AUGUSTA, Ga. () – The temperature is rising, and some believe the crime rate is increasing as well. I consulted some experts to ascertain if this theory holds true.
The Dean of the Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Augusta University explains there are two prevalent theories regarding a rise in crime during the summer.
“One is the heat aggression theory, where rising temperatures make us more irritable and prone to aggression,” said Kim Davies, Dean of Pamplin College and Sociology Professor at Augusta University. “There is certainly research supporting this. The other theory is the routine activities theory, which suggests we spend more time outside, especially teenagers, who are more likely to engage in criminal activity when outdoors.”
Major Robbie Silas with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office told me he also believes the uptick in crime is because of children being out of school and more people are out and about.
“Once school gets out, we see our juvenile crimes progress a little bit, and our autos, burglaries,” said Major Robbie Silas, Special Operations, RCSO. “We also see domestic violence because that’s when you have all your family gatherings during the summer.”
While there is research that heat can cause people to be more aggressive, Davies says leans toward the routine activity’s theory. She says there are more opportunities during the summer for crime.
“One thing you have to think about is correlation and how it works. We know that when ice cream sales go up, homicide goes up, violent crimes go up. You have to think about it, when it’s hotter outside people eat more ice cream, people also do crimes. So, we have to be careful the conclusions we draw and make sure we are doing science,” said Davies.
