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H D T E C N I R A C P L X E E

R Crimes Against Older Adults S E A M I C T H C A L L V I

Victimization of older adults is an important subset of crime. People age 65 and older experience the same crimes as the rest of the population, including financial victimization, , and physical, sexual, or emotional . However, older adults may be less likely to recover from their victimization, and are often sought out because of their age and decreased likelihood of reporting. Researchers estimate that approximately 10% of older adults over age 60 experienced some form of elder abuse in the past year.A But studies have also shown that crimes against older adults are highly underestimated. People with degenerative diseases or cognitive disabilities—including dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s—or who are living in institutional settings such as nursing homes, are often not included in surveys. Additionally, while studies demonstrate that older adults are most commonly maltreated by members or acquaintances,A roughly half of violent victimizations are perpetrated by .B Maltreatment is not always a criminal offense, but the intimate nature of many of these victimizations means that older victims are less likely to report offenses committed by someone they know.

CRIME TRENDS Compared to the estimated rate of total violent victimization for the overall U.S. population age 12 and older, older adults are less likely to experience violent victimization. However, the impact of these victimizations may be significant, depending on the vulnerabilities of the victim­—including the state of their health, access to financial resources, and isolation. From 1995 to 2015, the rate of total violent victimization against people age 65 and older decreased from 6.8 violent victimizations per 1,000 individuals to 5.2.B

B Total Violent Victimization rate per 1,000 people age 12 and older DID YOU KNOW? 80 80 7075 70 70.7 Overall Population Older adults with dementia are at increased risk of 60 C 60 Age 65+ physical and by a caretaker. 50 50 40 Injuries to older adults from violent crime account for 40 28.4 D 30 more than $5.3 billion annually in direct medical care. 30 18.6 2020 Elder abuse triples the risk of premature death and 6.8 1010 3.6 5.2 causes unnecessary illness, injury, and suffering.E 00 199519951995 199719971997 199919991999 200120012001 200320032003 20052005 20072007 20092009 20112011 20132013 201520152015 Only 1 in 24 cases of elder abuse is reported to adult F ViolentViolent VictimizationVictimization (Age(Age 65+) Violent Victimization (Population Estimate) protective services or law enforcement.

B In 2014, 5.8% of people age 65 and older had experienced Violent Victimization of Older Adults by Sex identity theft in the past year.G rate per 1,000 people age 12 and older

12 12 12 Men 10 10 10.3 Women 8 8 6.3 6.7 In 2015, nearly 7 of every 1,000 violent victimizations 6 were committed against women age 65 and older. 6 4 Approximately 3 of every 1,000 violent victimizations 4 4.3 1.6 B 2 3.2 were experienced by men age 65 and older. 2 0 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 0 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 Men Women Men Women 2018 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Resource Guide: Crime and Victimization Fact Sheets

Reported

Did Not Report

CURRENT DATA ON THE VICTIMIZATION AND ABUSE OF OLDER ADULTS

In 2015, 45% of violent victimizations committed against In 2015, 51% of violent crime victimizations against people persons age 65 and older were reported to the police.B 65 and older involved victims who did not know their perpetrator; 26% were committed by a well-known or casual acquaintance; and 18% were committed by a relative or Violent VictimizationReported of Older B Adults Reported to Police B intimate partner.

B 240,758 ReportedDid Not Report (45%) Violent Victimization of Older Adults victimizations Not reported (55%) by victim relationship to perpetrator

Stranger (51%) Acquaintance (26%) (well known or casual) Intimate partner (9%)

Other relative (9%) A 2009 study found that the vast majority of elder Unknown/Not specified (5%) maltreatment is committed by someone familiar to the

victim. Emotional and sexual maltreatment are most

frequently committed by either a partner/ or

acquaintance; neglect by a child or grandchild; and physical

maltreatment by a partner/spouse or acquaintance.A Residents of nursing homes are also vulnerable to abuse, neglect, or exploitation by staff and fellow A Perpetrator of Most Recent Maltreatment residents. A study of nursing home facilities found that more by type of maltreatment than 50% of staff admitted to engaging in physical , mental abuse, or neglect of older patients. Furthermore, 25 Spouse/ 57 nearly 1/4 of the 190,592 complaints filed against nursing Partner 40 homes in 2012 constituted resident-on-resident physical or 28 .H 25 19 Types of Complaints Against Nursing HomesH Acquaintance 40 23 29 19 Physical or sexual abuse Children/ 10 22 by another resident Grandchildren 0 39 Psychological abuse 21 13 9 Gross neglect* 14 Other relative 12 7 Financial exploitation 7

9 Sexual abuse 7 3 50% 3 Emotional 0 Physical *“Gross neglect” is a caregiver’s intentional failure to provide a person with a service necessary to maintain the health or safety of the person.I 9 Sexual 2 Neglect Refused to 5 answer 3 60% F M. S. Lachs and J. Berman, Under the Radar: New York State Elder Abuse Prevalence Study, (William B. Hoyt Memorial New York State Children, Fam- ily Trust Fund, New York State Office of Children and Family Services, 2011)

SOURCES G E. Harrell, Victims of Identity Theft, 2014, (Washington, DC: Bureau of Jus- tice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, NCJ 248991, 2015), http://www. A R. Acierno et al., “The National Elder Mistreatment Study,” Am J Public bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/vit14.pdf Health vol. 100, 2(2009): 292-97, https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/ grants/226456.pdf H National Center on Elder Abuse, https://ncea.acl.gov/whatwedo/research/ statistics.html#08; Abuse of Residents in Long-Term Care Facility, 2013, B Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, Concatenat- https://ncea.acl.gov/resources/docs/Abuse-LongTermCare-Facilities-2012.pdf ed File, 1995-2015, (U.S. Department of Justice) I The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, “Long-Term Care Ombudsman C A. Wiglesworth et al., “Screening for Abuse and Neglect of People with Program Complaint Codes,” http://ltcombudsman.org/uploads/files/ Dementia,” J Am Soc vol. 58, 3(2010): 493-500 support/Complaint_Code2019.pdf Accessed 10/25/2017 D X. Q. Dong, “Medical Implications of Elder Abuse and Neglect,” Clinics in Geriatric Medicine vol. 21, 2(2005): 293–313 E X. Dong et al., “Elder Self-Neglect and Abuse and Mortality Risk in a Com- munity-Dwelling Population,” JAMA vol. 302, 5(2009): 517-26