Heat and Homicide

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For years, researchers have looked into a possible relationship betwween heat and violence. There are conflicting results over whether there is an actual correlation between risingtempers and rising mercury, but the murder rate perennially increases during the months of July and August, according to the FBI's annual crime report. Many police chiefs say they put more cops on the streets when the heat rises. "There 's always calls for service increases from May, June,July and August," said New Bedford's Capt. Richard Spirilet. "The longer period of time you have the heat, the worst it is...It's just the reverse in the winter time, crime is alll but nil." Craig Anderson, a prefessor and spectialist in social psychology at lowa State University, argues the evidence is clear. "As the temperature goes up, people become more uncomfortable. They become more irritable," he said."That...increases the likelihood that a minor conflict will be interpreted as more majors." Anderson conducted a series of studieslooking at crime rates over the course of serveral years within the same region to see when most violent crimes occurred. He found that violent crimes were more likely to occur on hot days and hot months-even hot years had higher violent crime rates than cold years, according to his research.