Economic tension can lead to domestic violence

More than an increase in shoplifting, gasoline drive-offs and other petty crimes, Jenkins worries that an unstable economy could trigger another wave of ‘‘very horrific” crimes against people who have relationships with their attackers.

Last year, 16 people were killed in five separate domestic violence incidents in the region.

Jenkins said serious economic calamities that affect households, such as job losses or foreclosures, can strain interpersonal relationships, which could lead people to commit crimes out of desperation.

Though economic stress affects individual households, it is not likely to have an effect on crime across society, according to Virginia McGovern, a criminologist at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg.

Unemployment would have to be much worse before people started committing crimes to get by, she argues. ‘‘The economy would be a factor only if it totally tanked,” McGovern said.

But McGovern agreed with Jenkins, saying that job losses and foreclosures can easily spur crimes committed in otherwise quiet households.

‘‘Domestic violence, unfortunately, is one of those things that does increase with financial troubles,” she said. ‘‘That’s the No. 1 thing that couples argue about, is money.”