The Impact of COVID-19 Isolation on Domestic Violence Calls in Southern Nevada

Abstract

COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented crisis globally In response, concern about the impact of stay-at-home orders on domestic violence have led to a consensus expecting a substantial increase in domestic violence The purpose of this study is to compare the amount of domestic violence calls made to southern Nevada police departments during April and May of the COVID-19 pandemic to the amount of calls received in the same months of the two previous years The data compares documented calls to three separate police departments--Las Vegas Metropolitan, North Las Vegas and Henderson--in Clark County in both April and May in 2018, 2019 and 2020 The calls collected in this study are based on specific call codes used by police departments to document calls relating to domestic violence, including domestic battery and family disturbance The results will be beneficial to better understanding the effects of crises on domestic violence and can inform policy regarding the response of law enforcement, healthcare professionals and others