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Heat and Law Enforcement

Author

Listed:
  • Behrer,Arnold Patrick
  • Bolotnyy,Valentin

Abstract

Using administrative criminal records from Texas, this paper shows how high temperatures affect the decision making of police officers, prosecutors, and judges. It finds that police reduce the number of arrests made per reported crime on the hottest days and that arrests made on these days are more likely to be dismissed in court. For prosecutors, high temperature on the day they announce criminal charges does not appear to affect the nature and severity of the charges. However, judges dismiss fewer cases, issue longer prison sentences, and levy higher fines whenruling on hot days. The results suggest that the psychological and cognitive consequences ofexposure to high temperatures have meaningful consequences for criminal defendants as they interact with the criminal justice system.

Suggested Citation

  • Behrer,Arnold Patrick & Bolotnyy,Valentin, 2024. "Heat and Law Enforcement," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10776, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10776
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    File URL: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099818005162425050/pdf/IDU11f8ec38311d471489b18529195425ea06306.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jens Ludwig & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2021. "Fragile Algorithms and Fallible Decision-Makers: Lessons from the Justice System," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(4), pages 71-96, Fall.
    2. E. Somanathan & Rohini Somanathan & Anant Sudarshan & Meenu Tewari, 2021. "The Impact of Temperature on Productivity and Labor Supply: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(6), pages 1797-1827.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ohms, Benjamin, 2025. "A Systematic Literature Review of Cognitive Biases in Workplace Decision-Making," SocArXiv 2kq9b_v1, Center for Open Science.
    2. Benjamin Ohms, 2025. "A Systematic Literature Review of Cognitive Biases in Workplace Decision-Making," International Journal of Business Administration, International Journal of Business Administration, Sciedu Press, vol. 16(3), pages 26-41, September.

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