Crime spikes when daylight saving time ends, study finds

While many Americans gripe about the loss of sleep after clocks "spring forward," the extra hour of darkness after the "fall back" can be expensive and painful, according to researchers.

Crime spikes across the United States in the weeks after daylight saving time (DST) ends and citizens turn their clocks back for the fall, according to a new study.

The findings were compiled by Vivint, a smart home company, based on FBI data recorded between 2017 and 2021. 

Not only has the percentage of crimes committed after DST increased in each of those years, but the total number of crimes has risen as well.

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Robberies and vehicle thefts had the highest spikes at 64.4% and 61% more likely to occur, respectively, after daylight saving time ends, according to the study. The raw rise of robberies was 81%.

Break-ins were up 16%, according to Vivint, although homes protected by security systems, which the company sells, see only about a third of the burglaries as those without.

Other studies have found that keeping daylight saving time in place all year could reduce crimes, especially robberies.

A 2015 Brookings Institution study found that eliminating the "fall back" could reduce robberies by 27% directly because of the additional daylight in evenings. 

In 2012, researchers Jennifer Doleac and Nicholas Sanders found that robberies, murders and rapes all decreased at dusk following "spring forward." And a 2017 study in the Journal of Experimental Criminology found that assaults rose in big American cities right after daylight saving time ended.

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Between 2017 and 2021, many types of thefts, including burglaries of businesses and parked cars, went up.

"Most crimes happen under the cover of darkness, that’s why things like broad daylight shootings are so shocking to the public," said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. 

"Most burglaries happen when people leave the house to go to work or school — in the morning, it’s still dark out when we set the clocks back — that could be a reason, too."

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In addition to home security systems, the Vivint team recommends exterior lighting, locking your windows and doors and closing curtains and blinds at night.

Biannual clock changing has come under fire in the U.S. Senate as well. With a majority of Americans disapproving of having to turn back time every fall, lawmakers last year proposed the Sunshine Protection Act, which aims to eliminate the need to "fall back" every November. The House of Representatives has not passed the bill.

According to Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who introduced the bill, changing the clocks is "obsolete, confusing and unhealthy."

"This ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid," the senator said earlier this year. "Locking the clock has overwhelming bipartisan and popular support. This Congress, I hope that we can finally get this done."

In addition to citing the Brookings Institution findings on robberies, he has argued that keeping daylight saving time in place year-round would decrease car accidents, boost the economy, reduce the risk of seasonal depression and other illnesses and benefit farmers.

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"The timing of sunset is pretty close to the time many of us leave work, and walking to our cars or homes in the dark makes us easier targets for street criminals," the Brookings researchers wrote. "We feel safer when we’re walking in the daylight, and it’s easy to imagine why light might have a deterrent effect on crime: offenders know they’re more likely to be recognized and get caught if they’re fully visible."

They also noted that even if it's safer to leave work early during the winter months, most people can't.

Clocks officially turn back at 2 a.m. Sunday.