Canadian law enforcement perceptions of older adult maltreatment, interviewing practices and training needs

The current mixed methods study was designed to develop improved insight into the training and evidence-gathering needs of Canadian law enforcement during criminal investigations involving older adult victims and witnesses. Canadian law enforcement professionals (N = 19) were interviewed about their perceptions of older adult maltreatment, interview practices, training needs, and societal and public policy recommendations. These professionals also completed questionnaires that assessed their self-reported experience and training supporting older adult victims, their knowledge of older adult maltreatment risk factors and memory aging processes, and their general attitudes towards the older adult population. During the qualitative interview, most participants reported using contextual (e.g., interviewing witness in their home) and question-specific accommodations with older adults, along with pre-interview (e.g., rapport-building), free-recall, and truth-induction practices. Participants discussed specific older adult health, cognitive, emotional and socio-cultural (e.g., generational differences in maltreatment perceptions) factors that can impact an older adult's risk for maltreatment, the interviewing process, and the reporting of abuse and/or neglect. Participants expressed a need for more training pertaining to older adult-specific disabilities, as well as improved multidisciplinary collaboration and practices for interviewing this population. Furthermore, participants discussed their perceptions of the common risk factors, perpetrators, and reporting barriers in cases of older adult maltreatment, as well as their societal and public policy recommendations for improving the safety of vulnerable older adults. Key directions for future research, along with professional law enforcement practice and training recommendations, will be discussed.