(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:

(1) That violent and serious crimes are being committed against the elderly on an alarmingly regular basis.

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(2) That in 1985, the United States Department of Justice reported that approximately 1 in every 10 elderly households in the nation would be touched by crime.

(3) That the California Department of Justice, based upon limited data received from local law enforcement agencies, reported that approximately 10,000 violent crimes were committed against elderly victims in 1985.

(4) That while the elderly may not be the most frequent targets of crime, when they are victimized the impact of each vicious attack has long-lasting effects. Injuries involving, for example, a broken hip may never heal properly and often leave the victim physically impaired. The loss of money used for food and other daily living expenses for these costs may be life-threatening for the older citizen on a fixed income. In addition, stolen or damaged property often cannot be replaced.

(5) Although the State of California currently funds programs to provide assistance to victims of crime and to provide general crime prevention information, there are limited specialized efforts to respond directly to the needs of elderly victims or to provide prevention services tailored for the senior population.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that victim services, crime prevention, and criminal justice training programs funded by the Office of Emergency Services shall include, consistent with available resources, specialized components that respond to the diverse needs of elderly citizens residing in the state.

(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 352, Sec. 430. (AB 1317) Effective September 26, 2013. Operative July 1, 2013, by Sec. 543 of Ch. 352.)