Law enforcement notices a link between warmer weather and violent crime

Three shootings in Columbia over the last couple days. One that left two people hurt and one last week that left one man dead.

Law enforcement told ABC 17 that they notice a link between warmer weather and violent crimes.

“We definitely see an uptick of criminal activity in the warmer months,” said Detective Tom O’Sullivan of the Boone County Sheriff’s Department.

According to Uniform Crime Reports, last year, there were twenty percent more violent crimes and forty percent more homicides in the summer months in Missouri.

Detective O’Sullivan said he believes it has to do with more people out, school breaks, and vacation months.

He also said more guns and higher temperatures are a deadly combination.

“I think it has to do with the increased availability of guns,” said O’Sullivan.

Other experts say people interact with each other more when the weather is warmer which can be why crime rates increase.

While other researchers suggest scalding climates lead to more irritability which in turn increase aggressive behavior.

Detective O’Sullivan also points out that these numbers might increase even further as Columbia’s population increases, naturally violent crime will rise and so will drug activity in more Metropolitan cities.