A RECORD high number of monthly calls to support services over violent incidents has alarmed ACT police.

But it has also coincided with calls directly to police relating to physical violence during the busy festive period not necessarily increasing.

The slight decline in reports to police through December 2020 and January 2021 compared to 12 months earlier resulted in a drop from 535 to 450 incidents.

But a monthly rise from 207 to 243 police calls over the new year has escalated pressure on the other agencies including the Children and Youth Protection Service, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service, the Victims of Crime Commissioner, Victims Support ACT and the Coordinator-General for Family Safety.

The recent statistics appear to demonstrate that the true number of violent assaults are decidedly higher than lone police figures may suggest.

Acting Superintendent for justice and family violence operations John Hawkins said in the midst of the ongoing pandemic that self-isolation, potential loss of employment and travel restrictions were some of the factors for reports of violence not directly involving police.

“It’s important to note that family violence is not just a police issue and while throughout COVID-19 we have not seen an increase in reporting to police, there has been an increase in calls to support services over the same period,” he said.

About one in three criminal calls to police involve family violence amid the latest police data also indicating about two to three times more cases involving either a female victim or child under 18 rather than a male victim.

The figures do not indicate the gender of the perpetrator committing the acts or number of persons involved in each of the violent incidents.

ACT police are working closely with its partner agencies over reducing family violence that have tend to increase in “difficult times”.

Supt Hawkins wanted to reiterate that ACT police take the issue of family violence “very seriously”.

“We remind victims of domestic violence – you do not need to stay in your home if you feel unsafe,” he said.

ACT police are undertaking a proactive approach to engage with high-risk recidivist family violence offenders to ensure compliance and assist with their understanding of court orders and other documents related to compliance that extend to appropriate referrals to support agencies.

Police also provide “assistance and advice” to the perpetrators of family violence to help change their behaviours.

“This is critical to breaking the cycle of offending behaviours,” Supt Hawkins said.

Anyone experiencing family violence can contact police on the emergency line 000 or the police assistance line on 131 444. The family violence coordination unit can be contacted directly on 5126 9114.