Victorian Police and elder abuse

We recently sat down with Acting Assistant Commissioner Sharon McKinnon from Victoria Police’s Family Violence Command to ask a few questions about what they are doing to identify, stop and prevent the abuse of older people in their community. In this interview A/AC McKinnon outlines the programs they have in place along with information about how people can report elder abuse along with helpful resources.

Victoria Police act against elder abuse

How are police trained to identify elder abuse? What specialist resources does Victoria Police devote to tackling this important issue?

All police officers are required to undertake extensive and continuous family violence training that includes a component relating to elder abuse. It includes sessions at the Centre for Family Violence at the Victoria Police Academy, the only dedicated family violence police training facility in Australia. This training is provided to all police from recruits up to superintendent level, as they transition into different ranks and take on different roles and responsibilities.

Recruits are taught about the forms of family violence experienced by priority communities, including seniors, and the unique barriers they face to reporting any violence. A simulation centre at the Centre for Family Violence immerses police in different family violence scenarios, with a new elder abuse case expected to be rolled out by the end of August 2024.

At every family violence incident, all police complete a risk assessment and make referrals to specialist services, including services relevant for older people. They refer high-risk cases to one of our specialist family violence units for further investigation.

We have 29 Family Violence Investigation Units (FVIUs) across the state, with around 415 dedicated detectives and intelligence practitioners. These units investigate serious and complex investigations, manage high-risk, complex and cold cases, and support general duties police and other specialist units. Some of these complex matters involve elder abuse.

Talk us through the crossover from elder abuse to family violence.

Elder abuse is any act that causes harm to an older person. The connection to family violence is that elder abuse is often carried out by someone the person knows, such as family, friends or carers.

In many instances, the abuse only comes to light because it’s identified or suspected by a third-party person, such as bank staff, an aged care worker or a lawyer.

How often, and in what kind of circumstances, are police resorting to seeking a family violence safety notice or family violence intervention order?

Police have various options available to them to protect older people from further family violence. One of these is to apply on behalf of the older person for a family violence intervention order or family violence safety notice. The notice or order can include various conditions, such as setting an exclusion zone or prohibiting the perpetrator from committing family violence.

In July 2022 to June 2023, more than 2,620 family violence intervention order applications were made to protect people aged over 65. More statistics about this can be found on the Crime Statistics Agency’s Family Violence Dashboard webpage.

What kind of proactive intelligence do you have in your specialist units, and how can that play a role in prevention?

Victoria Police continually works closely with agencies who support senior Victorians. This might be through local partnerships across Victoria that give agencies a way to seek our advice and give us an opportunity to identify elder abuse, intervene and prevent further harm.

In addition to specialist detectives from our FVIUs, we also have Family Violence Liaison Officers and Family Violence Training Officers. The liaison officers oversee investigations, and the training officers provide additional coaching and training to police in the regions. That might be about, for example, family violence in priority community groups: seniors, LGBTIQA+, young people, multicultural and multifaith communities.

Victoria Police also chairs a Senior Victorians Portfolio Reference Group (PRG). This group comprises up to 20 community, government agency and research partners to share information, discuss current issues, and explore and implement best practice options. The PRG is a partnership with community that aims to work through complex and emerging issues to safeguard and empower older people.

What trends or data are police seeing about what types of elder abuse are most prevalent? How has this changed over the past 5 years, and what do you see as the reasons?

In the 12 months to March 2024, there were more than 6,000 reports of elder abuse, which represents approximately 6.5% of all family violence incidents in Victoria.

Crime Statistics Agency figures show reports of family violence affecting people aged 65 and over increased by 32% in the last 5 years. We believe this increase is partly due to the community’s improved understanding of elder abuse and greater confidence to report to police.

Elder abuse has gained significant attention across Australia in recent years. With Australia’s ageing population, it’s critical we are aware of the risk of elder abuse and protect older people from the forms of family violence they might face.

What are the challenges in doing more to combat elder abuse? Jurisdiction, lack of legal avenues, privacy, ageism, time and resources?

We’re always committed to working with our partners, including those in the aged care, health and legal sectors, to identify ways we can do more to protect older people from harm. We are also committed to increasing community understanding of elder abuse and how they can act on reports of suspected abuse.

What’s being done to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, migrant, refugee, culturally diverse and LGBTIQA+ communities when it comes to elder abuse?

