Despite the public presumption that crime goes up when kids are no longer sitting behind desks and are out on the streets during summer vacation, data from the Washington Metropolitan Police Department shows that youth are arrested less frequently during summer months when compared to the rest of the year, according to a new brief published today by DC Lawyers for Youth (DCLY).

The brief, “Debunking Urban Legends: Summer Heat, Vacation Don’t Lead to More Youth Arrests,” found that since 2007, there has been no relation to an increase in juvenile arrests during summer months (June, July and August). The report takes a look at seasonal and annual weekly averages of juvenile arrests and the seasonal average of juvenile arrests for violent offenses from 2007 to 2010. According to the brief, juvenile arrests during specific weeks of summer have been lower than the rest of the year since 2007. In 2009 and 2010, weekly arrests of juveniles were more than 8% lower during academic year weeks.

DCLY’s analysis reports that summer arrests were lower than the yearly weekly average in 2008 and 2009. The report also found that the only substantial seasonal spikes in juvenile arrests since 2007 occurred in the fall months of 2008 and 2009, and during the spring months of 2007, 2009 and 2010.

Juvenile arrests for violent offenses have also decreased over summer months, decreasing from spring to summer over the past four years. Furthermore, summer arrests accounted for the lower than the yearly average in the two of the four years studies (2007 and 2008).

Read the full report here: Debunking Urban Legends: Summer Heat, Vacation Don’t Lead to More Youth Arrests.