Testing Seasonality in Reported Crime Data

Author(s)

William Stronge, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Lee R. McPheters

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Criminal Justice

ISSN

0047-2352

Publication Date

Summer 1973

Abstract/Excerpt

In spite of the apparent importance of crime statistics to policy-makers and the public, these data are not often analyzed or refined in the same manner as other social series such as unemployment. In this paper, seasonal variation in FBI index crimes is investigated for a major urban area. Using Miami data for 1949–1970, a test for seasonality is developed and seasonal indices are constructed for a number of crime types. A definite seasonal pattern in Miami crime data is found to exist, although its importance seems to be declining in recent years. Some applications of seasonally adjusted data to public information and operations are also briefly discussed.

DOI

10.1016/0047-2352(73)90093-7

Volume

1

Issue

2

First Page

125

Last Page

134

NSUWorks Citation

Stronge, William and McPheters, Lee R., "Testing Seasonality in Reported Crime Data" (1973). HCBE Faculty Articles. 812.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hcbe_facarticles/812