Domestic violence spikes up to 20% during holidays

ALAMO, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Rio Grande Valley law enforcement officials say that they have seen a spike of family violence incidents during the holiday season.

The Alamo Police Department says there is at least a 14% jump in domestic calls during the holiday season compared to last year. One local nonprofit says that number is even higher.

“We have to treat every call like our last unfortunately, because we don't know what to expect," said Eduardo Garza, who is the Alamo Police Department public relations officer.

Garza adds that family violence calls can be some of the most dangerous situations for officers. Just days ago, three San Juan Police Officers were stabbed when reporting to a domestic violence incident.

Garza says this is because most officers do not know what to expect when going to a scene.

“All we know is the initial information that we receive which could be that potentially there is an argument going on," Garza said. "We might now know if there is a weapon involved until we get notified or get to the scene.”

Garza says the spike in domestic violence cases during the holidays is due to several factors. The two main are because families spend more time together and the stresses of financial stability during the season.

Jumairy Campos, who works as a victim with Angels of Love and works with the police to help domestic violence victims, says the number of family violence cases is much higher than reported.

“Domestic violence increases by 20% in the during the holidays, and this is because alcohol consumption increases during the holidays," Campos said. “Alcohol is not the reason of abuse, but it does trigger the aggressive, aggressive personality behaviors.”

Although police officers do receive de-escalation training year-round, Garza says that more training with nonprofits can help them understand how to better de-escalate violent situations.

“Hands on training would be nice," Garza said. "I know there's nonprofits out there that are vital to what we deal with, that they can possibly help us out, which is another thing that that we can look forward to, or that we can look into, to ask those organizations to help us out to get a better idea of those kind of domestic calls that are constantly being received throughout the year.”

Garza says police officers should always know that it each day could be their last every time they head out the door.

“Always make sure to you know, say goodbye to your loved ones," he adds. "Never leave mad from your household.”