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Safety and Crime Prevention

Better street lighting prevents crime. Dark Sky Ordinances: How to Separate the Light from the Darkness states:

Research shows that improved street lighting reduces crime by 20 percent.

In "Surveillance for Crime Prevention in Public Space: Results And Policy Choices In Britain And America," a study published in the journal Criminolgy and Public Policy, Brandon C. Welsh and David P. Farrington report:

The present study assessed the comparative effectiveness of two forms of surveillance in preventing crime in public space: formal surveillance, in the form of closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance cameras, and natural surveillance, in the form of improved street lighting. Based on the highest quality available research evidence on these two measures-from systematic reviews incorporating meta-analytic techniques-it was found that they are equally effective in reducing crime.

Farrington and Welsh point out another advantage of street lighting in "Home Office Research Study 251: Effects of improved street lighting on crime: a systematic view." Unlike such crime prevention measures as burglar alarms,

Street lighting benefits the whole neighborhood rather than particular individuals or households.

According to EADT24, Essex County, UK, council is considering restrictions on street lighting.

But many people - including Neighbourhood Watch groups and security experts - have questioned the wisdom of such a move, arguing that crime could increase if streets were plunged into darkness.

All of us instinctively feel more secure in a well-lighted space than in the dark. Dave Kopel and Michael Loatman report:

Now, the Farrington-Welsh research has confirmed the common sense of the public. The reason the public feels safer when lighting conditions are good is because the public is safer.