Heat, Crime, and Punishment

Arnold Behrer and Valentin Bolotnyy

No 9909, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: Using administrative criminal records from Texas, this paper shows how heat affects criminal defendants, police officers, prosecutors, and judges. It finds that arrests increase by up to 15 percent on hot days, driven by increases in violent crime. There is no evidence that charging-day heat impacts prosecutorial decisions. However, working alone, judges dismiss fewer cases, issue longer prison sentences, and levy higher fines when ruling on hot days. Higher incomes, newer housing, more teamwork, and less accessible weapons may decrease these adverse effects of heat. Even with adaptation, the paper forecasts that climate change will increase crime and have substantial distributional consequences.

Keywords: Crime and Society; Adaptation to Climate Change; Climate Change and Health; Science of Climate Change; Climate Change and Environment; Urban Housing; Urban Governance and Management; Municipal Management and Reform; Urban Housing and Land Settlements (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-01-24
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-law and nep-ure
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9909

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