Is domestic violence on the rise in the Rogue Valley?

Medford, Ore- After multiple homicides that came as a result of domestic violence in the past few months across the Rogue Valley, people are asking, “Is domestic violence on the rise?” NBC5 News spoke with multiple agencies across the Rogue Valley and the answer isn’t what you would expect.

NBC5 News spoke with Medford Police, Central Point Police, and the Jackson Country Sheriff’s Office all say the the same thing. That they have not seen an increase in domestic violence calls or crimes.

However Central Point Police say there’s one time of year that they do tend to see an increase in domestic violence.

Officer Peter Bilden of Central Point Police says, “The increases we see are usually around the holidays when families get together. Alcohol gets involved. Tensions can rise and that’s when we’re really focused on domestic violence.”

And according to Jackson County Sheriff Nathan Sickler that holiday spike in domestic violence calls isn’t just in Central Point.

“Nationally there is a trend, an uptick in domestic violence around holidays and that’s because families get together,” Sickler says.

Sheriff Sickler went on to explain that while they don’t have the 2017 numbers in yet fro crime across Jackson County, they have seen some changes when comparing the 2016 numbers with the 2015 numbers.

In 2016 harassment and intimidation crimes in Jackson County went down while the number of assaults went up.