Safety and Personal Security

- Police, Sheriff, State Police. FBI -

For your safety and protection the Adams County Sheriff's Office; Quincy Police Department; Illinois Attorney General's Office-Quincy Office and enhanced 911 are all in service.

The Quincy Police Department is well staffed and delivers professional services and protection for the citizens of Quincy. They provide patrol activities, as well as traffic control. The Police Department also conducts a Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program for children

The Adams County Sheriff maintains protection on the highways and areas surrounding Quincy in Adams County diligently providing protection for the citizens. They also help participate in the D.A.R.E. program and S.W.A.P.

The Illinois State Police patrol the many highways in the state of Illinois. In addition, they provide criminal history information, law enforcement training, a terrorism intelligence center, and a drug standards infrared Spectral Library.

The FBI has an office in Springfield which services Quincy and many of the surrounding counties in Central Illinois.

- Fire Protection -

The Quincy Fire Department provides education and protection from fire and natural disasters within their districts. The Fire Department has five stations strategically located within the City of Quincy and cooperates within the Tri-Township area. Their 24-hour-a-day fire protection and water rescue service is for all residents. Also provided are hazard prevention activities; including inspection, public education and code enforcement.

- Emergency Help -

Emergency Help
Emergency Assistance for Deaf Persons is available at various locations that use TTY and voice communications including the sheriff's office and the State Police. Additional Emergency hotlines are available for abuse, missing persons, poison control, crime and several others.

For emergency medical information you can use the internet or contact an emergency physician. You don't know which one to call, you can call the emergency referral service first.

There are also emergency services available in times of disaster as well as our own Adams County emergency services. A complete listing of emergency telephone numbers in Quincy and surrounding areas is provided at this site.

- Protection from Elder Abuse -

Elder Rights
The abuse of elderly people is an ever-increasing problem, not just for the victim, but for his/her whole family. The abuser is most frequently a spouse, a child, or another relative and most of the victims are women with an average age of 78. Assistance for abused elderly people is available in Quincy.

The 1992 Amendments to the Older Americans Act created Title VII, the Vulnerable Elder Rights Protection Title which presents the need for protection and enhancement of the basic rights and benefits of vulnerable older people. The National Area Agency on Aging provides an Ombudsman Program, an Elder Refugee Program, an ElderVention program, and in some locations an Emergency Housing Program. Their Senior Help Line is available 24 hours a day.

The local West Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging in Quincy provides many of these services as well as the Ombudsmen Services, Adult Protection Services, and Legal Services.

Information on In-home care; Day care; Elder Rights; and the Global Action on Aging – Elder Rights is all available on the internet.

It is necessary to speak about abuse in nursing homes even though controlling agencies are investigating more readily at the present time. For information on elder abuse and abused elderly persons assistance Check out these sites. There is a checklist online at the US Government site for Medicare that can be used to compare various nursing homes you may be considering.

The protection of Seniors is part of the protection of the entire local population of Quincy. The agencies providing that protection include the Adams County Sheriffs, Quincy Police, Adams County Victim and Witness Program, and the Quincy Regional Crime Stoppers program. In addition many neighborhoods are involved in the Neighborhood Watch Program.

Nursing Home Abuse – Warning Signs
When a patient is placed in a nursing home, the care he/she receives must be monitored. Watch for warning signs of any lack of care or abuse. It will be your responsibility to call law enforcement if any signs appear. In many cases, an abused or neglected person is totally dependent on the abuser and is afraid to complain for fear of reprisal. This site lists all the abuse hotlines by state. They offer help for Domestic and Institutional abuse. If there is iminent danger, call 911, the police, or hospital emergency right away.

Some of the warning signs of physical abuse are frequent injuries or complaints of pain without obvious injury that are frequent; burns or bruises suggesting the use of instruments, cigarettes, etc.; passive, withdrawn and emotionless behavior; lack of reaction to pain; and/or injuries that appear after the person has not been seen for several days.

Some of the warning signs of sexual abuse are the appearance of sexually transmitted diseases; injury to the genital area; difficulty in sitting or walking; and/or fear of being alone with caretakers.

Some of the warning signs of neglect are obvious malnutrition; lack of personal cleanliness; always dressed in torn or dirty clothes; obvious fatigue and listlessness; begs for food; in need of medical or dental care; and/or left unattended for long periods of time.

Assistance for Abused Elders
If you know of an elderly person who is being abused or you are being abused, you can get help in Quincy for this problem. There are agencies that will guide you in the right direction and those that will provide assistance. The West Central Illinois Case Coordination Unit investigates elder abuse for anyone over the age of 60. Or would you just like to have more information about this problem? To report abuse, the Elder Abuse Hotline is (800) 279-0400 for evenings, weekends and holidays, and during the weekdays call (800) 252-8966 Senior HelpLine.

Elder Service Police Officer Program
The Quincy Police Department provides an officer to help in crime against the elderly. This officer investigates reports of theft, accidents, abuse, neglect, scams, telephone complaints, disputes, and peace disturbance. This officer may be contacted by calling (217) 223-7904 x 104.

Return to top

- Consumer Protection -

Consumer Protection
The Federal Trade Commission protects consumers under the Bureau of Consumer Protection which conducts investigations, litigations, rule making proceedings, and consumer and business education. The Division of Advertising Practices enforces truth-in-advertising laws which deal with advertising claims, health fraud on the internet, weight loss advertising, advertising directed at children, and several other categories. The Division of Enforcement conducts investigations and prosecutes fraudulent advertising practices and enforces consumer protection laws. The Division of Financial Practices oversees lending and financial institutions and enforces the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Other divisions include Marketing Practices and Planning and Information.

