or custody of that person.

If you suspect an elderly neighbor or a relative is a victim of abuse, occurring within the City of Saint Paul, you can call the Ramsey County Adult Protection Service (RCAPS) intake line at 651-266-4012.  Alternatively, you may call the St. Paul Police Department at 651-291-1111 and a squad will be dispatched to take your report.  The police department and RCAPS cross report cases of elder abuse, notifying each other of cases of elder abuse.  Although the St. Paul Police Department does not currently have a designated Elder Abuse Unit, it is taking steps to formally create this unit in the very near future.  In the mean time, cases of elder abuse are investigated by multiple units.  The Family Sexual Violence Unit (FSVU) investigates cases of elder abuse involving physical, sexual, or emotional abuse as well as cases of criminal neglect.  FSVU can be contacted by calling 651-266-5676.  Financial Exploitation cases are investigated by the Fraud and Forgery Unit.  Fraud and Forgery can be reached by calling 651-266-5734.

(District 2 News, July 2009)

Additional information from the St. Paul Police Department-
http://www.ci.stpaul.mn.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=8944

Tags: elder abuse, police, reporting, Safety