Spokane County has seen a recent increase in domestic violence calls, accompanied by an increase in women being arrested for domestic violence. | Stock Photo
Spokane County has seen a recent increase in domestic violence calls, accompanied by an increase in women being arrested for domestic violence. | Stock Photo
Spokane County has recently seen a growing rise in domestic violence calls, including some coming from third parties who are becoming aware of the violence around them.
Sgt. Jordan Ferguson with Spokane Police Department’s Domestic Violence Unit told KXLY that domestic violence calls spiked to 160 in recent weeks, though they have fallen back down to 140. In a typical week, the department would normally average 120 domestic violence calls.
“Something has happened that made it not safe anymore,” Ferguson told KXLY. “Safe to the point anymore where they want law enforcement to come in or a third-party witness has heard something or saw something.”
The department has yet to determine a common thread behind the increase in calls, Ferguson said. But they have seen an increase in calls where the perpetrator is a woman.
“Pre-COVID, we were looking at 20% females being arrested [in domestic cases],” Ferguson told KXLY. “Post-COVID, it jumped up close to 40% for a couple months.”
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