'How effective is the utilisation of
increased street lighting as a situational
crime prevention method?‟
Applying social, environmental and economic costs and benefits
By Samuel Crayk
5/3/2012
Criminology and Psychology
Supervisor: Malcolm Cowburn
Abstract
This dissertation offers a thematic synthesis of the literature into the effectiveness of
increased street lighting as a situational crime prevention method. Research into the
effectiveness of street lighting is relatively comprehensive, however much is conflicting and a
large proportion has been carried out in America. Studies which have been carried out in
England tend to be dated or lack in methodological soundness. It is evident that much poor
quality research has been carried out and for this reason when choosing studies strict
parameters were necessary. These said parameters will be explained later in the paper.
A literature review is employed throughout this paper in the aim to obtain a broad
understanding of all research carried out allowing a more conclusive and unbiased
evaluation. It was also chosen because of cost, time constraints, and due to there being
copious amounts of extensive research available, that only a longitudinal study would have
been appropriate.
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It was evident that for every piece of research released came a substantial amount of
critiques to the methodology and overall structure. This meant that it allowed the dissertation
to take an unbiased, objective stance, with every viewpoint taken into consideration before
making an overall conclusion.
Contents
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2
Page
Introduction
5
1.1 Aims of the Research
1.2 Structure
Methodology
2.1 Research Question
2.2 Literature Review
2.3 Accessing the Literature
2.4 Thematic Synthesis
2.41 Coding
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6
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3 Environmental
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3.1 Situational Crime Prevention
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3.11 Rational Choice Theory
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3.12 Routine Activity Theory
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3.2 Displacement and Diffusion of Benefits
14
3.3 Crime Prevention through Environmental Design and
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Defensible Space
3.31 Space Syntax Theory
3.4 Street Lighting as a Crime Attracter
3.41 Vandalism to Street Lighting
3.5 Light Pollution
3.51 Outdoor Site-Lighting Performance
4 Social
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4.1 Community Cohesion
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4.2 Fear of Crime
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4.21 Lifestyle/ Exposure Theory
4.3 Investment in the Area
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5.1 Cost-Benefit Analysis
22
5.2 Intangible Costs
22
5.3 Break-even Analysis
23
5.4 Technological Advancements
23
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5 Economic
20
6 Discussion
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7 Conclusion and Recommendations for Future Practice
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References
29
Appendices
Appendix 1- Space Syntax Theory Research Scope and Procedure
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Appendix 2- Excess Illuminance
42
Appendix 3- Revised Cost Analysis of K. Painter and D. Farrington‟s
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Dudley and Stoke-On- Trent Projects
Appendix 4- Costs of Crime
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Acknowledgements
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I would also like to thank my family for all the support and encouragement they have
given me during the highs and lows of university life. Without them I would not have
had the opportunity to engage in something I am passionate about.
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I would like to thank my dissertation tutor Malcolm Cowburn for his on-going
assistance, guidance and patience throughout the duration of this dissertation.
List of Abbreviations
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CABE- The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment
CPTED- Crime prevention through environmental design
FOC- Fear of crime
OSP- Outdoor Site-lighting Performance
RAT- Routine Activity Theory
RCT- Rational Choice Theory
SCP- Situational Crime Prevention
1.Introduction
Contemporary interest in the effectiveness of street lighting was sparked by the influx of
crime in America during the 1960‟s. As a result of this increased crime, major street lighting
programmes were employed across America in a bid to deter potential offenders. It was first
thought to be a success but after a review of the 103 street projects by Tien, O‟Donnell,
Barnett, and Mirchandani (1973) it was found that in fact they had shown mixed results. Tien
et al (1979) also found many flaws in the projects and consequently established that the
findings were not methodologically sound enough to draw a conclusion. This review resulted
in an end to the research of street lighting in America for many years but was a catalyst for
research in England. Between 1988 and 1990 Katie Painter undertook three projects in
London measuring the effectiveness of street lighting on crime. The results of the study
showed that street lighting did have a positive effect on crime rates (Painter 1989, 1991);
although these projects were carried out with small experimental areas with little sample sizes
and thus did not offer statistically significant results. However, the positive impact of street
lighting shown did offer a basis to which research could be built on.
