Purdue research: Heat, weekends play a role in Chicago summer shootings

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Friday paydays and hot temperatures play a significant role in the rashes of violence in Chicago each summer, according to work by Purdue University and Arizona State University researchers.

David Ebert, the Silicon Valley Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue, and Sherry Towers, a Purdue alumna and research professor at Arizona State University, poured over data from six million reported crimes in Chicago over 14 years, beginning in 2001.

Their findings showed distinct patterns in when crimes happened and, more importantly, when those tendencies were suppressed. Crime dropped off during holidays as well as rainy or windy days.

Ebert, an expert in the field of predictive analytics for policing, said putting “the right officers in the right location at the right times” can help police reduce crime.  

The study “Factors Influencing Temporal Patterns in Crime in a Large American City; a Predictive Analytics Perspective,” was published in the latest online edition of PLOS ONE. More information can be found here. 

Media source: Brian Huchel, 765-494-2084, bhuchel@purdue.edu

Source: David Ebert, 765-494-9064, ebertd@purdue.edu