Police: Snow falls, violence rises

Snowball fights, sledding, building snowmen and steaming cups of cocoa are popular icons of snowy, winter days.

The reality is domestic disputes can more than triple, according to officials, and police officers say they spend much of their time traversing snow-packed roads to settle conflicts for families kept home by poor road conditions and school and work cancellations.

An average weekend has Clovis police responding to around four 911 calls for domestic disputes, Clovis Police Lt. Patrick Whitney said.

During the most recent snow storm, police received 14, Whitney said, and data from other recent ice and snow storms show similar trends. Officers know it’s going to happen, he said.

“Really what it has to do with is people being in close proximity (to each other),” he said. “They start talking about the things that cause strife. It just stands to reason they’re spending more time together because of the weather, and those discussions are apt to come up.”

When people are forced into inescapable situations, negativity can take over, and none of the standard distraction tools are there to get them out.

They can’t get in the car and go to a friend’s or go shopping, or just cool off somewhere else. They find themselves cornered, according to Whitney.

Mary K. “Kathy” Woodard, a Clovis family counselor, agreed. Being homebound often pushes family patience to the limit.

She said the old cliché of cabin fever loomed large during recent ice and snow storms, causing added stress for families.

“(Being) pent up together, especially when the weather was so foreign to us, and not sure about school or work or driving conditions or heating fuel from day-to-day overtaxes (people’s) limited coping skills for such stress on top of their already overstressed lives,” she said.

She suggested that rather than picking each other apart or letting tensions escalate, families take the confinement as an opportunity to tackle need-to-do chores or to share in joint activities that can be fun for everyone.

“Spend the time doing all the things you’ve been too busy to do. Have some quality time with each other,” Woodard said.

“Families need ‘rainy-day plans’ for activities and even household chores, just as (much as) they need safety plans for fire escape,” she said.

“Involving the whole family in devising such rainy-day plans could be lots of fun and thereby avoid succumbing to the negative symptoms of cabin fever that turn beautiful white snow into something really ugly.”

Domestic disputes aren’t just about couples fighting, Whitney said. Having children stuck at home causes additional strain because everybody’s stir-crazy.

Often children out of school are bored and get into trouble in and outside the home, bringing on additional stress for families, he said.

“(Police) already know that that’s going to happen, but there’s nothing (to do) to prepare for it,” he said. “You only have so many officers.

“There’s really no planning for a rise in domestic disputes. (We’re) dealing with human beings.”

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Suggested inclement weather activities: • Cook with the children — Making some nice chili on a (cold day) can be a treat. • Early spring-cleaning — It’s a good time to do that deep, annual house cleaning. Involve the whole family. • Go through closets — Sort through the children’s clothes and package up the ones that don’t fit anymore for donation. • Go through the children’s toys — With the holidays just passed, it is a great time to get rid of the old toys that were replaced with new ones at Christmas or that the children have outgrown. Donate unneeded items to a favorite local charity. • Color with the children — Keep everything positive. It’s a good time to do silly things with the children. • Play Monopoly — A game that takes “forever” to play is a good way to occupy time and be together as a family. Try it with popcorn and cocoa. • Watch family movies or go through family albums — Watching movies is a great thing to do. Watch the Christmas videos. The bottom line: “Some of this good old-fashion, wholesome entertainment that families need to get back to, even us big kids. “Try to keep everything light and positive.” Source: Mary K. “Kathy” Woodard, Assurance Counseling Services

Suggested inclement weather activities:

• Cook with the children — Making some nice chili on a (cold day) can be a treat.

• Early spring-cleaning — It’s a good time to do that deep, annual house cleaning. Involve the whole family.

• Go through closets — Sort through the children’s clothes and package up the ones that don’t fit anymore for donation.

• Go through the children’s toys — With the holidays just passed, it is a great time to get rid of the old toys that were replaced with new ones at Christmas or that the children have outgrown. Donate unneeded items to a favorite local charity.

• Color with the children — Keep everything positive. It’s a good time to do silly things with the children.

• Play Monopoly — A game that takes “forever” to play is a good way to occupy time and be together as a family. Try it with popcorn and cocoa.

• Watch family movies or go through family albums — Watching movies is a great thing to do. Watch the Christmas videos.

The bottom line: “Some of this good old-fashion, wholesome entertainment that families need to get back to, even us big kids.

“Try to keep everything light and

positive.”

Source: Mary K. “Kathy” Woodard, Assurance Counseling Services