SMITHFIELD
“Valuable, but vulnerable” was the theme for the 16th annual TRIAD Conference. The Isle of Wight County SALT Council hosted the event on Monday in the Smithfield Center.

TRIAD is made up of the AARP — formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons — the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Sheriffs’ Association. The TRIAD’s mission in the county is “a community effort to improve the quality of life and personal safety for the seniors in Isle of Wight County through education, crime prevention and personal contact.”

Isle of Wight Sheriff Mark Marshall is chairman of SALT, which stands for Senior and Law Enforcement Together. The Windsor AARP Chapter 5309 was among the many vendors offering information of products and services dedicated to seniors in the county.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring was the keynote speaker for the occasion. He congratulated the county TRIAD’s longevity, and added the organization has set “a gold standard” of cooperation between law enforcement and the community in fighting crime, especially where seniors are concerned.

“TRIAD is working,” Herring said. “It’s a critical step…a proven method working to restore a sense of security.”

He added that for the first in a long time, $40,000 in mini-grants will become available to TRIAD organizations in Virginia.

Herring said that although he has not lost any money through Internet scams, he acknowledged he’s not immune.

He gave suggestions for better ensuring security from scam artists, particularly those infecting the Internet, such as having “really good passwords,” which can protect valuable online information. Tearing up paper bank statements into very small pieces is another step to prevent thieves from getting valuable financial information.