With the cold weather in Baltimore still lingering on (57 degree Fahrenheit on May the fourth), it made me wonder, “How does the cold weather affect crime rates?” One would think that as the colder it gets, especially in winter, the lower the rates of crime would be. After all, who would want to be out in the cold? Using spotcrime’s database, I compared the rates of shootings and robberies for four Northeastern cities (Chicago, Boston, New York City, and Baltimore) from September 2008 to the end of February 2009.
Is crime affected by the cold weather? The results above may indicate the answer to the question. It seems that for shootings, there is no significant change in the numbers as the winter progresses. The results are less clear for robberies, but it too seem that there is no pattern behind them as relates to the weather.
N. Generous
Crime Pattern Investigator
SpotCrime.com Crime Mapping 