Youth crime peaks during after-school hours
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After school is a peak time for youth crime. In 2008, 20% of police-reported youth crime on weekdays took place from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Early afternoon (noon to 3 p.m.) was the most frequent time for youth drug offences. Midnight to 3 a.m. was the most common period for youth traffic violations.
On weekends, youth crime climbed in the afternoon, remained consistent from the late afternoon until the late-night hours (midnight to 3 a.m.) and did not drop until the overnight period (3 a.m. to 6 a.m.). Most youth crime was distributed uniformly across the days of the week except for Sunday, which was the least likely day for criminal activity. Police-reported youth crime occurred least often during the winter months.
Late evening and nighttime crime was more prevalent among older teens: 13% of teens aged 16 to 17 accused of a crime were involved in police-reported criminal activity that occurred between midnight and 3 a.m. compared with 4% of youth aged 12 to 13.
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