[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6472669,"mediaKeyId","5775996-22d256fcf2065e7eda693bb0362c0527","parentId",5775996,"title","City departments brief Public Safety Committee on elder-abuse trends, training and barriers to prosecution","audioSeconds",959,"startMs",2367571,"endMs",3327361,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5775996-22d256fcf2065e7eda693bb0362c0527&start=2367&end=3327","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5775996-22d256fcf2065e7eda693bb0362c0527/thumbnail_2367571.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6472669/San-Antonio/Bexar-County/Texas/City-departments-brief-Public-Safety-Committee-on-elder-abuse-trends-training-and-barriers-to-prosecution","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6472669-1280f32a78a5fbbafe6574cd5177bd6d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771132129&Signature=Y2v6Zo5zA9r2Dycj-0m4O8lZnOKlW8PtTNL0f2Md7NWqlcRDRKvkHnZC6wLEMmtTVRpjlHqOuo7lzYbKYS5cKYplk8rS63nxPFTxcWkDkskHuYaa7XmzHgS8DlvxJsam2QXGfAHi0obU0L0Ad1asbUM47Hry-5Qux~LWQeq0usszt-PyELO7DGeCeFJQ9O9VbmghsVNg9oxJxorXDXRVTnoE-vzBYoA1OaSquO~e4cURLpv0k2oue61dSKEKqJtUVm9ND4NiwU2MlB6yRylSyS23x67J3t30KM2VcJ~fb36jU85upmHlkYzggbjO6LZY0E3uPGSEz7BSxu~QJfi3Ow__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","San Antonio","date","2025-09-16T00:00:00Z","article","San Antonio Department of Human Services Director Melody Woosley and SAPD Assistant Chief Jesse Salome briefed the Public Safety Committee on elder-abuse prevention and intervention, citing rising financial-exploitation indicators, coordination with Adult Protective Services (APS) and ongoing training efforts for city staff and police.

\"Texas Adult Protective Services receives more than a 120,000 reports of elder abuse annually,\" Melody Woosley said, and APS estimates only one in 24 cases are reported. Woosley told the committee that APS also estimates \"one out of every 10 older adults in Bexar County are abused, neglected, and or exploited every year.\"

Why it matters: Committee members stressed concerns about isolated seniors, fraud and door-to-door predatory sales; staff described preventive outreach, joint investigations and training designed to reach older adults and caregivers.

Key points presented:

- Trends and scale: Assistant Chief Salome said financial-and-property crimes remain the most common offenses targeting older adults. He reported theft cases at 387 year-to-date and credit-card-abuse cases at 112 year-to-date (as presented) and said fraud-related offenses and identity-based exploitation have increased from 2023 to 2025 year-to-date.

- Underreporting: Presenters emphasized substantial underreporting — APS's one-in-24 estimate — and listed reasons victims may not report, including fear of retaliation, shame, declining cognition and dependency on the abuser.

- Training and prevention: Human Services and APS developed a 45-minute \"Don't Look Away\" training pilot for public-facing city departments; Woosley said more than 6,900 city employees have completed the training so far and the city will roll it out citywide later in the year. SAPD described academy training, regular in-service refreshers and a trauma-informed certification achieved in 2023.

- Interagency coordination: DHS and SAPD said they work with APS, financial institutions and the Elder Abuse and Exploitation Task Force. An APS investigator is embedded part time with SAPD's Financial Crimes Unit and a dedicated prosecutor handles complex financial cases, Woosley said.

- Investigative barriers: Salome noted common barriers to prosecutions: victims who decline to proceed after restitution, delayed reporting that weakens evidence, and complex financial records (which can cross jurisdictions and require subpoenas).

Staff and council follow-ups: Council members asked about outreach to isolated and disabled seniors, auto-enrollment in do-not-call registries during financial counseling, mobilizing district-based resource fairs, and whether SAPD can link family-member perpetrators with addiction-treatment or referral services. SAPD said its Financial Crimes Unit includes about 20 detectives plus two supervisors and that communications flow through the department's public information office for coordinated public alerts.