Telemarketing
Telemarketing is usually conducted by legitimate organizations, however, consumers lose more than $40 billion a year to telemarketing fraud. There are laws to protect citizens against abusive and deceptive telemarketers. However, anyone with a phone is a prospective victim of these scam artists and elderly people, more easily persuaded by telemarketers, should be urged to resist their high pressure sales tactics.

Guidelines to protect against telemarketers:
     1. Ask to be removed from their list and not called again, it is illegal for them to call again. If they do, hang up and report them to your state Attorney General.
      2. Calls should not be made before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m.
      3. You must be told it is a sales call and who the company is before they begin.
      4. Misrepresentation is illegal.
      5. You must be told the total, any restrictions, or that a sale is final or non refundable, before you pay.
      6. Up-front payments are not required for any service.
      7. You must authorize any withdrawals of money from your checking account.
      8. If it is a prize promotion it must be free and that no purchase is necessary.
      9. Ask for the information in writing. If they refuse or say it isn’t available at this time, hang up.

To stop telephone sales calls from many legitimate national marketers, send your name, address and telephone number to:
Direct Marketing Association, Telephone Preference Service, P.O. Box 9014, Farmingdale, NY, 11735 9014. To remove your name from many national direct mail lists, write: Direct Marketing Association, Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735 9008.

To get rid of this telemarketing nuisance the AARP Bulletin has some pointers in their guide to state and national programs that help.

Generic Drugs are appropriate, controlled substitutes for brand name drugs. Consult with your doctor or pharmacist about substituting generics. The Food and Drug Administration has a toll free hotline to answer questions about drug safety and efficacy. Call (800) 532-4440. You also can visit the FDA online and click on Human Drugs.

Buying a new car can be a stressful situation unless you have done some research beforehand and it is one of the most expensive purchases. Preliminary research will help you to know what you want and what you can spend and provides the information needed to make a good deal. Check out this website for what to look for, some of the terms you need to know, a worksheet for buying a new car, and information on financing and trading in an old car.

Buying a used car is explained at this site along with tips on what to look for when buying from a private party. It covers payment options, warranties, and service contracts as well.

Product Recalls. Visit the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission site for current product recalls, to report injuries and unsafe products, and new safety alerts.

Additional Information:
For immediate help with a question or problem, call the Federal Information Center toll free at (800) 688-9889 or (800) 326- 2996 for the hearing impaired. Operators are there to answer your question, or direct you to the right agency to get the answer.

Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580, (202) FTC HELP [382 4357]; TDD: (202) 326 2502, – also file a complaint with the Commission by contacting the CRC by phone, by mail, or online.

National Consumers League, 1701 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006, (202) 835-3323, and the American Association of Retired Persons conduct research on telemarketing fraud targeting the elderly and offer suggestions for older people and their families in a brochure, “They Can’t Hang Up,” available from the National Consumers League.

Additional Information:
Senior Issues - Federal Trade Commission site lists articles on around 100 different topics on how to protect yourself as a senior.

Abusive Lending - Federal Trade Commission site lists articles on topics concerning obtaining loans and management debt.

Return to top

- Protection from Frauds -

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is a Federal Agency responsible for responding to disasters, to provide aid and help with recovery from disaster as well as work to help our nation be prepared in the event of disaster. Tel: (202) 566- 1600.

Elderwatch Program
The Quincy Police Department also provides the Elderwatch Program which is a registry for senior citizens over 60 and disabled persons with special needs that is used if an emergency is called in about this person. The registry provides medical and contact information for emergency personnel. You can contact the Quincy Police Department at 110 South 8th or by calling 228-4470.

Victim/Witness Assistance
Under the Office of the State's Attorney, the Victim /Witness Program is set up to provide many services to victims of crimes and witnesses. The office is located at 521 Vermont. Tel: 277-2229.

Identity Theft is becoming more prevalent and all the perpetrator needs is your social security number, credit card number or other piece of personal information. They can easily open most any type of account by using your name, Social Security number and date of birth. And when they don’t pay the bills, it is reported on your credit report. There are organizations that will help you to do what is necessary to correct this problem.

Mail and Email Scams are becoming more prevalent as the number of people using the Internet increases. The most popular scams are business opportunities, bulk email, chain letters, work-at-home schemes, health and diet scams, effortless income, free goods, investment opportunities, cable descrambler kits, guaranteed loans or credit, credit repair, and vacation prize promotions.

Internet Fraud has been discovered in internet auctions, internet access services, credit card fraud, international modem dialing, web cramming, multilevel marketing plans or pyramids, travel and vacation, business opportunities, investments, and health care products and services. You need to be very cautious when using any of these services that you are transmitting information to a secure site. Many of these problems exist through the mail service as well. Check the link above for information about the scams and how to avoid them.

Travel Offer Fraud. Sometimes signing up to win a free trip at special events can lead to phone calls, letters, emails or postcards saying you have won a trip. It is very likely it is not free. Bargain-priced trips are also offered in travel packages and may not be the luxury accommodations suggested. Check out this site for information on how to protect yourself from these scams.

Return to top