North Ga. task force to combat elder abuse
♦ Attendees share information on financial scams and protective measures.
Law enforcement agencies that participate in the North Georgia Elder Abuse Task Force met face to face in Rome on Tuesday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic exploded across the region.
Officers exchanged information about some of their recent cases, which range from people depleting their elderly parents’ bank accounts to romance scams and swindles related to the new coronavirus.
Some of the scams involved the theft of as much as $400,000.
Rome District Attorney Leigh Patterson lamented the fact that since the COVID-19 state of emergency was first declared in mid-march, she has not been able to bring together a grand jury to indict anyone arrested over the last five months.
“The feds have got a grand jury, but we don’t,” Patterson said.
The impact of that, according to the district attorney, is that some defendants who have been charged with crimes against the elderly have been able to bond out of jail.
Patterson said after the meeting that a majority of the elder abuse cases that are presented to her office involve financial crimes. She said the defendants are typically family members.
“By the time we find the case, they’ve usually been stealing for a long time,” Patterson said. “They’ve got bank accounts, passwords, and they’re busy stealing as they’re leaving.”
Floyd County Police Sgt. Chris Fincher detailed the Operation Lifesaver program for the attending officers who represented jurisdictions across Northwest Georgia.
The program involves attaching a hospital-style armband with a tiny transmitter, about the size of a watch. The units — which cost around $350 — are made available to caretakers of people with forms of dementia to help find those who tend to walk away from their home at any opportunity.
When police are called to start a manhunt, they use a receiver that pings when it detects a signal from the transmitter.
The Area Agency on Aging has helped distribute some of the devices to families in the Rome area. Pickens County Sheriff’s Office personnel at the meeting Tuesday said they also use the program over in the Jasper area. Joe Gavalis, the regional task force coordinator, also introduced the law enforcement personnel to another locater system, called a scent kit.
The kit contains a preserved scent from the individual for a dog to follow. It is expected to keep for about six years. The task force is making some of the scent kits available to agencies on a trial basis.
The Berry College Police Department, charged with some of the responsibilities for security at The Spires, also sent four officers to the meeting to learn about issues impacting senior citizens.