Te Puna Haumaru Seminar Series - Crime science in an ageing world: Applying environmental criminology to financial elder abuse

It is estimated that over one in six people aged 65 and above experience abuse and mistreatment each year in Australia, with most abuse against older adults perpetrated by their own adult children. In the context of an aging population, it is increasingly important to understand how financial abuse occurs to identify early intervention and prevention strategies. This presentation will highlight how environmental criminology can be applied to financial elder abuse, specifically focusing on the misuse of power of attorney documents. Drawing on routine activity theory and situational crime prevention, this presentation will outline a model for prevention, focusing on enhancing primary prevention, attorney ability, and regular auditing of financial transactions.

Speaker: Dr Emily Moir

Dr Emily Moir is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. Emily is a national award-winning environmental criminologist whose research is focused on the role of regular people in detecting, responding to, and preventing crime. She has applied this work across a range of contemporary crime problems, including the abuse of older people, financial abuse and fraud, and sexual violence. Emily has been a named investigator on over $1 million of research funding and has consulted with a variety of national, state, and local agencies on projects related to elder abuse, crime trends, and project evaluation.