Does a full moon make crime rates go up?

The long-standing belief that full moons trigger spikes in criminal behavior lacks statistical validity despite its prevalence in popular culture and professional anecdotes. While some theorize that lunar gravity affects the human body's water content, the laws of physics confirm that humans are too small to experience such tidal effects. Neuroscientist Eric Chudler notes that the vast majority of peer-reviewed studies, including a comprehensive analysis of police data from Brisbane, show no correlation between lunar phases and crime rates. Apparent upticks in crime, such as those reported in Brighton in 2007, are often explained by confounding variables like weekends, holidays, or "student nights" coinciding with the full moon. Furthermore, the persistence of this myth among emergency workers is attributed to confirmation bias and self-fulfilling prophecies, where increased police presence on lunar nights leads to more arrests, reinforcing a false causal link.