How can we better inform potential victims of the threats that are directed at them, particularly given that this group is less likely than younger people to be involved in technology and the internet?
Senior citizens have become attractive targets for con artists looking to make quick money, and they can also be subjected to physical victimization by their caregivers in some cases. As the number of elderly citizens in the United States increases as a result of the aging of the “baby boomer” generation, the greater the number of people who could become targets of scammers and abusers is created. (Sources: Associated Press, “9 Arrested in Long-Island Nursing Home Probe Following Patient’s Death,” “9 Arrested in Long-Island Nursing Home Probe Following Patient’s Death,” S. Tisinger, “Elder Abuse Bills ‘Moving in the Right Direction,'” New York Times, February 11, 2014 (http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Long-Island-Nursing-Home-Neglect-Arrests-Patient-Death-244967291.html); CBS, February 11, 2014 (http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/L The Muscatine Journal, March 4, 2014 (https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2747); Making Elder Financial Exploitation Cases Part of a Sustainable Practice, January 20, 2016 (http://publish.illinois.edu/elderlawjournal/files/2016/02/Andres.pdf); Making Elder Financial Exploitation Cases Part of a Sustainable Practice, January 20, 2016 (http://publish.illino
Taking into consideration your current understanding of the criminal justice system, which you gained from the assigned readings in weeks one and two, consider whether special punishment should be meted out to offenders who prey on vulnerable groups such as the elderly? How can we better inform potential victims of the threats that are directed at them, particularly given that this group is less likely than younger people to be involved in technology and the internet?
