Incidents of family violence in Connecticut up last year

Homicides involving family members went up 22 percent year over year, according to a report released Thursday by the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.

The increase in family violence homicides follows a broader increase in family violence overall year over year, according to the most recent Connecticut Family Violence Arrest Report.

In 2017 there were 18 family violence homicides in the state, according to DESPP — that went up to 22 in 2018, an increase of 22 percent.

Overall, there were 16,954 family violence incidents reported by police in 2018, up from 16,845 the year prior.

The longterm trend, however, has been a significant decrease in the number of family violence incidents in the state. The high was in 1990, when there were about 22,500 such incidents.

Females were by far the most common victims in 2018, constituting 66.7 percent. Looking at relationships, people in a dating relationship were the most common victims, comprising 32.8 percent of the total number of incidents.

In total, intimate partner relationships — between spouses or former spouses, dating or former dating partners, and individuals who share a child in common — made up 76.5 percent of all family violence incidents reported to law enforcement.

“Intimate partner violence incidents as an overall percentage of total reported family violence incidents has risen steadily since 2013,” the DESPP said in a release.

When an offender is charged, breach of peace and disorderly conduct were by far the most common.

People between the ages of 25 and 29 years old were the victims of family violence 15.7 percent of the time, the most common of all demographics.

The report tracked month, day of the week and time most family violence incidents occurred.

Family violence incidents occurred most often in warm weather months, specifically July. Sundays were the most common day for family violence, and evening hours — between 5 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. — were the most common times.

DESPP commissioner James Rovella said it’s important for victims of family violence to come forward.

“As more education is provided to our law enforcement officers, they are better equipped to assist victims of domestic violence,” Rovella said. “It is our intent to demonstrate to victims that we are here to protect them in these circumstances. We hope more victims come forward to hold perpetrators accountable while they continue to receive the care they need.”