Broadway Bank invests in prevention of crimes against seniors

Elderly among most vulnerable crime victims locally

SAN ANTONIO – Seniors are among the most vulnerable citizens when it comes to crime locally, according to San Antonio police.

Anthony Trevino, deputy chief with the San Antonio Police Department, said although the Alamo City is safer than many big cities, the elderly are often targeted for crimes, and in many cases, they're of the financial kind.

"People that are looking to get access to their money because they know that they're older, retired, that they've spent their life saving up a nest egg," he said.

Trevino said people don't even have to leave their homes to be victimized.

Criminals can reach out by email or telephone, conning people into giving up vital information.

Personal data, such as Social Security numbers and dates of birth, should be closely guarded, Trevino said.

"A lot of times, those are people that are trying to scam you out of your information to use that to take money from your bank account," he said.

To help some local seniors put up a good defense against crime, Broadway Bank announced on Monday that it is investing $1 million in an organization called the Senior Housing Crime Prevention Foundation.

A portion of the interest earned on that investment will go to build a Senior Crime Stoppers program at Granada Homes, which provides independent living and nursing home care to dozens of elderly people.

During a news conference in the downtown building's ballroom Monday morning, a representative of Granada Homes received a check for more than $600, as the anti-crime mascot McGruff the Crime Dog and residents looked on.

Jan Pendley with Granada Homes said the donation will be put to good use.

"We're very excited," Pendley said. "We feel like it's already a safe place to live. But (the money) will be helpful."


About the Author:

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.