Throughout the United States, police departments are responding to a surge in domestic violence calls at the same time a shelter-in-place order keeps many people in close quarters.
According to www.thehill.com, “Police departments in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle have said publicly they are seeing increases in domestic violence allegations. Chicago reported a 14.6% increase in the number of calls during the first week of April compared to the same period last year.”
Both Sheriff De George and Sheriff Mark Inglett confirmed similar concerns in Fillmore and Houston counties, respectively.
“Yes, we have seen an increase in domestic dispute calls since the Governor’s stay at home order went into effect. I don’t have an exact number or percentage to give you, but we have seen a definite marked increase in those types of calls,” shared Fillmore County Sheriff John De George.
Sheriff Mark Inglett shared the same story unfolding in Houston County. He has seen an increase in domestic violence calls along with an increase in calls about suspicious vehicles.
De George explained, “This is concerning to us as domestic dispute calls are some of the most dangerous calls a deputy or police officer will deal with. I suspect this is a temporary trend, and hopefully the number of these calls will stop increasing, and eventually go down as time goes on and we trend back towards our more normal way of life. In the meantime, we hope that people will make an adjustment to spending more time at home together and find healthy ways to mitigate issues before they become violent.”
If you are affected by domestic violence or feel unsafe, you can safely reach out to family resources in Fillmore County at (507) 765-2550 or (507) 285-1010 and in Houston County at (507) 894-2676 or a 24-hour crisis line at 1 (866) 367-4297.