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GOVERNMENT CRIME PREVENTION PROGRAMS

Many politicians seem forever confused by the lack of participation they get in all the special projects they've created to help older crime victims. Why, they wonder, do these seniors not participate?

Minus all the polite euphemisms, these programs fail for two reasons. First, many of these programs are not needed, and those that could do some good are poorly designed. Seniors, at least the ones I know, are not looking for handouts. It appears that many people failed to notice that older adults hold most of this nation's wealth, own the most land, and are able to provide for themselves, thank you. Rather than handouts, we have a vast number of seniors who are looking to help out, but for various reasons their offers are ignored.

Another reason these let's help grandma and grandpa programs receive scant participation has to do with longevity. Older adults who could make use of any given service have learned through experience not to become dependent on them because they won’t last. I have personally assisted attorney generals, state senators, and other politicians with creating crime prevention programs that actually worked as advertised. This success, however, always ended once the politician failed to win reelection. Newly elected officials often treat with disdain any programs created by their predecessor. Such programs are then terminated or ignored and left to die a slow but certain death.

Case In Point

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. In my hometown of Milwaukee, our police department was responsible for researching and implementing many senior crime prevention programs.  The majority of those programs were so successful they became national models. This success was accomplished using a minimum of police resources and involved a coordinated effort with all aspects of the criminal justice system. Our Senior Citizen Assault Prevention Unit worked with senior citizen volunteer groups, national organizations such as AARP, and various other government, academic, and health care organizations. This coordinated effort led to immediate and impressive results. Crimes against older adults were drastically reduced, criminals who specialized in victimizing this particular age group were identified and held accountable, and Milwaukee suddenly became known by the criminal element as a place to avoid.

As you might have guessed, this wonderful program no longer exists. Having gone through several police chiefs since its inception, the Senior Citizen Unit was reduced to a unit in name only. The majority of the unit officers received reassignment to other duties, and those that remained suddenly faced far more work than they could handle. The only reason any of the unit remains is because of concerned community leaders who were outraged at the prospect of shelving such a viable and needed service.

Anyone who has tried to get help for an older family member or friend has no doubt experienced the aggravations involved with capturing the attention of anyone within a bureaucracy. What you’ve encountered were sympathetic words rather than action, double-talk, and a polite invitation to take your problems elsewhere. If someone did promise to help you, then chances are you’re still waiting, and shall continue to wait for many months or years to come.

All of this could change if only senior citizens, old people, the elderly, the aged, or whatever other description you care to affix to our nation’s older adults, discover just how much political influence they have. Why they hold such power is a topic for another article, but let me assure you the power to get things done is within their grasp. The sheer size of this growing segment of our population alone places them in a position of power. Add to this the support of our nation’s news media, and politicians who fear doing anything that would offend older adults, and you have more than enough power to gets things done.

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