By
in
In the heat of the moment.
Her blood was boiling.
Red-faced.
A fire raged within him.
Hot-tempered.
Heat is associated with anger, as evidenced by the myriad clauses above that use heat as anger’s metaphor. But just because anger is symbolized by heat, does that mean that heat can cause more anger? In fact, yes. As a case in point, we see this throughout history by a rise in violence during hotter temperatures.
On August 13, 2013, the New York Times published an editorial entitled, Weather and Violence. In it, the authors referred to research that consistently proved the connection between violence and higher temperatures, as follows:
Whether [the research] focus is on small-scale interpersonal aggression or large-scale political instability, low-income or high-income societies, the year 10,000 B.C. or the present day, the overall conclusion is the same: episodes of extreme climate make people more violent toward one another.
Likewise, in June, 2014, the US Department of Justice released a report, Seasonal Patterns in Criminal Victimization Trends, whose results showed an increase in the following crimes during summer months versus winter months:
- Household property victimization
- Household theft (larceny)
- Household burglary
- Aggravated assault
- Rape
- Sexual assault
- Intimate partner violence
Of all of these crimes, “…the seasonality analysis indicated that aggravated assault rates were significantly higher during the summer than during the winter, spring, and fall seasons.” Aggravated assault, usually a felony, is “the crime of physically attacking another person which results in serious bodily harm and/or is made with a deadly or dangerous weapon.”
What does all this mean for security? At the very least, it means more awareness that people’s tempers might be heightened with summer temperatures. Security must be on elevated alert in order to assuage crimes, especially aggravated assault. In particular, people walking into a store or other business after sweltering heat might be more on edge, tending toward violence more so than they might during the winter. In addition, anyone in need of personal protection should be even keener to get the assistance they require, given the higher chances of attack during the summer. The heat of summer, coupled with an increase in daylight hours (and therefore higher rates of robbery), indicate more security needs during summer months. Contact ISSM for more information.
