Would-be killers are on ice—at least, that's the impression the police have. There hasn't been a murder in nine days through yesterday morning, and Police Commissioner Kelly said, "We’re rooting for more cold weather."
The last murder was on January 16 (a man and his niece were killed in a car). The Post reports, "The deep freeze that has New Yorkers shivering in their boots has been a crime-fighting blessing for the NYPD... 'Jack Frost is the policeman’s best friend,' said a source. 'The criminals are staying indoors.'"
Another of the Post's sources hypothesized, "I’m sure the weather helps cut down on the numbers. A lot of murders occur on the street. It’s too cold to hang out outside... It’ll pick up again in the spring and summer. Always does."
The NY Times spoke to some experts:
“Some have argued that there is something about cold that actually inhibits aggression — literally the effect that cold has on the brain,” said Ellen G. Cohn, a professor of criminal justice at Florida International University. She added, however, that she believed cold reduced violence primarily for a different reason: fewer people are likely to be on the streets, which, she said, means “victims and offenders are less likely to come into contact with each other.”
Craig A. Anderson, a psychology professor at Iowa State University, said he, too, believed that some of the decrease had “to do with people probably hunkering down inside” during cold spells. But he noted that the cold, even as it suppressed street violence, could lead to an increase in domestic violence, which largely occurs indoors. And he observed that some research actually suggested that uncomfortable levels of cold could increase people’s irritability and aggression, just as heat does.
However, an unconscious, half-naked woman was found on a Crown Heights street yesterday morning. The Times says, "Her death remained under investigation and had not been classified as a homicide by Friday night."
