GARY, Ind. (AP) — Northwestern Indiana police say there's some good news from the harsh winter the region is having: When snow falls and temperatures plunge, crime also drops.

The (Munster) Times reports coroners' offices in Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties all recorded zero homicides in January. The Lake County Coroner's office has averaged five January homicides since 2000 and logged seven in January 2013.

Gary Police Chief Wade Ingram says it's the first time during his tenure that his city went an entire month without a homicide. He says “Mother Nature did what 246 police officers could not do”: slow down crime.

Sheriff John Buncich says the Lake County Jail has been at or below 700 inmates for much of January and the beginning of February, down from the average of 750.