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Britain‟s 7.5 million street lights cost an estimated £500 million a year to run (Smirnov
2012). This works out at each light costing between £20 to £40 to run for the year, with many
councils having in excess of 100,000. In the face of many spending cuts, up to ¾ of councils
are considering turning off or dimming street lights after midnight to slash costs (BBC 2012).
In the largest blackout to date, Essex county council turned off 18,000 of its 220,000 street
lights, saving an estimated £1.25 million a year (BBC 2010). A spokesman for the police
federation forewarned that „the cuts could well mean that back streets and outer areas become
a more fertile area for criminals to become active in. Research supports this statement and
suggests that the lighter an area is, the safer it is for public safety, pedestrians and indeed
motorists‟ (Kelly 2012).
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Interest in street lighting has progressed in recent years, it has moved from simply marking
out roads to now being used as a crime prevention method and for pedestrian safety. It is now
widely cited as a feature that people connect to enhanced safety and thus often results in a
reduction of fear of crime (Farrington and Welsh 2002; Loomis, Marshall, Wolf, Runyan and
Butts 2002; Painter and Farrington 2001). There is a widely held belief that increased street
lighting has a positive effect on crime rates and fear of crime, and prima facie this seems to
be the case. However, much of the research falls victim to methodological flaws and practice
issues and a considerable amount of research is conflicting (Pease 1999; Farrington & Welsh
2002; Painter 1996; Poyner 1993). Also a large proportion has been carried out in America
and those which have been done in England tend to be dated or lack in methodological
soundness (Pease, 1997; Ramsey, 1989). It is evident that much poor quality research has
been carried out and the threat of publication bias is of considerable concern. This is the
notion, as suggested by Chan (1979), that politically funded research may bring about
confirmation bias, whereby researchers may reduce unfavourable results to fit with the
outcomes expected by the funding agencies.
This dissertation will offer a systematic synthesis of the literature, exploring the effectiveness
of increased street lighting as a situational crime prevention method from drawing on
research by key scholars such as Katie Painter, Ken Pease, Brandon Welsh and David
Farrington. The rationale for the choice of subject matter was due to a personal interest in
crime prevention. Street lighting specifically was chosen after the increased media coverage
of national black out trials and the tendency to overlook its crime prevention ability.
1.1 Aims of the Research
The dissertation aims to offer a thematic synthesis of the literature in order to answer the
question „'how effective is the utilisation of increased street lighting as a situational crime
prevention method? Applying social, environmental and economic costs and benefits‟. This
will support or challenge the widely held belief that it is effective in the reduction of crime.
It aims to achieve this through exploring the environmental, economical and social costs and
benefits of street lighting. It will highlight the relevant theories in order to support arguments
made, and will incorporate these within the chapters in order to give the reader a
knowledgeable understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of these topic areas. It also
aims to identify the key issues and limitations in researching the effectiveness of street
lighting and will offer a conclusion and recommendations for further practice.
1.2 Structure
Chapter two gives an overview of the methodology and methodological issues present in the
research, outlining the strengths and limitations of the chosen method.
Chapter three provides an examination into the environmental costs and benefits of street
lighting, including an exploration into situational crime prevention and the strengths and
limitations of these crime prevention methods.
Chapter four offers an analysis into the social costs and benefits of street lighting and
highlights the effects of community cohesion and fear of crime on deterring potential
offenders.
Chapter five presents an outline on the economical costs and benefits of street lighting,
highlighting the methods of cost analysis available to researchers and their strengths and
limitations in practice.
Chapter six provides a discussion of the research, exploring issues raised.
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Chapter seven concludes the findings of the research, offering recommendations for further
practice.
2.Methodology
Below is an outline of the methodological research techniques used in this paper, with
reference to their strengths and limitations and a rationale for the chosen method. First it will
be highlighted why there is a need for a research question, and the process that occurred to
arrive at the final outcome.
2.1 Research question
It is necessary to formulate a research question early in the research design in order to guide
and steer the subsequent study and to ensure literature gathered is of relevance (Kennedy
2005). The research question in this dissertation underwent many adjustments as more
literature was uncovered. This was due to the realisation that with the copious amount of
research, a more concise question was needed to have any real value in the topic area of street
lighting and crime. The final research question 'how effective is the utilisation of increased
street lighting as a situational crime prevention method? Applying social, environmental and
economic costs and benefits' was chosen due to little previous research incorporating all of its
aspects and it was felt that this research question would further the knowledge in the field of
street lighting and crime prevention.
