Homicide and the seasons

Marvin Wolfgang, the doyen of homicide researchers, stressed that relationship was pivotal in understanding homicide. Curiously, the relationship variable has been neglected in considering homicide and seasonal variation. This paper takes the relationship variable as the point of departure and demonstrates several important insights. Overall, in relation to homicides in England and Wales, a strong seasonality effect is observed. However, when we disaggregate by the type of relationship between the offender and the victim, we observe contrasting seasonality patterns. This presentation discusses these patterns and considers explanations