YORK, Pa. -- With the summer comes nicer weather. But with that weather, comes more opportunities for not-so-nice people.
Dr. Barbara Hanbury, associate professor of criminal justice for York College, said, "People are out. They leave their homes. They're traveling. Doors are open. Windows are open. Then that increases the chances for victimization."
Nationally, summer months are the peak time for people to commit Part 1 crimes: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
And that may be the case for some police departments in the area.
Northern York County Regional Police Chief Mark Bentzel said, "June through November typically we see increases in Part 1 crimes."
But looking at data for all of Central Pennsylvania from 2013-2016, Hanbury said you might be surprised.
Crimes spike in August, October and January.
There's speculation as to why: whether it's because of Halloween in October, or an increase in law enforcement patrols during those times of year.
Hanbury said in today's world, technology could contribute as well.
She said, "We are distracted. We are on our iPhones, our iPads, our Fitbits, and that can make a person more vulnerable."
She wants to dig deeper as to why those months, in particular October and January, see the most arrests for part 1 crime in Central Pennsylvania.
"It's not consistent with national data and that's what makes it more interesting," she said.
Hanbury and her students do a project every semester looking at national crime data, but she said this semester they may dig deeper into more local data.