The committee agreed to use the elder-abuse subcommittee to refine prevention outreach and training and to expand resource fairs and financial-counseling access for seniors.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","San Antonio - Public Safety Committee Sep 16, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Human Services and SAPD presented data showing rising financial exploitation and described training, referral and investigative practices; staff said they have developed citywide training and partnered with APS and financial institutions.","taxTitle","San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas","taxId",2771,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6472674,"City briefing outlines San Antonio's cross-department domestic- and intimate-partner violence work",1066,482391,1548401,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5775996-22d256fcf2065e7eda693bb0362c0527&start=482&end=1548","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5775996-22d256fcf2065e7eda693bb0362c0527/thumbnail_482391.jpg","/articles/6472674/San-Antonio/Bexar-County/Texas/City-briefing-outlines-San-Antonios-cross-department-domestic-and-intimate-partner-violence-work","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6472674-a03de2372a93a772426d15dc02ed864d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771132129&Signature=CPcN1SvgYiQUSs9lxUpQlh0P-AaNIaX8fAtKF3ulGT5rqJ3eWuVEqbCmwVym5QN-XGBZCZ4iyFNRk3vgcfuQgnZkoaNySEIdOokTnsbelMBXaDuKTg2yI3fbf45AoNpPzceDYP4JFPs5mGmKo9yMf2lu3CtXxfso1m~9U3-eo9wAmXB73o6Ed-QKNjuIUcgJxuv6XYTP7Fpvj4swCf3AloI9hme1laH2iOhKhaqFxh8SWmJ38L0T1QcJ9~2gdpCFsM2VN0WGtZM0YDIZ4UHirnah-4N6MoaW0fl1HPKjVzu7pQEP6xYlY738gTshU77BrLBQ01CXgvoeOwo-R2HCEw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Erica Hayler Stevenson, Violence Prevention Administrator at Metro Health, briefed the San Antonio Public Safety Committee on the city's coordinated approach to domestic violence, describing a shift from a law-enforcement-driven model to a victim-centered public-health model and summarizing recent data and service capacity.

\"Interpersonal violence is part of what you've been charged with, and I'm gonna talk about a subset of that called intimate partner violence or domestic violence,\" Erica Hayler Stevenson said as she opened the presentation.

Why it matters: The presentation laid out how multiple city departments and partner agencies share responsibility for prevention, crisis response and long-term support for survivors. Committee members identified follow-up questions about emergency lodging, recidivism data for municipal-court diversion programs, youth-violence intersections and zip-code-level trends.

What the briefing covered: Stevenson listed nine city departments and the city manager's office as active in domestic-violence work and said the city adopted a strategic plan in 2019 to coordinate investment. Key points she presented:

- SAPD response: The San Antonio Police Department has expanded officers, detectives and sergeant positions since FY2020 through CRT grants and city funds, added overtime detective coverage for nights and weekends, and provides a volunteer Family Assistance Crisis Team and a Handle with Care notification process for children who witness violence.

- Training: SAPD requires 24 hours of family-violence training in the academy (compared with a stated statewide 12-hour requirement) and provides in-service updates every four years, Stevenson said.

- Data: Stevenson noted that domestic-violence calls and reports have remained relatively consistent across recent calendar years, and she highlighted family-violence homicides peaked at 30 in 2020 and were 22 in calendar year 2024.

- Metro Health services: Metro Health (victim advocate services moved to Metro Health in 2020) provides crisis advocates, case managers and a continuum of care including temporary lodging and home-security devices for survivors who cannot safely remain in their homes.

- City Attorney and municipal court: The City Attorney's prosecution division handles Class C misdemeanors related to domestic violence and offers a deferred-disposition standard offer for eligible offenders; municipal court runs a specialized domestic-violence docket and reported more than 1,100 assault filings in calendar year 2024, with 69% identified as family violence.

- Collaborative Commission on Domestic Violence: The CCDV, formed in 2019 and co-chaired by Maria Villal Gomez and Judge Monique Diaz, focuses on system-level improvements including data utilization, public communications and prevention programming in schools.

Questions and follow-up: Committee members asked how emergency lodging is allocated when shelters are full (Stevenson said city funds pay contracted hotel rooms for short-term stays), whether municipal-court diversion completions are tracked for recidivism (Stevenson said staff would follow up), and whether trends include youth-on-youth violence by ZIP code (Stevenson and staff said they would provide clarifying breakdowns).

