Good afternoon. My partner was supposed to be with me, but she had an emergency is not here.
I'm Isabelle Coady. I'm an elder abuse investigator. I'm part of the Ottawa Police Service's elder abuse unit. It's really a misnomer, as it should be called the vulnerable sector investigative unit, because we also investigate cases of abuse against people who are vulnerable, meaning they're either physically or mentally handicapped, or suffering from mental health problems.
Specifically what we investigate are crimes against people over 65 committed by people who have a relationship of force; or when there's a relationship of care, dependency; or where there's a struggle about power.
I want to talk to you about the problems I face when I investigate. The bulk of my investigations are of financial abuse and physical abuse. I'm talking about aggression, sexual aggression, physical confinement, fraud, theft, theft by power of attorney, intimidation by threatening conduct, harassment, or all those offences you find in the world generally but that are committed here against senior citizens who are in a difficult position.
I would group my complaints into two categories: institutional versus individual. What I mean by institutional is when something happens in a home or long-term care facility or a group home, versus individual complaints that refer to something committed within the general population by somebody who has a relationship with the victim. You find the same kind of problems, the same kind of financial abuse and physical abuse.
A common problems that I find in these investigations is that most of the time my victim is very reluctant to come forward and be involved in a court proceeding. They want the problem to stop, and they really need the problem to stop. They're suffering immensely, but they don't want to go to court. They're intimidated. They don't have the energy. They are scared, and what they want is peace. A lot of the time laying charges is simply not feasible.
There are capacity issues with my victims as witnesses. A lot of people over a certain age do suffer from mental health problems or decreased capacity, and whether this factor is real or not, if charges are laid, their capacity will be challenged in court by the lawyers. So it doesn't have to be real: it happens.
Finally, another common problem is that the age of the victim impacts the court proceedings, because as Jared was saying, the investigations are sometimes lengthy and the court proceedings are even lengthier, and sometimes we run out of time.
When it comes to crimes committed in institutions, there is a real wall of silence by the employees. It is extremely difficult to get them to give an account of what happened. They cover each other and they almost have to be forced to give an account—although in Ontario if something happens in an institution, such as a long-term care facility, it has to be reported. It's mandated. Still, I have people who lie, refuse to answer my question, don't call me back, and I have to track them down to get them to answer my questions.
When it comes to individual investigations, the relationship of dependency with the suspect is a big problem, because sometimes the abuser is also the person who gives the care. If you remove that caregiver, what happens? Very few people look forward to going into a long-term care facility; they would rather stay home with support. If there is not enough support in the community, then they rely on the abuser. There's a really unhealthy relationship that exists. But I can't replace a daughter or a son or a caregiver or a niece, or whoever is the abuser.
I shouldn't complain about limited resources, because I know that in a smaller community it's even more difficult. But even in Ottawa, it's sometimes difficult to find appropriate resources to be able to give the freedom to my victims to say to me, "Okay, that's enough, you're out of my life", or "I'm going to control access", or "this is not how it's going to take place".
When it comes to the case being prosecuted, a very small percentage of cases end up in front of the courts. I think in general there's an iceberg model, but when it comes to elder abuse it's very true. The reason is that most of the time my victims want to go to court only if there's absolutely no other option. I have cases in mind. I remember this 85-year-old woman who was being assaulted on a weekly basis by her son, who really needed mental health treatment. We had to charge him in order to protect her, and she would not proceed. We couldn't track her down; she hid from us after. It's very common; it's extremely common.
We end up warning a lot of people. After I conduct an investigation and realize that a crime has been committed and that I have the grounds to lay a charge, I interview my suspect. At that point, if I am convinced that this person has committed a crime, I can give him or her a warning, meaning that I inform them that I believe they have has committed a crime and that I have grounds to lay charges, but that, for other reasons, I will not lay charges. That has an impact on people who work in long-term care facilities or with the vulnerable sector. To work with vulnerable persons, you need a criminal check, a police records check. If you've been involved as a suspect or you are a person who has been warned, you cannot get one for five years. So that's one way I can control the impact on people who get involved in those kinds of activities.
When it comes to the results in terms of sentencing, I think the sentences are light. We could change the wording about aggravating factors, the vulnerability factors, or age, but I think there's something to say about the relationships of dependence that the person has with the caregiver or the son or the daughter. It's important that the courts start recognizing that this is a problem and that a person who is in that situation, dependent on a caregiver, is in the same relationship as a five-year old child. I think it's important that the courts recognize this.
With regard to my wish list, one big hurdle we have when we investigate cases is that the exchange of information with certain potential victims is very difficult, especially professional witnesses, such as health care providers or bank employees. I understand the perspective of a nurse or a doctor. They're worried because they have big obligations to protect privacy, and a lot of the time privacy trumps safety. That is the reality. So it is very difficult for them to deal with this, because they're afraid of being punished by their licensing agency. I get that, but sometimes it's very difficult, because the abuse is there, and I think someone reporting that should be protected.