More Crime When It Gets Hot?

For some time, researchers have attempted to determine whether there seems to be a correlation between weather conditions and certain types of crime. The Wall Street Journal has reviewed New York City crime data and found that citizens are almost as likely to be victims of crime in October and December, as they are in the hot summer months of June, July and August.

The Journal looked over the month by month data of seven index crimes—murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglaries, grand larcenies and stolen cars—gathered by the NYPD from 2007 to 2009. Researchers found that the peak months for most forms of crime were July and August.

Jerome McKean, an associate professor of criminology at Ball State University, affirms that "there is a definite correlation" between an increase in temperature and that of crime. One of the reasons she gives for the increase in property crimes during the summer months is because many perpetrators are probably not in school during the summer, as well as the fact that many families take trips and vacations, leaving there property more vulnerable.

The high crime trends in the monthe of December, which is really the only exception to the more heat more crime theory, could be attributable to the holidays spent together by families, which doesn't always turn out well. Another factor might be people stealing Christmas presents, rather than paying for them. Whatever the reasons may be, police data shows that crime tends to increase along with the temperature.

To view the full article, follow this link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703995104575389461974136120.html

July 26, 2010

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