OLDS — The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have spurred an increase in spousal abuse, the acting commanding officer of the Olds RCMP detachment says.
Sgt. Jody Achtymichuk made that point during a presentation to Olds town council on Feb. 1.
He said Olds RCMP recorded 23 instances of spousal abuse in the fourth quarter (Oct. 1 to Dec. 31) of 2020, up 92 per cent from 12 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Year over year, spousal abuse rose from 82 incidents in 2019 to 101 incidents in 2020, a 23 per cent increase.
Deputy mayor Heather Ryan asked Achtymichuk if he thought those increases were related to pandemic restrictions.
"I would imagine we see this increased because of COVID. Is that what you’re thinking,” Ryan asked.
“That would probably play part of it, yes. More people spending more time at home together and that could be a possibility of being related to COVID,” Achtymichuk said.
Mental Health Act stats rose in the fourth quarter from 22 in 2019 to 26 in 2020. For the entire year, they climbed by 11 per cent, from 84 to 93.