2.2 Literature Review
There are many different techniques of research, all differing in strengths and limitations.
Below is an outline and rationale for the chosen method.
This paper will use a secondary qualitative research technique in the form of a critical
literature review, in order to thematically analyse the research in the field of street lighting
and crime. A literature review is the process of merging information from different studies
(Moncrieff 1998) and works on the notion that rather than reinventing the topic area it is far
more useful to build on what is already known. According to Neuman (1997), the goals of a
literature review is to „demonstrate a familiarity with a body of knowledge and establish
credibility; to show the path of prior research and how a current project is linked to it; to
integrate and summarize what is known in an area; and to learn from others and stimulate
new ideas‟ (pg. 89). By drawing on previous research any conclusions made are subsequently
strengthened and by taking information from many different sources it allows the research
more generalizability (Sarantakos 2005).
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Whilst secondary research can be very beneficial, there are however many limitations. Due to
the large amount of literature available selecting studies to include can be very time
consuming. Also, as identified by Riedel (2000), data gathered does not specifically aim to
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The most advantageous strengths for using a literature based review is it‟s less time
consuming than carrying out primary research and it allows the author to gather credible,
peer reviewed research which will best contribute to answering the research question. This
gives further credibility to the dissertation as it gives the author a better understanding of the
direction of previous research and the terminologies used within the field (Sarantakos 2005).
answer the research question of the dissertation and therefore is not completely applicable,
thus running the risk of taking the data out of the context it was originally intended (Britten et
al 2002).
Primary research was considered, however previous studies highlighted that a before and
after period would be necessary and ideally be at least 12 months to measure emerging issues
such as displacement and diffusion of benefits. Therefore, it would be impractical to conduct
primary research as only a long term study would offer anything of importance to previous
research. If primary research were to be carried out it would also mean that the research
question could only be answered for one point in time. Also for primary research a relatively
small scale study would have been completed (due to time constraints) and this would have
meant generalising or drawing any conclusions from the results would have been impossible.
Furthermore, to administer victim and offender self-report surveys would be very time
consuming, and due to the nature of the research it could potentially pose many ethical issues.
Also, it would be necessary to conduct some research at night potentially putting the
researcher into contact with offenders, and for this reason was disregarded.
2.3 Accessing the Literature
Information for this paper was gathered from books, policy reports, journal articles and
external websites, as well as newspapers and transcript radio reports. There was however a
focus on academic scholarly journals as these have been screened to rule out any inaccuracies
and are therefore appropriate for professional use. For example it has been found that some
journals reject 90% of reports that have been submitted to them for approval (Newman 2006)
thus validating the importance of these sources.
In selecting literature it was necessary to employ strict parameters. This is due to the need to
select few studies from the large quantity available (Adair & Vohra 2003). Studies were
chosen when they met these criterions:
Due to the need for strict search parameters online databases are an invaluable tool to the
researcher as these parameters can be applied with great ease. Databases were chosen if they
had extensive coverage of literature, or if they were recommended by the Cambell
Collaboration crime and justice group. The databases included: National criminal justice
reference service abstracts (NCJRS), sociological abstracts, psychological information,
criminal justice abstracts (CJA), JSTOR, ERIC, Applied social sciences index and abstracts
(ASSIA) and the centre for problem-orientated policing (POP). In each database certain terms
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Used street lighting as their main crime prevention method
There was an outcome measure of crime
Before and after measures were used
At least one experimental and one control area
Written in English
High methodological quality
At least 20 crimes measured, as this allows statistical soundness
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were inputted including: Street lighting, luminance, lighting, illumination, natural
surveillance, illumination and situational crime prevention. Crime was added to the terms
where necessary. Online databases allowed the extensive volume of research to be reduced to
a manageable size through the utilisation of concise strict parameters. However, it is
important not to rely solely on online databases as many studies are hidden away, never
coming to the forefront of the research. This, as stated by Rosenthal (1979), is known as the
'file drawer problem'. Some research carried out by authorities such as the Home Office or,
specifically for this paper, lighting companies, can be hidden and unpublished if findings do
not conform with their ideologies or policy visions (Torgerson et al 2003), and there is a „
tendency for positive findings to be published rather than negative ones‟ (Knutsson and
Tilley 2009:2).
