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SF DA Kamala D. Harris and Assemblymember Norma Torres Call for Tougher Laws to Protect Elders:

AB 768 Strengthens Elder Abuse Statute, Allowing Prosecutors to Fully Charge Crimes Against Seniors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 7, 2009

CONTACT:
Erica Derryck, DA Harris’ Office, (415) 553-1167
Gustavo Arroyo, ASM Torres’ Office, (916) 319-2061

SF DA Kamala D. Harris and Assemblymember Norma Torres Call for Tougher Laws to Protect Elders:
AB 768 Strengthens Elder Abuse Statute, Allowing Prosecutors to Fully Charge Crimes Against Seniors

SAN FRANCISCO –District Attorney Kamala D. Harris and Assemblymember Norma Torres (D-Pomona) were joined today San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong and elder support advocates and providers, as well as seniors from the Gene Friend Recreation Center in SOMA, to announce their support for AB 768.

“This legislation is vital to the safety and protection of California’s growing population of seniors,” said San Francisco District Attorney Kamala D. Harris.  “It gives prosecutors the tools they need to make sure that the criminals who target our elders are brought to justice for their crimes.”

The measure, introduced by Assemblymember Torres and sponsored by DA Harris, toughens protections for seniors by strengthening California’s elder abuse statute.  Specifically, the bill calls for eliminating the requirement that perpetrators know their victims’ status as an elder or dependent adult in order to be charged with elder abuse.  The bill also calls for making physical or psychological harm sufficient to prove elder abuse.

“These changes to the law will allow California to lead the way for the nation in providing the best protection possible to our vulnerable aging population,” said Assemblymember Norma Torres (D-Pomona).

The measure is an important step in protecting seniors from becoming victims and targets of financial or physical abuse by criminals and other opportunists because of their status as elders.  Erika Falk of the Institute on Aging and Jenefer Duane from the Elder Financial Protection Network spoke about the importance of protecting seniors from physical abuse and financial exploitation.  Mary Twomey of the UC Irvine Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse and Neglect, Prescott Cole from the California Association for Nursing Home Reform and Tracy Dobronravova with Self-Help for the Elderly were also present to call for passage of this legislation.

In California, the Attorney General estimates that 200,000 elders are victims of abuse each year.  In 2003, there were 4.9 million Californians aged 65 or older, and by 2020 they are expected to number 9 million.  With California’s growing elder population, the protection of this vulnerable group under law is a critical public safety issue for the state.

Nationally, elder abuse may involve as many as 5 million seniors, with as much as 84 percent of all cases going unreported. The most likely reason for this stark underreporting stems from the victim's relationship with the abuser.  Too many elders suffer from abuse and exploitation without ever seeing their abusers held accountable.

Elders are often victimized by people they know and love. They are often hesitant to testify against their abusive relatives and friends or they minimize the mental suffering or physical pain and deny the severity of what occurred. They also may be in a coma or might be medicated with pain killers and unable to testify to physical pain or mental suffering. Thus proving physical pain or mental suffering beyond the actual injury or loss can be extremely difficult.
Prosecutors seeking to protect victims of elder abuse face challenges holding perpetrators accountable because of unnecessarily restrictive language related to elder abuse in the Penal Code. Unlike Penal Code guidelines on child abuse or sexual assault against minors, elder abuse guidelines mandate that prosecutors must prove that the perpetrator knew the victim was elderly and that the abuse caused physical pain or mental suffering to the victim, above and beyond the actual injury or financial loss.  These restrictions leave elders without adequate legal protection against abuse and force the criminal justice system to allow abusers to go free.

AB768 would change the law in California to protect seniors and dependent adults, and allow them to see their perpetrators brought to justice.

AB 768 recently cleared the Assembly Committees on Aging and Long-term Care and Public Safety and will next be heard by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.  District Attorney Harris testified in Sacramento, CA in support of the bill which also has the backing of Crime Victims United, the Institute on Aging, the California Alliance for Retired Americans, Calfornia Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, Disability Rights California, Professional Fiduciary Association of California, Area Agency on Aging, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties and the Congress of California Seniors.