Several police departments say they’ve seen an uptick in domestic violence calls since start of COVID-19 pandemic

Several police departments in and around Pittsburgh have seen a significant uptick in domestic violence calls since the start of this pandemic.

Northern Regional police have seen a 62% increase in domestic violence calls. Police said they are getting calls at all hours of the day.

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“I'm hearing on the radio we are getting dispatched to domestics from 7 in the morning and all through the day,” said Northern Regional Police Chief John Sicilia.

Sicilia understands why people are under a lot of stress right now.

But he said, some heated arguments are getting out of hand and his officers have to get involved.

Sicilia says his department has been seeing more verbal arguments than physical ones.

Crisis Center North is one of four domestic violence shelters in Allegheny county.

They are encouraging victims of any verbal, physical, financial or emotional abuse to contact them.

“We are engaging in different ways to support victims through video counseling and phone counseling,” said Jeremy Armstrong, the development and outreach coordinator at Crisis Center North.

The center has a 24/7 hotline : 412-364-5556.

They said if you feel threatened or in danger, find a safe place in your home and call 911 and the center for help. The Crisis Center North also ​has helpful resources on their website at www.crisiscenternorth.org.

PCAR is a network that provides sexual assault crisis services. Those resources can be found at www.pcar.org or at 1-888-772-7227 for a 24-hour hotline to be connected to a local sexual assault center

PCADV provides domestic violence services 24-7 via PCADV.org/find-help and the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1.800.799.7233 or by texting LOVEIS to 22522.

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