Menu
One of the unfortunate obstacles to curtailing elder abuse is the difficulty that exists in prosecuting financial abuse. At this year’s Canadian Bar Association Elder Law Conference, Police Constable Patricia Fleischman spoke of the limitations that apply to the police force in attempting to address elder abuse. In particular, there is a lack of resources necessary to creating special teams with the expertise to address this issue. In certain provinces, such programs simply do not exist. Where special programs do exist, organizers struggle to maintain the funding for such programs, which are already limited in size and, as a result, in their scope.
Download Patricia Fleischmann’s presentation from our website
A recent news story yields some hope in the ability of the police force to address and prosecute financial abuse of the elderly. This article notes that the Crimes Against Seniors Unit charged a woman who is alleged to have stolen more than $47,000 from a hospitalized 80-year old woman by obtaining access to her bank card. The victim had been hospitalized after suffering from health issues.
Link to this story on The Hamilton Spectator website
Although sad in its fact-scenario, this story lends credence to the feasibility of curtailing financial abuse of the elderly, so long as the right resources are put in place. Such resources—including response teams within the criminal justice system—may be especially useful as, even where a judgment is obtained through the civil justice system in favour of an abused adult, it is too often difficult or impossible to recover funds from an impecunious abuser.
Learn more about the Hamilton Crimes Against Seniors Unit (CASU)
