Bark at the Moon?

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Brighton, sometimes referred to as "London by the Sea," appears to be suffering from the effects of the lunar cycle. It has been noticed that revellers who go out to enjoy the city's wonderful nightlife are getting a bit more rowdy during a full moon, so much so that extra police are going to be deployed in the Brighton and Hove area.
It follows research by the Sussex force which concluded there was a rise in violent incidents when the moon was full - and also on paydays. Insp Andy Parr said he compared crime statistics for Brighton and Hove with lunar graphs to discover the trend.

The legend that people can become violent, or even turn into wolves, can be traced back to ancient times. But nobody has been able to explain a link between lunar cycles and human behaviour
Research? Well, kind of. While Insp Parr is claiming to have "compared a graph of full moons and a graph of last year's violent crimes and [noted] there is a trend", therefore sounding like the usual half-cocked approach to statistical rigour, there is some precedant. Nine years ago a three-month study of 1,200 inmates at a high security jail in Leeds showed a rise in violent incidents near a full moon, and "The Lunar Cycle: Effects On Human And Animal Behavior And Physiology," a paper published by Professor Michal Zimecki from the Polish Academy of Sciences, also claims to have identified a link between lunar cycles and criminality.

Despite reacting first, the police are hoping that they will be able to scientifically justify the lunacy at these times of the month by working closely with a university. In the meantime, according to a BBC radio interview, they were doubly preparing for the next full moon scheduled for June 30th, as it coincides with a large percentage of the population getting paid, which anecdotally means even more people in the pubs....

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