Daylight saving time: An unlikely crime-fighting tool

Daylight saving time is revered in the fall and reviled in the spring due to its effects on the nation’s sleep schedule. Although Americans enjoyed an extra hour of sleep on Sunday morning, the end of daylight saving time may mean more crime in the evening hours.

A new paper says robbery rates fall an average of 7 percent on the first days after daylight saving time begins in the spring. When Congress extended daylight saving time by four weeks in 2007, the resulting reduction in robberies meant $59 million a year saved in social costs. Even though the shift meant more darkness in the morning, early-day robbery rates did not rise.