Santa Clara County, Calif.

While the nation’s violent crime decreased in the 1990s, financial crimes against the elderly increased. Crime prevention analysts attribute the increase partly to the overall aging of the population and partly to the concentration of wealth among older Americans. To ensure protection for its elderly residents, Santa Clara County, Calif., developed a rapid response financial abuse team and ensured its success with the addition of a law enforcement protocol designed by local, state and federal public safety agencies.

In terms of its elderly population, Santa Clara County faces a double-edged sword: a booming population of older residents and high housing prices. Many older residents own houses in the county, in which the median price of a home is about $500,000. It is not uncommon in the county for a house to be marketed and sold before its elderly owner can complain.

Established in 1999, FAST (the county’s Financial Abuse Specialist Team) was designed by the county’s Department of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS) and consists of representatives from that department, the Social Services Agency, APS, the Public Administrator/Guardian/Conservatorship Program, and the district attorney’s and county counsel’s offices.

Its goal is to provide a rapid response to reports of financial abuse with an emphasis on the prevention of financial destitution. FAST is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But authorities knew that FAST would not work without the involvement of local law enforcement agencies.

Consequently, DAAS called together Santa Clara’s 15 law enforcement agencies to design the Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Protocol, which serves as a field guide to patrol officers assisting in situations of abuse. Adopted in May 2001, the protocol assists police investigators in developing evidence critical to the criminal prosecution of financial abuse. It standardizes techniques for reporting incidents of abuse or neglect; assessing the situation through evaluation of specific physical, financial and behavioral factors; interviewing victims and suspects; filing for conservatorship; and taking legal action with the district attorney’s office.

FAST’s success centers on its interdisciplinary approach, its ability to provide immediate intervention, its expedition of civil and criminal actions, and its ability to gather critical evidence. In fact, the combined authority of FAST and law enforcement often frightens abusers into abandoning the exploitation.

So far, FAST has prevented the loss of — or recovered total assets of — more than $71 million in real property, liquid assets, and stocks and bonds. It also has collected $2.5 million in restitution and recovery/settlement money. The program, which is budgeted at almost $600,000, is financed with federal, local and state funds.

Agencies/companies involved: (from the state) Department of Justice; Victims Witness Program; Long-term Care Ombudsman Program; (from the county) Board of Supervisors; Social Service Agency; Department of Aging & Adult Services; Adult Protective Services Program; Public Administrator/Guardian/Conservatorship Program; District Attorney; County Counsel; Sheriff’s Department; and County Coronor. Police departments of Campbell, Gilroy, Los Altos, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose and Santa Clara; the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety; and the San Jose State University Police Department.