Halloween night, with its make-believe ghosts but very real assailants, is the worst evening of the year for violent crime victimization in Boston, says Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox. Writing for the Boston Globe, Fox says the evening violent crime count on October 31 is about 50 percent higher than on any other date during the year, and twice the daily average.
An hour-by-hour chart shows that the incidence of Halloween-night violence peaks in the early evening. The most popular hours for gathering Snickers and Junior Mints around the neighborhood are apparently also the prime time for violent crime. During the rest of the year, crime incidence rises throughout the evening hours, not peaking until just before midnight.