ABSTRACT
Interviewing senior citizens and eliciting useful information in the conduct of a criminal investigation is a form of police procedure not taught in normal training channels. Yet it is one that police officers and investigators frequently encounter. Elder abuse is a national problem, and senior citizens—those above 65 years of age—are often encountered as victims of burglary, violent crimes, and especially fraud and white collar crimes. They are also encountered as victims of sexual assault, homicide, and attempted homicide. In the course of cold case homicide investigations, investigators revisiting older cases may encounter now older witnesses during the course of the reinterview process, or in the course of developing heretofore unknown witnesses. Successful interviews and processing of information furnished by senior citizens can often lead to arrest and successful prosecution in cold case homicides.
