Comparing 911 and emergency hotline calls for domestic violence in seven cities: What happened when people started staying home due to COVID-19?

Abstract

We examine changes in help-seeking for domestic violence (DV) in seven U.S. cities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using Bayesian structural time series modeling with daily data to construct a synthetic counterfactual, we test whether calls to police and/or emergency hotlines varied in 2020 as people stayed home due to COVID-19. Across this sample, we estimate there were approximately 1,030 more calls to police and 1,671 more calls to emergency hotlines than would have occurred absent the pandemic.

Scott M. Mourtgos, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Scott M. Mourtgos is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina and a National Institute of Justice LEADS scholar. His research focuses on policing and criminal justice policy, specifically public perceptions of police use-of-force and the criminal justice system, police personnel issues and policy, investigative techniques in sexual assault cases, and crime deterrence.