SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City Police Department has seen a sharp increase in the number of recent domestic violence-related calls.
According to a news release from SLCPD, there has been a 33 percent increase in those types of calls over the past two weeks.
“These are challenging times and people are under a lot of stress. Unfortunately, this stress can spill out into relationships,” said SLCPD Chief Mike Brown in a news release. “It is never acceptable to perpetrate violence against another. We encourage people to find healthy ways of handling their stress and to think twice before acting in anger.”
According to the news release, domestic violence calls have been rising since the beginning of the year.
Last week, a victim advocate for another local police department told FOX 13 the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic is making the situation worse for children living in abusive conditions.
"When you’re out and see empty shelves, that can be anxiety-provoking. Children not understanding why there are empty shelves and why we need to stay home and why everything is interrupted. Parents needing to stay home and do home lessons that they weren’t used to doing, that’s a heightened sense of anxiety," said Claudia McDonald, a victim advocate for the Unified Police Department.
Salt Lake City Police said domestic violence takes several forms, including "preventing a person from leaving the home, taking their phone, and threatening to harm themselves or others if the person leaves or ends the relationship."
Click here for information on victim advocate resources in Utah.
Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or the Utah LINKLine at 1-800-897-5465 for confidential assistance.
