Montco Domestic Violence Calls Increasing Amid Coronavirus
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — The coronavirus poses a threat to our health by infecting our bodies and causing the COVID-19 illness. But the virus has had another impact on lives in Montgomery County, according to figures provided by officials.
According to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, domestic violence incidents increased by 8 to 9 percent in the county since the COVID-19 crisis emerged and restrictions were increasingly imposed on March 11.
The DA's office said it looked at 911 calls and filed police reports and found the increase.
That increase was calculated through an analysis of thousands of 911 calls and police reports over the Jan. 1 to April 12 periods in 2019 and 2020.
The Montgomery County Detective Bureau analyzed domestic incident calls to the 911 emergency call center from Jan. 1 to March 10 and compared the numbers to those same domestic calls from March 11 — when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a worldwide health pandemic — to April 12.
Also analyzed was data for those same dates from police reports filed — by 34 of 50 police departments in Montgomery County — after they responded on scene to the incident.
The two sets of data revealed an increase in domestic incidents of 16 to 17 percent.
However, a check on the same data sets from 2019 showed that as spring arrives, domestic violence calls and incidents typically rise. When adjusted for that typical spring increase, the analysis of the data found that domestic violence incidents due to the COVID-19 pandemic increased by 8 to 9 percent.
This week alone, two people have been killed in domestic incidents in Pottstown. A 21-year-old woman is accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death and a 60-year-old man is accused of strangling his wife to death.
"Living in this unprecedented pandemic is a stressful time, with adults and children staying at home together, confined to close quarters while at the same time being upended from routines, friends, jobs and other constants of their lives," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said. "Add to that fears of getting coronavirus, job losses/layoffs and stress and you have a situation that can lead to tensions in even the best of relationships but especially where there is a family member who acts out physically and emotionally. The fact that 911 calls and police incident reports related to domestic violence are up is important to note because it means victims need help—and that some people are calling when they are able. And even more important is the fact that help is still available.
Laurel House's 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week domestic violence hotline is 800-642-3150, and the Women’s Center of Montgomery County's hotline is 800-773-2424.
The help lines are answered by trained volunteers who can listen, offer advice on services available, provide safety planning, and get immediate safe shelter for victims and children.
Both agencies provide legal aid to help with writing and obtaining a PFA through the Courts; safety advice for victims, and assistance in obtaining safe housing.
More information can be found at Laurel House website here and Women's Center website here, both of which have an escape button on the site should someone be surprised by their abuser while looking at the site’s services.
This article originally appeared on the Norristown Patch
