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Committee considers moving elder-exploitation crimes into criminal code; prosecutors seek clearer tools
Summary
Prosecutors, elder-protection advocates and law enforcement supported HB 532 to consolidate and strengthen statutes on abuse, neglect and exploitation of vulnerable adults by moving definitions and offenses into the criminal code and improving evidentiary rules; witnesses said the change would improve accessibility for police and prosecutors.
Representative Bill Mercer introduced House Bill 532, a measure drafted with the Montana Department of Justice to consolidate statutes addressing abuse, neglect and exploitation of elders and vulnerable adults by bringing them into Title 45 (the criminal code) and clarifying definitions and penalties.
Mike Fanning, Montana's elder-justice prosecutor, told the committee that his unit is small but that prosecutorial tools are limited by the current statutory layout. "There are shortcomings in our system," Fanning said, and moving the substantive offenses into the criminal code would make them more visible and usable to law…
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