Today, a large percentage of the U.S. population is aging. The criminal justice system, specifically the law enforcement community, sees the aging population as a special challenge going into the 21st Century. This article reviews the status of the growing elderly population in the United States and how law enforcement must consider the elderly and those crimes that most often victimize senior citizens and those crimes most often committed by senior citizens. The elderly are susceptible to many crimes but particularly susceptible to fraud schemes that destroy their financial resources and personal security. On the other side of the fence, the greatest number of arrests for serious offenses committed by the elderly is for larceny-theft, with most being for shoplifting. Few police academies offer training to their officers in helping them understand the problems and attitudes of older people concerning crime and the criminal justice system. Training programs need to modify their existing programs to better prepare officers to more effectively deal with the elderly. In the 21st Century, law enforcement must learn to understand the attitudes, capabilities, and limitations of older people and how to communicate in an effective and sensitive way.