Surge of domestic abuse calls received by police in NI peaked on New Year’s Day
The daily average number of calls between December 20 and January 2 was higher than across the rest of the year.
The annual surge in domestic abuse calls received by police in Northern Ireland over Christmas peaked on New Year’s Day, figures have indicated.
There were an average of 92 calls a day to police between December 20 and January 2 2025.
The highest number (127) was received on January 1, followed by 109 on December 27 and 102 on Boxing Day.
In total, there were 1,288 domestic abuse calls to police between December 20 and January 2, a fall from 1,336 in the same period during 2023/24.
PSNI figures also indicate that the number of calls received was lower on most days when compared with the previous two time periods during 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.
The daily average number of calls (92) was lower than for the five years 2020 to 2024 combined (98) and the five years 2015 to 2019 combined (98).
Howeve,r the daily average number of calls was higher than the daily average across both the month of December (84) and across the whole year (80), in a similar pattern that has been seen over the last 10 years.
Commissioner designate for victims of crime Geraldine Hanna expressed sadness at the numbers.
“It is truly tragic that there was, on average, 92 domestic abuse calls a day to the police over the Christmas period,” she said.
“Victims of domestic abuse often talk about how the festive period is a time of particular danger for them and this is sadly reflected in this data.
“Over the last number of years, we have increasingly heard the message from government and the criminal justice system that domestic abuse is unacceptable and victims should come forward.
“The challenge now for them is to make sure their actions match those messages. Victims need properly resourced support and a criminal justice system that deals with their cases efficiently and in a trauma-informed way.
“I am pleased to see the police publishing this data. Capturing data like this is a key step in understanding and combatting domestic abuse. Publishing it helps to inform the public and provide transparency.
“Next year I would welcome the publication of some more specific demographic data including the breakdown of the age of victims.”
