NATCHEZ — Maybe it’s boredom, maybe it’s drugs and maybe it’s just the heat, but one thing is certain: crime rates in the Miss-Lou rise during the summer.

Paulette Friese, a retired family and behavioral therapist in Pineville, La., said research seems to indicate a rise in temperatures, coupled with crowding and use of alcohol or drugs leads to a rise in crime rates.

“My hunch would be the deciding factor in that triumverite would be the alcohol or drugs,” she said. “If you were to eliminate the alcohol or drugs you might not see that behavior.”

The other factors — heat and crowding — might give rise to aggressiveness because they leave people uncomfortable, Friese said.

Socioeconomic conditions and crime, are also linked, she said.

The apparent link is not because poor people are more likely commit criminal behavior, but because they are more likely to live in crowded conditions with no air-conditioning, Friese said.

Crimes and causes

Mix one part free time and two parts alcohol, and you have a recipe for disharmony, Natchez Police Chief Mike Mullins said.

“Normally, our busiest months are July and December,” Mullins said. “In the summer, kids are out of school, it’s hot, and more people are out of their homes interacting.”

The more people interact, the more likely trouble is, Mullins said.

Most of the calls Natchez police receive in summer months are for domestic violence, larceny and disturbances, he said.

In recent weeks, for example, his office has received more than 50 complaints of someone shattering car, home and business windows with a pellet gun.

Concordia Parish Sheriff Randy Maxwell said his office sees more simple assaults during the summer months than the rest of the year.

A group of nine Ferriday women were recently arrested on charges of disturbing the peace after a traffic incident sparked a brawl involving bricks, bats and bottles.

The women were standing at the corner of Sixth Street and Georgia Avenue not doing anything but talking at the time of the incident, Ferriday Police Chief Richard Madison said.

Incidents of group violence are rare, Maxwell said.

“We mostly don’t see that kind of thing,” he said.

Crime seems to rise after working hours are over, with the highest number of instances occurring between the hours of 6 p.m. and midnight, Maxwell said.

Natchez Municipal Judge Jim Blough said he sees his docket load rise with the mercury.

“Our docket here was extremely heavy the entire month of May — both misdemeanor and felony crimes — and that continued to be the case for this first half of June,” Blough said.

Normally, his courtroom sees a few dozen cases each day. However, one day in May brought 160 cases, and a June day, he saw 120.

And that pattern holds nearly every year, Natchez City Prosecutor Lisa Jordan Dale said

“We always see an increase in crimes right after Memorial Day and throughout the summer,” Dale said. “My personal opinion is there are a lot more gatherings. People are outside, cooking out and they drink. A lot of it is amongst family members.”

The younger generations

One factor that plays into the summer jump in crime is juveniles, law officials and sociologists said.

“It’s because of the idleness of children who don’t have a job,” Maxwell said. “They get together and a lot of times that leads to a fight.”

Madison disagrees about unemployment, but agrees not having anything to do certainly contributes to the problem.

“Unemployment is not the problem,” he said. “It’s a lack of recreation — when people don’t have anything to do, they get bored and that may lead to negative behavior.”

Summer crime can be linked to several key factors all stemming from home.

“The big factor is that kids have more time with less constant activity to engage in with less parental structure,” Natchez psychologist Patricia Pintard said.

Children have a higher need for stimulation and often become susceptible to summer boredom.

“Summer does not change thinking, it changes behavior, which can cause less thinking, which leaves an individual with the opportunity to commit a crime,” Pintard said.

The common denominator is usually based on upbringing and household situation.

“Today’s society contributes to single parent, working households which leaves kids unattended all day leading to experimentation,” said therapist Joe Swoveland of Swoveland and Simmons licensed therapists in Natchez.

There have also been links between pop culture, TV, movies and music, with violence.

“Children are exposed to widespread exposure to lack of morals within the media,” Pintard said.

There is no clear place to put the blame.

“It is society as a whole, not one particular thing,” Swoveland said. “Americans overextend themselves, which can create reactive behavior.”

However, there can be a solution.

“This situation can be changed by a lot of hard work by parents, educators and people in control,” Pintard said. “The first step is recognizing the problem.”

Both Swoveland and Pintard agree that any behavior-altering drug can only exacerbate the situation.

Proactive steps

The seasonal rise in crime rates means both residents and law enforcement officers have to be on their toes.

In Ferriday, the police department has looked at past records to determine what times and where to step up police patrols to serve as crime deterrents, Madison said.

Residents should be aware of where they are and what’s going on around them, Adams County Sheriff Ronny Brown said.

“We’re just picking up enforcement, keeping people form loitering, especially around store entrances,” he said. “It seems to work.”

Even in the summer, Natchez and Adams County’s crime rates are pretty good, Brown said.

“We’re still considered a low-crime area,” he said.

“We’re real lucky.”