Scientific inquiries into the relationship between climate and crime began during the early nineteenth century. Usually climate has referred to the monthly or seasonal mean temperatures and crime has been classified into two types: crimes against the person (or violent crimes such as homicide, rape, assault, and robbery); and crimes against property (such as burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft).
During the nineteenth century A.M. Guerry in France and A. Quetelet in Belgium, in two independent studies, observed the coincidence of higher frequencies of crimes against persons in warmer areas and during warmer months. Moreover, crimes against property increased in winter months and in cooler areas. Quetelet conceptualized these observations into the Thermic Law of Delinquency (Cohen, 1941; Harries, 1980). Neither Guerry nor Quetelet felt that climatic conditions were the principal causes of delinquency. Both criminologists are credited with starting the geographic school of...
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Applied Climatology
Determinism, Climatic
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Lebeau, J. (2005). Crime and Climate. In: Oliver, J.E. (eds) Encyclopedia of World Climatology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht . https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3266-8_61
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