Elder abuse is on the rise, and will only increase in the upcoming years. The District Attorney’s Office is committed to combating and prosecuting elder abusers for both physical elder abuse cases and financial elder abuse cases.

To effectively combat elder abuse, the Mendocino County District Attorneys Office has developed a two-step approach: Outreach (Prevention) and Prosecution. In its Outreach efforts, representatives from the District Attorney’s office are reaching out into our community and giving a series presentations designed to raise awareness in the elder communities of the dangers of elder financial abuse, identifying financial predators, and tips to prevent elder financial abuse.

In particular, the Outreach programs are designed with the goal of raising awareness of the following threats to our elders:

• The types of financial predators
• The methods used by the predators
• Hot scams and current frauds being perpetrated on elders
• Identity theft
• Ways for elders to protect themselves
• Where to go for help / available resources

On the prosecution end, the District Attorney’s Office is working closely with the various municipal, county, and state law enforcement agencies, as well as with social services agencies such as Adult Protection Services to ensure that elder abusers are caught and prosecuted for their crimes.

Additionally, the District Attorney’s Office Victim Witness Assistance program is available to assist victims of elder abuse by reducing any trauma or insensitive treatment of victims and witnesses as they participate in criminal justice proceedings. The program also provides services for victims including crisis intervention, emergency assistance, referrals, support and other services. For more information call Victim’s Witness office at 707.463.4218.

If you feel that you, or someone you know, have been a victim of physical or financial elder abuse, please contact Adult Protective Services of Mendocino County immediately at 707.463.7900 or 877.327.1799 (no charge to calling party). Our office believes the best way to effectively combat elder abuse is to report it to the proper authorities, and we all must work together to protect the elders in our communities.