The Elderly in America Unable to cook, clean and care for themselves, the greatest generation is often seen as a helpless burden on their families and the community. Many cultures honor and respect the elderly for their knowledge and experience. Unfortunately, a lot of Americans seem to not respect or understand older citizens. Some stereotypes include the crazy old woman who lives with dozens of cats or the frail, senile man who spends his days in a rocking chair on the front porch. It is the responsibility of the police to serve their community, and the elderly are its forgotten members. Police can better serve the elderly community by knowing their; culture and customs, perception of law enforcement, special needs and organizations that supports them. Senior citizens currently represent the most rapidly growing part of the population in the United States. Currently, one in every eight Americans is age 65 or older, a total of more than 35 million. By year 2030, as “baby boomers” age and life expectancy increases, this number will increase to an estimated 64 million. Having a basic knowledge of this growing population’s customs and culture will produce the most effective type of officer. From my interviews I have gathered that the elder community is family orientated, believes in manners, personnel and finical responsibility and community involvement. Mrs. Kline said that “we are more patriotic, attend church regularly and vote more than younger people.” She went on to say “it was just the way that we were raised to be.” When police have interaction with the elderly, being able to understand what is important to them, and how they expect people to act can influence the effectiveness of the interaction. If police do not have a good understanding of the elderly, then the interaction with police can dictate their perception of law enforcement. During my interviews I saw the elderly have a great amount of respect for law enforcement. They also believe that law enforcement does not know how to deal with elderly people. Al Wise stated in his interview “I grew up always respecting police; they were there to protect us. They helped people and you would always see them walking a beat. You don’t see that anymore, cops now are so young and don’t know how to deal with us.” Mr. Wise went on to say that he was raised to have a great deal of respect for police. The last time he had contact with the police nearly thirty years ago, in the late seventies. Mr. Wise then said “I still have a great deal of respect for the police, but they are different than they used to be. They are more like the military now. When I was a younger you could approach them and talk to them, they were normal people; it does not seem that way now.” Mr. Wise has special needs compared to most of the population. He had trouble walking, he had a stoke three years ago which causes him to speak very slowly. He wears a medical bracelet because he has a pacemaker. Like most elderly people, Mr. Wise has special needs which police need to be aware of. If you arrive to a service call and the reporting party is an elderly couple, should you change the way you approach the situation? The answer is yes, and the reason is because many elderly citizens have special needs. They may be visually impaired, hearing impaired, mobility impaired, with special dietary needs or medical conditions. While I interview Mr. McDonald, he informed me that he was hard of hearing, and that I would have to speak a little loud and slow for him to be able to understand what I was saying. I noticed that when I was talking to him he was trying to read my lips. I asked him if he had any contact with police lately, and if his hearing loss affected his contact with the police. He said “I got pulled over a couple of months ago on Silverado Trail and I couldn’t hear the cop at all. His radio was going off and cars were driving by. The cop seemed to be getting irritated at me. But I couldn’t hear him.” The elderly have many different needs, which are normally based on their age. This is just an example of a situation where a police officer has made contact with an elderly citizen and not be aware of the person’s special needs. There are many organizations that support the elderly community and are advocates for their needs. Triad is an example of an organization for the elderly; it has a partnership with three organizations, HYPERLINK "http://www.nationaltriad.org/intro/intro1.htm"law enforcement, senior citizens, and community groups. “The sole purpose of Triad is to promote HYPERLINK "http://www.nationaltriad.org/intro/intro3.htm"senior safety and to reduce the unwarranted fear of crime that seniors often experience.” This organization can practically help the elderly since “more than 2.5 million older people are victims of some form of reported or non-reported maltreatment each year, with 90% committed by a perpetrator known to the elderly victim, this seems to increasingly be the case.” If organizations like Triad were involved in more communities, then law enforcement could better serve the elderly community by working with them on their problems. Triad attempts to support the elderly community by involving them with law enforcement. Many communities many have an organization that is similar to Triad, and if they do officers need to be aware of them and know their goals. With the advancement of medical science and better living conditions more people are living longer and longer. In America, the elderly are the fastest growing group and perhaps the most vulnerable one also. It is the responsibility of law enforcement to take the initiative to understand who the elderly are and what special needs they may have. If they are able to do this, and know how to interact with the elderly, then their perception of law enforcement will change for the better. By working with groups like Triad, law enforcement will be able to serve the elderly better by working with them to solve their problems. I learned a great deal with this paper, and I now know how to better serve the elderly culture, but I also learned I will have to work to better serve every culture.

Bibliography
Beverly Police Department. Elder Abuse. Retrieved August 28, 2008. HYPERLINK "http://www.beverlypd.org"http://www.beverlypd.org FEMA. Individuals with special needs. Retrieved August 14, 2008. HYPERLINK "http://www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/specialplans.shtm"http://www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/specialplans.shtm
Kline, Joan. Personal Communication. August 9, 2008.

National Center on Elder Abuse, American Public Human Services Association. September 1998. The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study 1996: Final Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families and the Administration on Aging.
National Triad. Retrieved August 14, 2008. HYPERLINK "http://www.nationaltriad.org/"http://www.nationaltriad.org/
Wise, Al. Personal Communication. August 17, 2008.