The holidays are traditionally a spot of aslow periodfor crime – though you would n’t cognize it to look at some of the headline coming out over the merry season . According toone story , the most wonderful metre of the year is also “ the staring metre for crimes , ” say police , with “ a lot of criminals … looking to break into car , John Cash in on high dollar items that you might will hang around . ” But is it dead on target ? Or is this just another example of Americans’well - documentedcriminalcognitive dissonance ?

Well , unfortunately , this one istrue – kind of . At the end of the year , the National Insurance Crime Bureau ( NICB ) issue its semi - traditional Holiday Theft Report , document statistics on fomite thefts in the former 12 month . Themost recentreport did indeed witness December to be one of the month in which you ’re more potential to have your gondola steal ( or , depending on who ’s reading this , more likely to steal a elevator car ) .

What ’s more , the Bureau consistently finds that New Year ’s Day is far and away the holiday when most cars get slip – January 1 , 2019 , ensure about 145 more vehicle stolen than any “ average ” solar day of the class – so it seems like have extra precaution over the new year may be a pretty good idea .

But it ’s important to note that this is n’t all the report suppose . The festive season is n’t just some car - theft - based adaptation ofThe Purge . While New Year ’s Clarence Day is the vacation with the most vehicle thieving reported , it add up just a week after the daylight with the dispirited number of reported machine thefts in the entire year : Christmas . And while it ’s arguably not precisely part of the holiday season , Thanksgiving take the number two topographic point for downhearted number of vehicles stolen ( the third place become to the day after4/20 , so make of that what you will . )

And although New Year ’s is theholidaywith the gamy number of thefts , it ’s pretty far from being the yearly peak : that honor went to July 1 in 2019 , with 2,779 vehicles reported stolen – an step-up of nearly one - seventh over the casual average for the yr . The smuggler - up for “ most vehicles stolen ” day was just two week subsequently , on July 15 – which , the write up noted , trace a pattern meet yr after yr .

“ Vehicle theft charge per unit followed a similar convention from late years , ” the report explained . “ [ The ] highest turn of thefts [ occurred ] over the warmer summertime months and the depleted in the cold winter month . ”

So why the surge on January 1 ? allot to the NICB ’s Frank Scafidi , talk to the Orlando Sentinel in 2013 , it ’s probably due to that ever - present vacation constituent : alcohol .

“ People get intoxicated on New Year ’s , ” hepointed out , “ and that makes many otherwise ordinary , responsible adults pretend like mindless morons and do things they might not do when sober . ”

If he ’s right , it would n’t be the only law-breaking exacerbated by the addition in festive spirits – or beers , vino , and ale , for that matter . As one articlenotes , drink tug incidence go right smart up around Christmas and the new year – and so do sexual assaults and domestic force .

“ Domestic abuse charities account they see an increase in yell during the Christmas and New Year menstruation by as much as 50 percent , ” Sarah Jane Lenihan , a partner at the UK ’s largest mob jurisprudence house , toldThe Independentin November . “ Alcohol - infuse vehemence is something I get wind a spate of and lamentably Christmas is a time when many overindulge . ”

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