If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and would like to talk with an advocate, call 866-834-4357, TRS 800-787-3224. This free, confidential service is available 24/7 and is accessible from anywhere in Maine.
HOULTON, Maine — Numbers can often be deceiving.
Take, for instance, the number of domestic violence cases being reported to police or support agencies like the Hope and Justice Project. Based on the numbers these agencies are seeing, one might be led to believe there has been a drastic decrease in domestic violence assaults in Aroostook County.
Sadly, the truth is not always quantifiable.
Leslie Gervais, prevention educator for Hope and Justice Project, said Wednesday that the number of phone calls to the support agency has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic essentially shut down much of the country, but that statistic is deceiving.
“With this stay-at-home order, many of the people who are victims and survivors are in a home with an abuser. That makes it very unsafe for them to call. There is no safe place for them to be,” Gervais said.
Gervais said the staff at the Hope and Justice Project have had phone calls seeking help cut short because the aggressor may have come within earshot of the conversation. Additionally, communications via the Project’s website have stopped abruptly.
To that end, the Project is relying more than ever on a system known as “bystander messaging,” which involves a friend or family member relaying information of abuse because the victim is unable to do so.
The staff of 18 individuals, who provide 24-hour hotline assistance to people who may be in an abusive situation, are predominantly working from home, since Gov. Janet Mills instituted a “stay-at-home” executive order on March 31.
That order has had an impact on the number of calls for police assistance, according to some local law enforcement agencies.
Lt. Brian Harris of the Maine State Police Troop F Division in Houlton said his agency has seen a definite increase in domestic disturbances.
“We can tell they are unfortunately on the rise, just by paying attention to the calls for service as they come in,” Harris said. “Granted, at the beginning of this [pandemic] there was a pretty significant uptick in family disturbance type calls, with them coming in daily. That has fortunately slowed down some, although these types of calls are still frequent.”
Harris said he could not speculate on if the change in lifestyles brought about by people having to stay indoors far more often was the exact cause for the increased reports. “I can say from the numbers that our calls — specific to family disturbance calls — are up this year compared to the same time last year.”
Using a range of December to April, for both 2018-19 and 2019-20, the Maine State Police have seen an increase of 20 cases from one period to the next. From December 2018 to April 2019, troopers responded to 28 family fight/disturbance types of calls. During the same time frame from 2019 to 2020, that number rose to 48.
“Twenty [more cases] doesn’t sound like a big number, but in the area of family violence, any more than zero is too big of a number,” Harris said. “We never like to see any increase in those type numbers.”
Harris noted that while the number of arrests for domestic violence is down, the reports of family fights are up significantly. He surmised that many of the potentially violent incidents were quelled by the arrival of a trooper at the person’s home to mitigate the issue.
“We could spitball reasons all day long,” he said. “Is it people calling before it rises to violence? Is it awareness that DV violence is wrong but arguments still happen? Who knows. Domestic violence threatening has stayed constant. That hasn’t changed.”
Aroostook County Sheriff Shawn Gillen said the number of reports of family disturbances has increased. In the last few weeks, the ACSO responded to 11 reports of domestic disputes. “That is not normal,” he said. “That is probably double our norm and it is only going to get worse.”
In addition, thefts have been on the rise, particularly items being stolen from people’s garages or sheds, Gillen said.
Gillen said alcohol is another driving factor in the increased calls of disturbances.
“A lot of it is just people getting on each other’s nerves and alcohol has a lot to do with that,” Gillen said. “People are home and are bored, so they are drinking more. I think it is really taking a toll on families.”
Laurie Kelly, chief of police for Presque Isle, said her department has seen a slight uptick in calls for assistance related to domestic violence cases, but not necessarily physical assaults. From March to April 2019, Presque Isle had two domestic violence arrests, while this year, there has been one.
“We are responding to quarreling [not a domestic assault], but so far between housemates, not necessarily domestic partners,” Chief Kelly said. “We were seeing an increase of burglary, theft and vandalism, but those have waned since people could face a criminal charge of violating [Gov. Janet Mills’] executive order. We have not charged, nor warned anyone for that, yet.”
In Caribou, Police Chief Mike Gahagan said his department has not seen much of a spike in domestic violence arrests at this juncture. From March to April 2019, the Caribou Police Department reported 22 cases. During that same period for 2020, the department has only reported 18 cases.
But that number could be deceiving, based on how the call was reported to the dispatcher, Gahagan added.
“I do believe that we are seeing more well-being checks and disorderly conducts,” he said. “We also are handling more mental health calls. It’s been very frustrating for the officers to catch and release some of the individuals that are already out on bail.”
Because of COVID-19, Caribou Police Department is only arresting individuals for domestic violence or some other violent crime, Gahagan explained. For all other infractions, the individual is issued a summons and released immediately.
It has been an adjustment period for representatives of the Hope and Justice Project, which offers support to victims of domestic violence from Fort Kent to Houlton. Domestic violence advocates across Maine historically provide in-person support at courthouses for thousands of survivors each year.
Abuse is not always physical. It can be defined as an intentional pattern of coercive, controlling and often violent behavior that keeps the abuser in a powerful position and his or her intimate partner or family members feeling trapped or afraid.
Gervais said the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence in Augusta sent a letter to the Hope and Justice Project last week with some disturbing figures. A recent phone survey showed that 70 percent of those who contacted the Coalition said the pandemic had affected their safety. Another 54 percent said they had elevated safety concerns because of the social distancing requirements.
All of the law enforcement officials stressed they take domestic violence complaints seriously and are ready to help however they can. Sheriff Gillen said he was concerned that if the pandemic continues for a long period of time, the situation will become even worse.
“People may not see us around as much, but we are not shut down,” Gillen said. “People can call us no matter what. We will not tolerate domestic violence.”
Anyone who is experiencing or suspects that someone they know might be experiencing a domestic violence situation should contact the Hope and Justice Project through its crisis hotline number, 1-800-439-2323 or email address, info@hopeandjusticeproject.org.
