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Abstract

In times of crisis involving the unmanageable behavior of the elderly with Alzheimer's disease or related disorders, families often request assistance from law enforcement officers who have little training specific to dealing with such emergencies. This study involves the design and implementation of such training with a sample of 78 officers. Tabulations from completed pretests (N = 63) and posttests (N = 58) examined with Student's t tests showed an overall significant difference (p = .001) between the pretest and posttest means. Also, the training was evaluated as excellent/good and helpful and was well received These findings indicate that training for law enforcement officers can result in significant, useful learning for handling emergencies with the demented elderly.

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Training Law Enforcement Officers to Assist the Demented Elderly

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