ATLANTA — For the first time, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum shared a new homicide trend with city council members that he hadn't seen before.
"Every time I've stood before this body, escalating disputes has always been the number one motivator for a homicide in our city," he said. "That has changed in the first quarter of this year. We are now seeing domestic violence occurrences."
He said homicides involving people who are in a relationship, related to each other or live with each other represent 30% of the cases they've investigated so far in 2024.
His officers have responded to 12 in the first 18 weeks -- up significantly from just two at this point in 2023.
"We cannot be in living rooms and homes to be able to keep the peace," he said.
Experts like Jan Christiansen, executive director of the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, say the solution is a complicated one.
"It's so hard to pinpoint why anomalies happen," she said. "Without the guns, people probably wouldn't be dead. That's not assured, but the easy access to firearms to me is a is the biggest driver of homicides in general, not just domestic violence."
Plus, inflation has made it more difficult for people experiencing domestic violence to leave a dangerous situation.
"Sometimes it's a choice of staying with the devil you know — something you can usually predict, you can perhaps placate — or the devil you don't," she said. "There's very little, if any, safe, affordable housing in the United States, and so there's no place really for people to go safely."
Christiansen said talking about domestic violence to reduce the stigma can also help.
"It's still taboo in many places, and I think if society doesn't begin to talk about it, it's never going to go away," she said. "You never know what goes on behind closed doors."
If you or a loved one needs help, there are resources available. You can call the Georgia domestic violence hotline at 1-800-33-HAVEN (1-800-334-2836) or the national line at 1-800-799-7233.