The use of internet search engines also proved very useful for literature retrieval due to the
wealth of information available and the 24 hours a day availability. Another advantage is the
extensive availability of work authored by experienced researchers (Bryman, 2004).
However, this method of data retrieval is fraught with limitations. For example, there is no
control over what is presented online and much information can be of poor quality meaning
the researcher has to determine credibility of the source.
Manual searching was also performed as all research will not be catalogued online. This can
be achieved through searching references and bibliographies and allows the researcher to
gather additional sources with relative ease. Books proved very useful, however this method
proved very time consuming in pinpointing appropriate material.
Many issues were encountered during the collection of data, with the most problematic being
the huge quantity available. We live in a multidisciplinary world and therefore it would be
costly to the reliability of the research to only select single forms of data retrieval. For this
reason it was felt that the methods of data collection noted above allowed the researcher to
best gather data whilst limiting time spent. The juxtaposition of online databases and manual
searches provided a comprehensive amount of literature to analyse in the field of street
lighting and crime.
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Through utilisation of a thematic synthesis, it allows the author to comprehensively
synthesise previous research in the field to allow for knowledgeable conclusions and
recommendations to be formulated. According to Thomas and Harden (2008) thematic
synthesis consists of three stages. First is the „free line-by-line coding of the findings, next is
the organisation of these „free codes‟ into related areas to construct „descriptive‟ themes, and
finally is the development of these „analytical themes‟ (pg 7). This method allows researchers
to „go beyond‟ the primary studies (Britten et al 2002) and develop hypotheses that can be
tested.
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2.4 Thematic Synthesis
2.41 Coding
Coding is the process of „assigning units of meaning to the descriptive of inferential
information compiled during a study‟ (Miles and Huberman 1994: 56) through „mechanical
data reduction and analytical categoration‟ (Newman 2006). „A good thematic code is one
that captures the qualitative richness of the phenomenon and which is usable in the analysis,
the interpretation, and the presentation of research‟ (Boyatzis 1998:31). Initial coding of the
information is an extensive process of „careful and repeated readings of the material.
Meaningful units are then identified, highlighted and labelled‟ (Lyons and Coyle 2007).
These nodes or categories often start as very descriptive and become more analytical as the
research progresses. Preliminary initial coding of the data was undertaken, whereby recurrent
themes were pulled.
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It is necessary to condense the large amount of data into smaller units of information in order
to make it easier for the researcher to analyse. This was very evident in this paper due to the
complexity of the topic area. As more research was uncovered, these categories were
relabelled and in some circumstances merged. The refining of these categories is known as
„axial coding‟ (Strauss and Corbin 1998), and involves uncovering relationships between
nodes. This process uncovered many themes that emerged within the literature. Through a
process of merging these themes, three main analytical groupings were identified. These
were: social, environmental and economic. It was felt that these best presented the issues that
emerged from the literature and gave a good premise for answering the research question.
3. Environmental
3.1 Situational Crime Prevention
Arguably the fastest growing form of crime control is that of situational prevention.
Situational crime prevention works on the assumption that „for many purposes much crime is
best understood as a rational action performed by fairly ordinary people acting under
particular pressures and exposed to specific opportunities and situational inducements; and
this crime is best prevented by manipulating opportunities and inducements‟ (Clarke,
1980:21). For this reason it is believed that through increasing the risks of engaging in
criminal behaviour and reducing the anticipated rewards it will decrease criminal
opportunities(Clark 1995).
Many criminologists recognise the importance of the relationship between criminal
disposition and situational opportunities. Felson and Clarke (1998) in their paper
„Opportunity Makes the Thief‟ argue that opportunity is a „root cause‟ of crime and it
demonstrates how theories can „assist thinking about crime prevention‟. It also highlights
how society and locality can change crime opportunity, and the offender makes decisions in
response to these changes (ibid). This indicates that any change in the crime opportunity,
whether it be environmental design or otherwise, will produce a change in criminal
behaviour.
