The Legislature hereby finds and declares that there are many efforts currently under way that seek to forge partnerships to coordinate criminal justice and social services approaches to victimization of senior citizens. The TRIAD program, sponsored by the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), is one such effort. This effort recognizes that senior citizens have the same fundamental desire as other members of our society to live freely, without fear or restriction due to the criminal element, and that the state should seek to expand efforts to reduce crime against this growing and uniquely vulnerable segment of our population.
It is the intent of the Legislature, therefore, to promote a coordinated effort among law enforcement and social services agencies to stem the tide of violence against senior citizens and to support media and non-media strategies aimed at increasing both public understanding of the problem and the senior citizens' skills in preventing crime against themselves and their property, and to address the problem of crime against senior citizens in a systematic and effective manner by promoting and expanding collaborative crime prevention programs, such as the TRIAD model, that assist law enforcement agencies and senior citizens in implementing specific strategies for crime prevention, victim assistance, citizen involvement and public education.