Domestic abuse calls to police climb over Christmas and New Year

By Claudia Savage (Press Association)

Domestic abuse calls to police in Northern Ireland rose over Christmas and New Year, increasing on the same period last year, new figures have shown.

The PSNI said the continued rise highlights the festive period as a challenging time for victims.

Between December 20 2025 and January 2 2026, police received 1,407 domestic abuse calls, an increase on the 1,290 calls recorded during the same period in 2024-2025.

The figures show that demand for police support was consistently high across the two-week period, with call volumes also exceeding those recorded during 2023-2024.

New Year’s Day saw the highest number of domestic abuse calls at 116. This was followed closely by Christmas Day with 115 calls and December 27 with 114 calls.

The 2025-2026 total represents the fourth-highest figure recorded in the last 10 years.

Detective Superintendent Kerry Brennan said the increase in domestic abuse calls over Christmas and New Year has “become a consistent pattern over many years”.

She said: “This time of year can place additional pressures on households, including increased time spent together, financial strain, alcohol consumption and heightened emotional stress.

“For some victims, these factors can escalate controlling or abusive behaviour while for others the extended time at home can reduce opportunities to seek help or speak to someone in confidence.

“What these figures show clearly is that domestic abuse does not pause for the holidays, and in many cases the risk actually increases.”