ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL RECOGNIZES LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO ILLINOIS’ SENIOR CITIZENS

Chicago — Attorney General Kwame Raoul today presented a Quincy detective with the Elderly Service Officer of the Year Award. Two Chicago police officers were also honored for their outstanding service to senior citizens.

The Elderly Service Officer of the Year Award recognizes the dedication of Elderly Service Officers (ESO) throughout Illinois who are serving and protecting older citizens, and nominations are submitted by police chiefs and advocates. ESOs are specially-trained law enforcement officers who have attended one of the Attorney General’s ESO trainings to help them better respond to issues affecting seniors. To date, the office has trained and certified more than 1,800 law enforcement officers and senior advocates on how to serve their communities by responding to crimes against senior citizens.

“Today’s award recipients have gone above and beyond in their efforts to protect and serve older residents in our communities,” Raoul said. “I am committed to protecting the rights of seniors throughout the state and hope that by highlighting the achievements of some of our best and brightest ESOs, we can inspire more departments to have officers specifically trained to interact with senior citizens.”

Raoul named Detective Adam Gibson of the Quincy Police Department the 2019 ESO of the Year. Gibson became an ESO in 2014 and transformed the position from one that primarily investigated reported incidents by increasing awareness of scams and seeking out victims to help. He works with local banks to help recognize and report changes in customers’ banking habits to help protect seniors, helps patrol officers find resources for seniors, and worked to investigate sweetheart scams. After a Quincy senior sent $185,000 out of state, Gibson went above and beyond the call of duty by traveling to multiple states, writing and executing dozens of social media and financial records search warrants, and working to identify additional victims throughout the country. As a result of his work, more than $160,000 was recovered, and the suspect is currently awaiting trial.

Officer Daliah Goree from the Chicago Police Department’s 2nd District and Officer Tonya Collins from the Chicago Police Department’s 15th District were both recognized as 2019 Outstanding ESOs. Within Goree’s role as the district’s ESO, she routinely provides educational seminars to various senior groups, plans faith-based activities and youth events where seniors have the opportunity to interact with youth, and helps address challenges with technology and smart phones so that seniors can stay in touch with family and friends.

Collins is the Senior Citizen Liaison Officer and heads the subcommittee for the Community Policing Office in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. In her role, Collins regularly teaches seniors how to avoid being the victim of a scam and has built collaborative relationships with local community organizations and senior residential properties, which have extended the reach of the district’s senior programming.

Attorney General Raoul presented the 16th Annual ESO of the Year awards at the 2019 Illinois TRIAD Conference. The Attorney General’s office is a founding member of Illinois TRIAD and has served on its board since 1990. Illinois TRIAD, in partnership with the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Board and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, was one of the first organizations in the nation to guide a statewide response to address crime against seniors. Local TRIADs can be found throughout Illinois and help implement crime prevention, education and volunteer programs for seniors.

The Attorney General encourages anyone who believes they or a loved one is a victim of fraud, exploitation, or abuse to contact the Attorney General’s Senior Citizens Consumer Fraud Hotline at 1-800-243-5377 or 1-800-964-3013 (TTY).

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