CRIME ALERT: Criminal Habits Change During The Hot Summer

Heat waves don’t always translate into crime waves. But criminal activity does change during the long, hot summer in the desert. Cathedral City Police, like other police departments, see a rise in domestic violence.

“With increased drinking, with the heat, being uncomfortable, we tend to see a little bit more arguments, a little bit more disturbances, family fights, neighborhood issues. Things like that,” Lt. Glen Hass with Cathedral City Police Department points out.

Some departments say crime is relative to the population: more people, more crime; less people, less crime. But in Indio, the biggest city in the Valley, crime dropped this summer compared to same time year.

“This year, we are extremely surprised that it’s lower than we expected,” Indio Police spokesman Ben Guitron said.

Daytime heat forces some criminals to wait until after the sun goes down before they strike. The summer also means kids have more crime on their hands. Juvenile crime also rises.

“You have teenagers that are typically asleep until noon, staying out late at night. We could see some risk in juvenile issues,” says Lt.Haas.

While crimes change during the summer, police say people should be on guard all year long.

“Sometimes people get lax in trying to be preventative and later be reactive to the situation,” says Guitron.

People often make themselves easy targets for crime during the summer. Remember to lock your doors and windows when you go out or go to sleep.

The same goes for your cars. And never leave your car unlocked and running. A lot of people do that here in the desert to keep the air conditioning going. But it takes only a second to steal a car.