The National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) has partnered with The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) to re-establish NSA’s National Association of Triads. Triad is a national community policing concept that partners law enforcement agencies with older adult volunteer groups and older adult related community services to educate older adults on crime and fraud, to reduce crime against the elderly, and eliminate the unwarranted fear of crime. There are about 680 Triad Councils in 32 states with approximately 17,000 volunteers throughout the United States.  The National Association of Triads will serve as a clearinghouse of information, best practices, and trends in crimes targeting older adults, and will work with state and local triads on national training.

Elder abuse is underreported. The New York State Elder Abuse Prevalence Study found that for every case known to programs and agencies, 24 were unknown.  A comprehensive review article by Lachs, M., & Pillemer, K. (2015) “Elder abuse. New England Journal of Medicine” found the prevalence of elder abuse to be approximately 10% including physical abuse, psychological or verbal abuse, sexual abuse, financial exploitation, and neglect. 

The goals of the National Association of Triads to address these issues are threefold: 1) Enhance community policing by partnering law enforcement agencies with Triad groups; 2) Help law enforcement educate older adults on crime and fraud; and 3) Close the existing knowledge gap between law enforcement practitioners and the investigation of crimes involving elder fraud.

For questions, comments, or suggestions about this program, please contact the project manager, Kristi Barksdale, at kbarksdale@sheriffs.org.