Abusing or exploiting an elderly or disabled adult is a crime. But too few cases are prosecuted, in part because officials are not familiar with the new law.
People who cause, permit or ignore exploitation, abuse or neglect could go to jail.Last year, Utah Adult Protective Services investigated more than 2,500 referrals of abuse, exploitation or neglect. Crimes include physical, emotional or financial damage.
The law, passed by the 1996 Legislature, went into effect May 1, according to Kristine Knowlton, an assistant attorney general. It applies to victimization of both disabled and elderly adults and was moved from the Human Services code to the criminal code. It's now a crime ranging from a class C misdemeanor to a second-degree felony.
State law requires anyone who suspects an elderly person is being abused or exploited to report it to Adult Protect Services or local police. There are no exceptions to the reporting law.
Utah is plowing new ground in an effort to protect vulnerable adults. Since July 1, the Department of Public Safety has assigned a detective to work directly with Adult Protective Services to investigate serious cases of elder abuse and to push for prosecution, according to Ron Stromberg, associate director of the Division of Aging and Adult Services. Utah is the only state to have a detective assigned specifically to adult protection.
Detective Kelly Wuthrich also trains local law enforcement officers to investigate crimes against the elderly and educates prosecutors about the law.
"We don't know how it will work," said Stromberg. "We expect it to do a good job to bridge the gap between Adult Protective Services and law enforcement.
"We'd like to see more prosecutions. We (Adult Protective Services) do investigations well. We can stop exploitation. But we do a poor job of getting any money back," he said. "It takes prosecution to do that."
Utah's elder and disabled adult protection law applies to reckless acts, as well as deliberate ones, Knowlton said during a presentation at the Utah Gerontological Society conference in Salt Lake City Wednesday.
Although services are available for victims of elder abuse, they must be accepted voluntarily, unless a court determines the elderly individual is incompetent to make that decision.