Crime takes a Holiday in Milan

Crime of all kinds drops almost by half in Milan, Italy, during the vacation month of August. This article documents the across-the-board decrease and contrasts this pattern with U.S. cities that display very little seasonal variation in offenses. Since the opportunities to commit offenses do nor drop precipitously, the Milan pattern suggests that crime rates drop because offenders voluntarily reduce the level of their criminal activity. This propensity of of offenders to take time off in August reflects Italian social values and illustrates the important linkage between general cultural conditions and patterns of crime