'Graying of Torrance:' Police Response to an Aging Population

• NCJ Number: 109604
• Author(s): J M Weyant
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 123 pages
• Corporate Author: California Cmssn on Peace Officer Standards and Training
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services; POST Media Distribution Ctr
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the trend toward an older population in Torrance, Calif., and suggests how police should orient their services toward such a population.

Abstract

The first phase of the study was an 18-month analysis of demographic trends among the aged (65 years old and older) in Torrance. This shows a steady decline in the public school enrollment and an increase in the average age of the local population. Phase two of the study involved the development of questionnaires designed to ascertain needs, concerns, and interests of the police and their clientele in the elderly age group. Phase three reviewed selected programs in various parts of the country that have addressed police service to the elderly. The study projects an increase in the number of elderly offenders and victims as well as in the fear of crime. Recommendations designed to improve police services to an older population in Torrance focus on changes in organization and deployment within the police department, the development of more comprehensive officer training in dealing with the elderly, and the development of certain senior volunteer programs within the department. 78 footnotes, 40 references. (Author summary modified)