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Clinton County senior crime program gets new director

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By Dave Vickers | Friday, July 21, 2006 1:44 AM CDT | () comments

CLINTON, Iowa — Preventing scams against senior citizens is the main aim of the new director of the Clinton County Seniors vs. Crime program.

Alan Green, 59, who farms near Grand Mound, has been hired to operate the program, which began in 1994 to educate seniors about scams, crime and safety.

Among its efforts are providing cell phones for seniors to be able to dial 911 in emergencies. The unsubscribed free phones, which are donated by the public, can be programmed to call 911 only.

Another project is a “vial of life” packet that senior citizens are encouraged to fill out and leave in a prominent place in the case of emergency. The packet contains emergency contact information and a medical history.

The primary focus remains on ways to prevent scams. Green said he received an immediate initiation to the problem. When he interviewed for the job, he was told he would be surprised to learn how many scams occur. Green said that in his first two weeks on the job, he saw two cases involving scams.

While the program will help seniors who have encountered a scam, Green said the effort is to educateto prevent scam attempts. Some cases have led to prosecutions due to the efforts of the program, Green said.

The program plans to add office hours one day a week at the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department satellite office in DeWitt to bring the services closer to the western part of Clinton County.

The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.