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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDocumentation_Regular_Tab 03_08/13/2009G tOUEST ~ ~~ ~ p~ 6C,~ ~- OEPT TEQUESTA POLICE DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM To: Michael R. Couzzo, Jr. From: Chief William E. McCollo Date: August 7, 2009 Subject: SENIORS VS. CRIME PROGRAM :~ iaii: I am proud to announce that Tequesta has a new and exciting service to offer to its residents. On occasion a resident is approached by a shady contractor and enters into an agreement to have a home repair or some other service provided only to find out the contractor took their money and never returns to complete the work. Because the situation involves a contractual agreement it is difficult to make a criminal case on the contractor. Seniors vs. Crime adds another option to our service. I have attached the history of Seniors vs. Crime because it clearly articulates the purpose and function of the program. !n a nutshell, volunteers with the program will take the person's complaint and through their affiliation with the Attorney General's Office be able to contact the contractor and mediate a resolution for the complainant. If the contractor does not reciprocate their business license may be revoked and/or depending on the circumstances may be charged criminally. Our own Seniors vs. Crime office has opened in the Police Department and is available every Tuesday from ] OAM to 2PM. In the future the Attorney General will be stopping by to formally open the office with a small ceremony and ribbon cutting. When that event is scheduled we will make sure you are notified so the Council attend, if they so elect. To inform the Council of this new service, I have asked Wayne Picone, the Regional Director -Region 2 of the Attorney General's Office, to give a short presentation to the Council at the August 13, 2009 Council Meeting. !f you agree, I would request that the presentation is placed on the agenda. cc: Wayne Picone Office of the Attorney General 1 S 15 N. Flagler Drive, Suite 900 West Palm Beach, FL 33401 ~FO~ex Gen~4 - Y.d! 11<~Cn(Lrnr lnnrurr hrrr.•ral Seniors vs Crime _ _I.Spr<~irrl!'rujrcr ofrhr l7urida.la<rrnr~•Grnerrr( <or r_o:z in 1989, the Florida Legislature ordered a task force to be formed to report on crime and the elderly. The Attorney General's Task force on Crimes and the Elderly, chaired by Attorney General Bob Butterworth, held a number of public meetings around the state and invited discussion from many seniors. The Task Force found that seniors were being targeted for scams, were being subjected to high-pressure tactics by salespersons, and were being deceived by false advertising at an alarming frequency. Following the Task Force's report, Attorney General Butterworth elected to conduct a survey of Florida seniors from throughout the state to determine just how prevalent were scams and deceptive practices towards seniors. Three members of his staff, Rodney Doss, Margaret Boeth and Jack Norris contacted Sheriffs, Chiefs of Police, and Area Agencies on Aging to ask for help in locating seniors who would be willing to participate in a formal survey. Mr. Vern Thornton, who had served on the Task Force as a consultant with the AARP Criminal Justice Services, began his involvement at this time. A group of seniors was identified for the study. Each senior was asked to log all door- to-door sales pitches, telemarketing calls and unsolicited sales pitches made to them over a 30-day period. Log sheets were supplied to each senior to document this information. They were also asked to save all of their junk mail received over the same time frame and forward it to the Attorney General's Office. Senior volunteers involved with this project were referred to as "Senior Spotters". The Attorney General's Office was able to bring suit against a number of companies for deceptive trade practices and a number of cases were referred to the State Attorney for criminal prosecutions as a result of the leads prompted by the survey information. The Attorney General's Office recognized that senior citizens were very willing to assist law enforcement in combating crimes that were being perpetrated against them. There was considerable value to having seniors participate in their own protection but first they had to be educated in crime prevention so they could protect themselves from becoming victims. As stated by Attorney General Butterworth, "With Florida's explosive growth and the increase in age of our state's population have come criminal behavior directed against our senior citizens. Perhaps even more important than the raw numbers is the psychological and emotional impact of crime on our older citizens.... As we educate law enforcement, social services, judiciary, and other elements of our society, it is critical that we also educate our senior citizens." Vern Thornton presented the Attorney General with a crime prevention program, to be run by volunteers and designed with Florida's senior population in mind. The program would be called the Seniors vs. Crime Project. Fo~tY Ge~Fe PiA.U~t'nNrurt auoracr Grnrrol e •~ Seniors vs Crime .I Sp~.ial 1'r jr~r..J iLr !'/nridn_Jnnrnr~~~,2•ir.vu( The Seniors vs. Crime Project was sponsored by the Attorney General as a way to reinforce the message of crime prevention and to provide methods by which Florida's senior population could be alerted to consumer fraud, con games, and other criminal acts. Vern Thornton was installed as the Executive Director of the Project and was responsible for the daily operations. The purpose of the Project, when initiated, was twofold. First, it would offer crime prevention seminars to Florida's elderly. Second, it would provide comprehensive training for law enforcement officers and other criminal justice practitioners in understanding how the aging population impacts upon the role of police and other criminal justice professionals. The Project was initially active in 5 counties on the East Coast and had approximately 300 volunteers. Volunteer local Coordinators were identified to assist in recruiting new volunteers and to help in presenting crime prevention talks to senior groups. As law enforcement became more involved in presenting crime prevention programs to seniors the Project began to make more use of its senior volunteers. Volunteers, now called Senior Sleuths at the suggestion of the Attorney General, became more active in assisting law enforcement. Sleuths would act as the eyes and ears of the Attorney General's Office by reporting on scams, and conducting surveys as requested. Examples of work performed by Senior Sleuths range from checking on scanner prices at supermarkets and counting pills when picking up prescription medications to performing undercover stings that captured salespeople utilizing high pressure sales techniques and engaging in false and deceptive practices. The states first Office operation was opened in Delray Beach in 2001 as a pilot project to assess the need for awalk-in facility for seniors. The concept was to allow seniors to talk to a peer if they felt that a business or individual had victimized them, economically. Senior Sleuth volunteers would staff the Office and assist the complainants in resolving their complaints. The Office concept proved to be a resounding success, returning in excess $1 million to seniors in a little over one year of operation. In addition, senior sleuths uncovered a travel scam that victimized dozens of seniors. Based on their investigation of senior complaints, criminal charges were filed against the travel company and state regulators closed down the company. Based on this outstanding success, Offices are now being opened on a routine basis throughout the state. Seniors vs. Crime is partnering with police and Sheriffs departments in many counties to provide seniors with direct help that was previously unavailable to most citizens. Offices will continue to emerge as a positive means to help seniors combat fraud, high-pressure sales tactics. deceptive advertising and outright criminal conduct. !>rll J!<~Cn!/rtnr Illurrtrr G.•nrrai eR°~~Y Grn~oc Seniors vs Crime 'u.ro I.Sporirrl Prnjrrr n(tGr l7nrirl r,lrtarvrr~'rrn~rd What started as a fairly small organization, primarily on the East Coast, has now grown statewide with over 2,000 Senior Sleuths. New Sleuths are being added to the roster daily and new ways to get them involved in assisting other seniors are being explored. While methods used by the Project may change over the years the goal will remain the same-prevent victimization and provide a way for seniors to contribute to the safety of all Floridians. Don Ravenna Executive Director