Burglars threatening elderly residents
The sad thing is that seniors and aging adults are at the top of every criminal’s list. Burglars believe that elderly are easier to trick and resist less when confronted. Not to mention they expect rich loot by ransacking their bedroom, looking for family jewelry and secret money stashes. In 2016 there were several home intrusions where robbers forced their way into the house of an elderly. In Everett, a man terrorized an aging couple and their 6-year old grandson by threatening to burn down the house. Eventually he locked them up in the bathroom while looking for valuables.
In Burbank, a man from Pasadena forced himself into a senior woman’s house by claiming he brought good news. After he was in, he dropped the act and tied the women using a bed sheet. The elderly women bravely resisted, and got several bruises during the fight. An 80-year old grandmother wasn’t so lucky, as she ended up in a hospital after a criminal beat her up and robbed her house.
Medical alert system to the rescue!
The common trait among the three stories we just shared is that in each of them a medical alert system saved the day. While the elderly couple and their grandson were rounded up in the bathroom, they broke down the door and called for help with the wife’s medical alert device. The Everett lady was flimsily restricted with the bedsheet, thus she could signal for help with her two-way communication button. When the attackers realized that help (and law enforcement) were on the way, they immediately stopped the robbery and fled. In the last case the beaten up elderly woman tried to call for help, but she used her wired medical alert system, which was sabotaged by the vicious attacker.
Elderly should protect themselves
The lesson is simple: medical alert buttons cleverly hide in a pocket or disguise themselves as simple jewelry, and thus the robbers won’t notice them. It only requires a simple button press, something even a partially restricted or injured elderly can do. Some of them even sport fall-detection technology, which alerts the authorities even if the wearer is lying unconscious. The highly trained monitoring staff quickly assess the situation (even if the user is unable to speak), and summon both the police and the paramedics. Just be sure to opt for a completely mobile, wireless device with backup batteries to avoid sabotage. As you can see, just the mere realization that the victim is able to notify the authorities is enough for the criminal to flee, saving both the elderly’s life and valuables.
Tamás Ő.
Sander D.
