We’ll say it again: bullying and predatory behavior knows no age. So it’s a very good thing that state officials — namely the administration of Gov. Tom Wolf — are pouring millions more dollars into Pennsylvania’s Older Adults Protective Services program.

All of the state’s 67 counties should receive some of the $2.1 million the Wolf administration announced last week would be made available, though it’s not yet clear how much Butler County might receive.

We hope it’s a fair-sized portion, though, because it seems like we need it here. Beth Herold, the administrator of the county’s Agency on Aging, tells the Butler Eagle that reports of emotional, verbal, physical, sexual and financial abuse have doubled in the eight years she’s been at the agency’s helm.

Lately, said Herold — who was hired eight years ago to rescue the agency from ignominy, and has reportedly done a fine job — many of the 60 to 70 reports the agency investigates each month appear to be regarding financial abuse of the elderly.

That’s certainly a function, in part, of the opioid crisis — as addicts prey upon family members to support their habit.

But it’s also because, in general, old people are an enticing target for unscrupulous friends, family members and caregivers who don’t mind taking advantage of those far less able to protect themselves than the general population.

Physical and cognitive impairments, as well as social isolation, put elderly Pennsylvanias at increased risk of abuse, according to a 2011 report commissioned by a special committee of the U.S. Senate.

And not just from nefarious predators either. A 2014 New York State study found that Americans age 60 and older who live with extended family members are at an increased risk of abuse — particularly financial exploitation.

Whatever the type of abuse, protecting elderly people from those who would exploit or harm them is a vital job in Pennsylvania. You may have heard that the state’s population is aging at a far faster rate than it is growing overall — 20 times faster, in fact.

By 2025, one in five Pennsylvanians will be 65 years or older.

That demographic shift will set off a wide array of public policy challenges in our state, but none of them will matter in the least if we can’t protect aging Pennsylvanians from predatory behavior, which appears to be on the rise statewide.

The number of elder abuse reports in Pennsylvania has more than doubled since 2007-08, according to the state Department of Aging.

For the 2016-17 fiscal year, more than 28,000 reports were filed, up from fewer than 14,000 for 2007-08.

That demands attention and a response — and funneling more money to organizations like the county Agency on Aging is a good start.