AG NAMES BATH OFFICER FIRST ELDER SERVICE OFFICER OF THE YEAR
July 1, 2002
JULY 1, 2002
CONTACT: Charles Dow, Director
Communications And Legislative Affairs
207-626-8577
Attorney General Steven Rowe today named Bath Police Department Officer
Daniel Couture, 29, Elder Service Officer of the Year. Couture, a Topsham
resident, is the Bath PD's liaison to seniors in the community. He is
an active member of TRIAD, a national effort that depends on local partnerships
between seniors and law enforcement for the purpose of preventing crime
against seniors. He is a regular presence when Bath seniors get together.
Bath Police Chief Pete Lizanecz called Couture "the essential link between
our older folks and the police department."
The Maine Attorney General's Elder Service Officer Program was created
in 1999. The Attorney General invited law enforcement agencies to designate
officers to receive enhanced training in elder related law enforcement
topics. There are currently over 100 Elder Service Officers in police
and sheriff's departments throughout the State.
Attorney General Rowe believes the Elder Service Officers (ESOs) are
becoming increasingly important because the elderly are so frequently
the targets of exploitation, fraud, and abuse. Rowe instituted the Elder
Service Officer Award this year to call attention to the exceptional service
he sees ESOs rendering to Maine seniors. The honor will be awarded annually
by the Attorney General to a law enforcement officer who performs exemplary
work with seniors in the prevention of fraud, financial exploitation,
and abuse.
"Our seniors deserve the best information and protection we can give
them. I am proud that so many good officers like Officer Couture have
taken on this special duty, and I hope all Maine communities will have
ESOs in a few years," said Rowe.
