How is Manatee County handling the stress of isolation? Crime statistics tell a tale

The stress of the coronavirus pandemic is real and comes in many forms.

Isolation, financial loss and health concerns can all take a toll on individuals and families at any moment but especially in these emotionally charged times.

Manatee County residents are reacting to these challenging days and, at times, it’s ending in tragedy.

Drug overdoses are up in Manatee County and suicides have increased dramatically within the city limits of Bradenton when comparing the first three months of 2018 and 2019 to 2020.

From January through April 5 of this year, there have been six suicides in Bradenton, compared to three during the same period in 2019 and one in 2018.

Bradenton Police Chief Melanie Bevan is sounding the alarm before numbers continue to rise as is already happening in other areas of the country.

“Now more than ever is the time for us to reach out to our employees and community members to ensure they are receiving the care and support they need during these trying times, Bevan said. “I’ve mandated frequent communication with all of our folks.”

While suicides have not increased elsewhere in Manatee County, other pandemic-related incidents are showing signs of increasing. Palmetto has experienced a slight increase in domestic violence. Bevan said her department is not seeing a large upswing in domestic violence cases, but cautions, “Not yet.”

Thus far, domestic violence arrests throughout Manatee County are largely stable, if not slightly down.

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office’s comparison for March 9 through April 5 of 2019 to the same time period this year shows a slight reduction in domestic violence incidents.

However, there have been unexplained spikes and drops in the weekly numbers.

From March 9-15, 2019, to the same period this year, there was a 15 percent increase. Between March 23-29, 2019, to the same period this year, there was a 52 percent increase.

However, those numbers don’t necessarily reflect the accurate stress environment as the pandemic drags further into April. Actual arrests and documented suicides aren’t the same as service calls.

From April 6-8 , the sheriff’s office responded to a dozen suicide threats, 53 domestic-related calls, and 13 overdoses.

Sheriff’s office spokesman Randy Warren said it does appear overdoses are on the rise. The sheriff’s office believes that spike to be related to the isolation associated with the pandemic.

While the sheriff’s office provided a comparison chart for March through April 5, daily monitoring of the county jail’s arrest log appears to show a recent uptick in domestic violence cases .

“Deputies are still out answering calls for service and are prepared to respond when and where they are needed,” Warren said. “Sheriff Rick Wells wants citizens to know they should never hesitate to contact us with an emergency by calling 911 or our non-emergency number (941-747-3011 ext. 2260) if they have questions or concerns about other matters.”

With suicides spiking in the city of Bradenton, Bevan said her department is certainly bracing for what other cities across the country are experiencing with surges in domestic violence and other crimes that may be related to the pandemic.

“I doubt this phenomenon is isolated to my city and fear we are only seeing the beginning of this crisis, so I want to sound the alarm sooner rather than later,” Bevan said.

Bevan wants law enforcement agencies to be prepared for what may come, “So that local support agencies are aware of the uptick and can prepare their individual responses. BPD has also begun and will continue a suicide awareness campaign on social media.”

Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler said that overall, mental health calls such as suicide threats are down, but domestic violence calls were up slightly between March 1 and April 8 compared to the same time period last year.

“We are fortunate that we have had no suicides this year,” Tyler said. “To sum up, we are up slightly up in domestic violence this year as compared with last year. We are actually down in mental health-related calls, so far.”

Anyone feeling the stress of the pandemic or just need to reach out for help are encouraged to use hotlines for support and to report abuse.

Some of those include:

• The local Centerstone Crisis line (24/7) at 941-782-4617.
• National Suicide Prevention Hotline (24/7) at 1-800-273-8255.
• Manatee County Healthline at 941-242-6649.
• Florida Department of Health (24/7) at 1-866-779-6121. Their website is also loaded with excellent, printable information on just about everything related to COVID-19.
• Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence at 800-500-1119.