HOT WEATHER HELPS CRIME TO GROW.

• Position: Brief Article

Turn up the heat and humidity, add idle, out-of-school teens and a sprinkling of tourists, and you have the perfect recipe for a long, hot summer of crime, warns Jerry McKean, professor of criminal justice, Ball State University, Muncie, Ind. Crime statistics rise in July and August, when the temperatures begin to bake a majority of the country, he points out.

"One of the reasons is ... `heat aggravation.' It gets hot and people get mad more easily. That leads to a loss of tempers and then to problems between people. At the same time, there is more opportunity for criminal activity during the warm summer months as opposed to February [the lowest month for crime reports]. Summer brings potential victims, offenders, and things to steal all together at one time."

Police reports are usually filled with teenagers as victims or criminals because they have time on their hands...