Houston's summer heat, does it have an impact on crime?

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- This heat is real in Houston these days and has had an impact on everything, from roads to car batteries.

There has been a belief among society that the summertime causes more crime, but is that actually true in Houston?

We used our ABC13 Neighborhood Safety Tracker to find out, and the numbers we've gathered indicate that the premise is correct over the previous few years.

However, they show that crime in June, July, and August from 2019 through 2022 has only gone up marginally during those time frames.

We looked at major crimes, which include murder, assault, robbery, theft, auto theft, and burglary, and those went up 5% during 12 months. If you only look at violent crimes, such as murder and assault, that number stayed at 5%.

Overall, data from the Neighborhood Safety Tracker shows there has also been progress in fighting overall violent crime in the city of Houston in recent years.

For example, there were 371 murders in Houston in the past 12 months, compared to 465 in the entire year of 2021.

If you look at the bigger picture, though, crime is still not where it was prior to the pandemic.

In 2019, there were 280 murders in the city, which is nearly 30% lower than what we've seen in the past year.

The same story can be said when it comes to assaults, though the difference from 2019 compared to the last 12 months is only 2.8%.

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