Everyone looks forward to the summertime; kids are out of school, the smell of freshly cut grass is in the air, barbeque’s are plentiful and the beaches are packed with many a sun-worshipper. What’s not to love about summer? In fact, I bet you can name at least five songs dedicated to the season. If Will Smith can sing about it, it’s gotta be good, right? Well, not exactly. According to analysis done by The New York Times, summertime in New York is Murder Season. Murder, I say!
During the months of June to September, the number of murders increases exponentially in NYC. While the overall percentages of murder in NYC has been steadily decreasing over the past decade, there is a sharp increase in the murder rate once the temperature start rising.
There are no concrete reasons for this, but suspected reasons have to do with increased social interactions and get-togethers, more people being outdoors and increased alcohol consumption.
Interestingly enough, the murder rate goes down on rainy days. The reason? Less social interaction.
I hope it rains all summer.
If you have a penchant for the macabre and like to view full demographics of homicide in NYC, The New York Times has installed an interactive datamap of the five boroughs, with statistics like time and month and ethnicity of the victim. To view it, go here.
What a bummer, summer.
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