Victoria Police has a Priority and Safer Communities Division (PSCD) that’s dedicated to supporting priority community groups: senior Victorians, young people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, multicultural, multifaith and LGBTIQA+ communities and people with a disability.

Victoria Police has dedicated portfolio managers, including one for senior Victorians, who liaises across the division and organisation, as well as with government and the community. The role has a broad focus on issues affecting older people, community safety, and understanding how elder abuse appears and is represented across diverse community groups.

The Senior Victorians PRG membership includes community leaders from the multicultural, LGBTIQA+ and disability sectors, and the group regularly discusses elder abuse matters, including incidents in aged care.

In addition, PSCD’s Victims Portfolio works with other priority community portfolios on issues affecting vulnerable people, including elder abuse and barriers to reporting.

Victoria Police has participated in a trial on financial elder abuse with other agencies. Please tell us about this project, its partners and outcomes, and how it’s informed further initiatives.

The Financial Elder Abuse Trial was a partnership project between Victoria Police and the banking, aged care, health and legal sectors between 2020 and 2022.

Participating agencies included Seniors Rights Victoria, State Trustees, the Australian Banking Association and local groups such as community legal centres and Peninsula Health. The trial operated in Morwell, Bendigo, Somerville, Box Hill and Croydon.

An evaluation of the trial found multiple benefits for police and the community, including increased community understanding of the prevalence of financial elder abuse and the response requirements. We believe this accounts for the increase in the number of reports of elder abuse made during the trial.

Many of the reports came from third party agencies who interact with older people, such as banks, care services and law firms. The new Crime Stoppers reporting option is designed specifically for third-party reporting of elder abuse. With elder abuse known to be underreported, we believe this new online reporting tool will help improve reporting rates.

What does Victoria Police hope to gain from the new reporting option for third parties to report elder abuse via the Crime Stoppers Victoria online portal?

The new online reporting option allows agencies, friends and family members of older people to easily report suspected elder abuse via a dedicated category on the Crime Stoppers Victoria website.

It was launched to coincide with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day this year, and it provides third parties with a clear and consistent way to report suspected elder abuse, including financial elder abuse. Third parties means anyone who interacts with older people, including concerned friends and family members.

The online option means that third parties can make a report in their own time and provide all the relevant documentation. This gives police the critical information they need in the initial report to commence their enquiries.

Families, friends and support agencies are also able to report on behalf of an older person, such as someone who has cognitive or mobility challenges that prevent them from attending a police station.

We hope this new online option will lead to more reporting of elder abuse and improved opportunities to support older Victorians who might be experiencing family violence harm.

What do you recommend people do if they have concerns about the wellbeing of an older person? What reassurances would you give that their concerns will be acted upon?

We know older people may not feel comfortable to disclose abuse, as they may feel shame or embarrassment or not want to get their family member or carer into trouble. If you have concerns about the wellbeing of an older people, we encourage you to reach out, either to an appropriate support service or to police.

Encouraging older people to stay connected and involved in their local community is also a way to prevent elder abuse, because having wider social networks can help shine a light on anything that’s happening to them.

You can also seek advice from a community-based legal centre or support agency on how best to support an older person and encourage them to talk about any suspected abuse. Concerned family members can also contact a police station and ask to speak to a supervisor or Family Violence Liaison Officer for additional advice.

How can people report elder abuse?

If you or anyone you know is experiencing elder abuse and there are immediate safety concerns, please call Triple Zero (000).

Report non-urgent forms of elder abuse, or suspected elder abuse, anonymously via the Crime Statistics Victoria online portal: visit Crime Stoppers Victoria and select ‘Suspicious activity or other crime’ then ‘Elder abuse (including financial elder abuse)’.

Other resources

There are many support services available. Victorians can contact Seniors’ Rights Victoria on the organisation’s free confidential helpline: 1300 368 821 or visit seniorsrights.org.au for further advice.

Visit the Victoria Police Elder Abuse webpage for information about what elder abuse is, who it involves and where to get help.

Listen to Family Violence Command Assistant Commissioner Lauren Callaway discussing financial elder abuse on Crime Stoppers Victoria.

Listen to Crime Stoppers Victoria podcast episodes on ‘Elder abuse: prevention and protection’ with Family Violence Command senior sergeants Alasdair Gall and Matthew Russell:

• Episode 19

• Episode 20