Best Practice for Law Enforcement and APS Partnerships
 

By Jerry Greene, Missouri Office of Special Investigations (OSI) Unit Chief

January 2025

The adult protective services (APS) final rule focuses on partnerships between APS and agencies such as law enforcement. To increase prosecutions and improve the relationship between law enforcement and APS, Missouri (MO) APS has partnered with a specialized unit for cases potentially involving crime. Below, Jerry Greene, MO Office of Special Investigations unit chief, tells us more about this partnership.

What do you see as the benefits of this unit and how has the relationship between APS and law enforcement changed because of it? 

The mission of the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) is to create increased expertise in criminal investigations on the front end of the APS hotlines to better address these incidents which will then be investigated by OSI or law enforcement or a combination thereof. OSI is an internal partner with APS but separate as a standalone unit not under APS. OSI does have other duties and responsibilities.

As APS refers cases to OSI, we coordinate with local law enforcement to verify if they already have the case and are investigating, if they want to investigate the case jointly with OSI utilizing both sets of resources, or if the law enforcement agency wishes to defer the case to OSI to investigate.

This process has resulted in improved relations with local law enforcement. When OSI contacts law enforcement, the circumstances have been reviewed through the lens of a seasoned criminal investigator who approaches law enforcement with credible evidence to support the likelihood a crime may have occurred. To further enhance relations, OSI is composed of former and current law enforcement professionals who can also aid in the investigation, or if in the best interest of the victim due to severe staffing shortages and time constraints, OSI can work the investigation independent of law enforcement. Furthermore, our investigators, due to their experience, have networks and strong standing credibility already established within the law enforcement and prosecutorial communities at the local, state, and federal levels. This too enhances relations and often expedites the judicial process.

As we near year seven, we now find law enforcement reaching out to OSI regularly as a trusted partner in the vulnerable adult arena. This has been a huge win for APS who can now zero in on their area of expertise, which is the services and support needed by these victims, while OSI handles the intricacies of the criminal elements embedded within the hotlines and coordination with law enforcement. Furthermore, specialization has allowed for a streamlined process that has proven to better support the victims for a more equitable and expedited response for justice.

To date, 201 cases have been referred and charged. Approximately 65% are related to theft of monies in some form but we have worked on persons crimes such as assault, sexual assault, burglary, etc. Total monies identified as stolen: $13,646,200.19 with an average of $93,467.13 per victim.
 

What is the OSI unit’s response time? Can they help stand up the 24/7 response in case of emergencies? 

OSI investigators are not first responders. OSI, like APS, are civilians and under the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), so they have no first responder credentials. Should OSI or APS respond to an emergency, both would have to call first responders. OSI investigators are not commissioned peace officers under DHSS but rather have experience as such, and most do have commissions with local law enforcement agencies throughout the state. In a true emergency, we rely on law enforcement/fire/emergency medical services to respond. When a hotline referral is made as a result of a first responder identifying an APS need, APS gets the referral first. If they identify that a crime has or is being committed (“reasonable suspicion”), they refer the case to OSI for criminal investigation.  

The time a case is referred to OSI varies based on circumstances, staffing, resources, and other various factors. The time it takes to complete an investigation depends on the allegation and circumstances as a whole. Based on our data, the average time it takes to work on a financial exploitation investigation is approximately seven months. These make up the majority of our case volume (approximately 65%), while the remaining 35% are comprised of crimes against persons, which averages approximately one to four months to complete the investigation and make the referral to the local prosecutor’s office. Again, keep in mind these are the investigations deferred to OSI by local law enforcement. OSI is unique in that all our resources are devoted to crimes against the older adults and people with disabilities, while law enforcement often doesn’t have the same number of resources to devote strictly to such crimes.   
 

Have you found that there has been an increase in prosecutions because of this unit?         

To my knowledge the number of cases being prosecuted was not being tracked prior to specialization because APS was relying on local law enforcement to investigate the criminal aspects of an APS referral. Therefore, it is unknown how many cases were investigated and/or prosecuted after they were referred to law enforcement. The idea of specialization was to key in on abuse/neglect/exploitation cases to ensure that they were investigated and referred to the local prosecutor’s offices and that no cases were falling through the cracks. OSI/APS has accomplished that. Here are some of the challenges law enforcement faces when it comes to investigating crimes against older adults and adults with disabilities:

Resources
As mentioned, most law enforcement agencies don’t have a unit devoted specifically to crimes against vulnerable adults. This requires an officer or detective who handles all crimes to work that investigation into their already large caseload.                    

As resources are depleted, so is the availability to dedicate an officer/detective to investigations that take months to complete. As a result, these cases were often getting passed over for other priority cases (sexual assault, murder, assault, etc.), and the statute of limitations would expire, thus no justice for the victim.

Expertise
OSI is regularly contacted by law enforcement advising they have a case they feel needs the expertise of an investigator with OSI who sees these types of crimes on a regular basis.  

In the best interest of the victim, OSI has worked jointly and/or accepted a deferral from many rural law enforcement agencies that typically do not have many tenured officers but instead have young officers fresh out of the academy. These officers unfortunately do not have the training and experience to conduct highly complex fraud investigations.  

We sometimes see that law enforcement views what may be financial exploitation as a civil matter, and closes the investigation, placing the burden on the victim to seek justice. This again supports the function of OSI as experts in this field.

To build a better working relationship with law enforcement, I would encourage quality communication. This would include shared presentations on what APS does and what local law enforcement does. Find ways to educate both law enforcement and APS on what is needed from each other to help build mutual respect and trust. It’s most important to remember the “why” behind what each of us does which is to support vulnerable adults. Work to find ways to create a partnership through networking and establishing good working relationships.  

Based upon the results of OSI in MO, we strongly recommend the specialization model. Building a specialized unit would be unique. You would want a standalone criminal unit that is staffed by tenured, seasoned, or retired law enforcement. This unit is so beneficial to community partners because it allows local law enforcement to focus on other issues or elicit support from a unit as a subject matter expert. Law enforcement agencies all over the U.S. are understaffed and a specialized unit ensures that our victims are made whole in the criminal justice system. Most importantly though, the specialization emphasizes the strengths of the respective staff (APS/OSI).

While APS has a very hard job of ensuring safety and eliciting the resources necessary to provide for victims, a unit composed of seasoned criminal investigators specifically assigned to investigate crimes against older adults and those with disabilities is not only a resource for the community and law enforcement, but APS as well. This too relieves APS of the burden of seeking out law enforcement and instead referring it to an internal partner to navigate those avenues for a successful outcome of justice for the victim.  

OSI is also a resource that APS in MO can pull from as they have questions and/or need assistance that may require law enforcement expertise. Likewise, OSI can pull from APS expertise and all the resources they bring to the table. The partnership is a model for that of APS and law enforcement, which best supports the overall mission. 
 

Law enforcement/criminal investigators and APS workers have distinct roles in cases of abuse/neglect/exploitation of older adults and people with disabilities. Understanding and accepting those differences through communication is, I think, a major key in the success of specialization. In MO, I believe the process has evolved from a slow start to a very successful concept. As said before, although the vast majority of OSI investigators are keeping a Peace Officer’s Standards and Training (POST) commission from a department in the state, we are seeking POST commissions for the unit as well as subpoena power. This would enhance our ability to serve the vulnerable citizens of MO.

Click here to read about a successful case through the APS partnership with OSI.
 

The APS Blog is updated regularly with posts from contributing authors and new publications from the APS TARC.

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