LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Crimes against the elderly in Las Vegas are up more than 52 percent this year compared to 2023, according to Nevada Crime Statistics.

One recent case you may remember is the recent headline of 68-year-old Monique Gilbertson, whose body was found in an East Valley freezer earlier this month.

The case is just one of more than 4,000 so far this year. As of September 2024, there were 4,336 cases of elder crimes in Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Neighbor Rose C. didn’t want her face on camera, but spoke to Channel 13 about her concern that our valley’s elders are vulnerable to crime.

“No one deserves what happened,” she said. “I think because a lot of older people, like me and the next-door neighbor and Monique, we don’t have a strong support system.”

Elder crimes were a topic of conversation in the recent Nevada legislative session.

State lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 119 in 2023, which established a confidential review team dedicated to investigating and preventing elder abuse and deaths.

Rep. David Orentlicher and attorney Jennifer Richards introduced the now-passed law during a legislative hearing last year.

“When we have vulnerable adults who die and there is suspicion that there may have been maltreatment, this committee will study those deaths so we can better understand the causes of those deaths and how to reduce them,” Orentlicher said.

Richards is an elder and disability rights advocate who has told state lawmakers that elder crime is subversive and often underreported.

“According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, 1 in 10 adults in the community has experienced abuse in the previous year,” Richards said. “Every person, regardless of age or disability, has the right to live free of abuse in our state.”

Currently, the crime of elder abuse carries an increased penalty. That means crimes against anyone aged 60 or over can warrant harsher sentences.

To report elder crimes, you can call 211 or fill out an intake report online HERE.