Stevenson closed by noting activities planned for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, including an annual CCDV symposium on Oct. 3 and a forthcoming CCDV statistical report.","A city violence-prevention official reviewed San Antonio's 2019 strategic plan and cross-department programs addressing domestic violence, described shifts to a victim-centered public-health approach, and provided data on calls, reports and services.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6472677,"San Antonio public safety committee sets charge, forms interpersonal-violence and elder-abuse subcommittees",37,5041,42901,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5775996-22d256fcf2065e7eda693bb0362c0527&start=5&end=42","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5775996-22d256fcf2065e7eda693bb0362c0527/thumbnail_5041.jpg","/articles/6472677/San-Antonio/Bexar-County/Texas/San-Antonio-public-safety-committee-sets-charge-forms-interpersonal-violence-and-elder-abuse-subcommittees","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6472677-66f8c1a7ccde6ae5933b733834238007/orig.mp4?Expires=1771132129&Signature=SOCccimwtnzNbZVNWFrT1b8v3CAFllKzSEpC7FUBYvlyEXkkI0lBe0erC82jZqmj1rUqkHBhHK1fED379Xgk7NDhaAZjMLejT5TQJqaX46Ix8R-IJK-Kcpl~KoQnGkglToD1E~uk4PLdVJZH35bLQWxJ7RiIz28uLWA~yszVeqW~rtOP2-xdnny7oowJEJ75TbfhrtIEeIenQ4EloS2j0Hh~qufnKsscGHuywX4zpGJqezTXYczHR3OPBLZctflaR5DrL6TLePcbPkM8E5h5v05P-Q2mUqPOsMmrkrn8tyQHXEU15~ri2bqPY0i9E9oZdzciPV7SIFpRmTRzoRao4Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The San Antonio Public Safety Committee met and approved minutes from its May 19, 2025 meeting before turning to an overview of the committee's charge and subcommittee assignments.

The committee read the mayor's charge aloud: \"The public safety committee shall oversee matters related to public safety associated with fire protection, emergency medical services, emergency preparedness, police and law enforcement, animal care services, street lighting, and shade. The committee will create an interpersonal violence subcommittee to identify policy solutions to address the persistently high rates of interpersonal violence in our community. Additionally, this committee will create an elder abuse subcommittee to identify opportunities to address the unique public safety concerns impacting our seniors,\" Chair Core said.

Why it matters: The assignments set the committee's near-term work plan and the scope of follow-up briefings the council will receive. Committee members said they want future meetings to focus on making data more digestible, prioritizing street-lighting work in the budget cycle, maintaining mental-health supports for first responders, and developing targeted analyses such as streetlight gap studies.

Committee actions and schedule: The committee approved the minutes for May 19, 2025; the chair called for a motion and, after no public speakers, announced \"All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? ... Motion carries.\" The committee agreed to reconvene in November to continue work on the two subcommittees; staff member Maria (who will staff the subcommittees) will coordinate meetings and briefings. Chair Core and Council member Castillo were named to the interpersonal-violence subcommittee. Council members Castillo, Gano, Mickey Rodriguez and Spears were identified as members of the elder-abuse subcommittee.

Committee priorities raised by members: Council members suggested quarterly statistics on fire and police, updates on the Good Neighbor program, animal care updates, pilot programs on prime reduction, and a fire-department needs assessment. Council member Castillo asked for a gap-versus-need analysis for street lighting so the city can prioritize higher-need locations rather than just easier projects. Chair Core emphasized focusing on the \"why\" behind trends in the data rather than only presenting the numbers.

The meeting adjourned after presentations were scheduled to follow; members were asked to send additional topic ideas to staff by email.","The Public Safety Committee approved minutes and reviewed the mayor's charge, assigned members to two subcommittees on interpersonal violence and elder abuse, and set a return meeting schedule with staff support.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

City departments brief Public Safety Committee on elder-abuse trends, training and barriers to prosecution

City briefing outlines San Antonio's cross-department domestic- and intimate-partner violence work

San Antonio public safety committee sets charge, forms interpersonal-violence and elder-abuse subcommittees