Domestic violence reports rise as residents stay home

JACKSON, Tenn. — What does crime look like now that most people are staying at home?

Tuesday morning, Madison County Sheriff John Mehr said since everyone is at home, crime has generally gone down.

“We saw the crime go down, as far as burglaries and shootings and things of that nature,” Mehr said.

But unfortunately, they’re seeing a rise in a different type of crime: domestic violence.

“Yesterday in the evening shift, I know there were about five or six. A couple of them ended up in arrests on top of it,” Mehr said.

For context, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office typically gets 20-30 domestic calls a week. This was about a fifth of that typical weekly load in one night.

“Some of them are not to the extent that we have to arrest somebody because we have to arrest the aggressor if it’s a violent domestic. A lot of them are just arguments, they’ll end up calling, and we’ll have to respond,” Mehr said. “Basically the deputies are being social workers and counselors and helping them work through these issues and trying to get them to calm down before it does escalate into an arrest.”

And Sheriff Mehr says it’s going to be difficult, but he knows we can get through this.

“It’s sad. And it’s sad that we have to go through this,” Mehr said. “These are trying time and we’re told they’re going to be trying times. We can make it through if everybody works together and does their part, and we’ll come out better in the end.”

If you suspect domestic violence or child abuse, call your local authorities.