Immacula Eugène  pleaded guilty to elder mistreatment in early 2015. The case raised awareness about the issue and the need for police to be able to recognize and handle such cases.

Immacula Eugène pleaded guilty to elder mistreatment in early 2015. The case raised awareness about the issue and the need for police to be able to recognize and handle such cases.
Photo Credit: Radio-Canada

Program trains police to combat elder abuse

Police in the city of Montreal will all soon be trained to recognize and handle elder abuse, reports Canadian Press. The police force struck a team which took three years to develop a model to train officers, and it hopes to share it with police forces across Canada.

There is a large proportion of the Canadian population which was born after the end of World War II . These so-called baby boomers are now becoming senior citizens and sometimes are easy prey for criminals and unscrupulous friends, family members or people in the seniors’ residences where they may live.

Reports on abuse will be required

Police usually do not file reports when there is no criminal act but under this new program they would be required to report any suspicion of mistreatment. The cases would then be investigated by community relations officers or sent to community or social services.

A pilot project implemented in some of Montreal’s police stations last year led to an increase in reported cases of mistreatment.

Elder abuse is an issue that has cropped up in several Canadian cities. In most, small, specialized police units deal with such cases. Montreal’s approach is the first to provide training and guidelines for all front-line officers and responders.

(from Canadian Press)

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