Waller and Okhiro (1978) found that offenders stated they chose targets due to their
perceived risks and rewards. Therefore, if opportunities in these areas are reduced it is likely
that offenders would be deterred. This can be achieved by increasing potential witnesses,
street usage, and the offender‟s perception of a higher likelihood of being caught through
methods such as increasing street lighting.
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Imagine the scenario proposed by Nick Tilley and Gloria Laycock:
„Suppose all situational controls were to be abandoned; no locks, no custom control, cash left
for parking in an open pot for occasional collection, no library check-outs, no baggage
screening at airports, no ticket checks at train stations, no traffic lights, etc..., would there be
no change in the volume of crime and disorder?‟ (2002:31)
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Situational crime prevention has many criticisms on its effectiveness. These include: it is far
too simplistic in nature, it has not been seen to work, it often displaces crime, it promotes a
„big brother‟ society, it blames the victim, and it fails to recognise the root causes of criminal
behaviour (Clark 2005). Eck (1993) also describes the „initial deterrence theory‟. This is the
notion that the initial deterrence effects of crime prevention decreases over time as offenders
understand its workings. For these reasons many criminologists feel that simply reducing
opportunity is an ineffective crime prevention method. For example it may be ineffective in
certain circumstances such as for the „professional‟ criminal or highly motivated offenders. It
has also been suggested that expressive crimes are influenced by reductions in opportunity
more than instrumental crime (Esbesen and Huizinga 1990).
To answer this question it is important to look at the opportunistic theories of crime.
Criminological theories tend to centre on distant factors such as biological makeup and social
and psychological processes. The cause of this is a lack of focus on the interaction between
the individual and the setting. This therefore leaves space for those theories which address the
importance that situational opportunity has on determining an individual‟s behaviour. It was
not until the advancements in theoretical understanding and the introduction of such theories,
that situational crime prevention re-emerged as a respected crime prevention method. Felson
and Clarke identify 10 principles of crime opportunity theories which include: opportunities
play a role in causing all crime, crime can be prevented by reducing these opportunities,
reducing crime opportunities does not usually displace crime, and focused opportunity
reduction can produce wider declines in crime (Felson and Clarke 1988). These theories will
be explain in further detail below.
3.11 Rational Choice Theory
The first opportunistic theory covered is the Rational Choice Theory (RCT). It works on the
assumption that offending is „purposive behaviour designed to benefit the offender in some
way‟ (Felson & Clarke 1998:56). „This entails making decisions amongst alternatives‟
(McLaughlin & Muncie 2001:24). Research has found that the perceived costs of crime,
specifically the perceived certainty of formal sanctions and arrest, heavily influence the
cognitive decision making process of offending (Nagin & Paternoster 1994).
Rather than street lighting acting as a physical barrier to crime, it works on the hypothesis
that altering offender and resident attitudes and behaviour will result in crime deterrence
effects. For example research has shown that an increase in street lighting can lead to
increased street usage (Jacobs 1961), and an increase in community cohesion (Cooper &
Innes 2009). Both these mechanisms increase the numbers of witnesses and thus increase the
offender‟s perceived risks of being identified.
A limitation of rational choice theory is it works on the presumption that crime is
instrumental. It therefore does not explain expressive crimes such as vandalism and joyriding,
and nonrational motives for crims such as moral, emotional and pathological. These crimes
are less likely to be deterred by increased street lighting as it‟s unlikely that they will undergo
any rational thinking. This therefore demonstrates the need for a more comprehensive theory
to explain how street lighting acts to alter offender behaviour. One such theory is the Routine
Activity Theory and is highlighted below.
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Routine Activity Theory (RAT) underpins SCT in that it suggests that changing opportunities
act to deter offenders from engaging in criminal behaviour. Proposed by Lawrence Cohen
and Marcus Felson (1979), Routine Activity Theory is an extension on RCT in that it
assumes offenders make rational decisions. It proposes that for successful offending an
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3.12 Routine Activity theory
intersection of three criterions has to be present in space and time, resulting in a conductive
environment for crime. These are: a suitable target, a motivated offender and absence of a
capable guardian. Cohen et al (1981) describes capable guardianship as „the effectiveness of
persons or objects in preventing violations from occurring‟ (pg 507), and Felson (2002)
argues the most effective guardians are simply witnesses. Felson later amended the original
theory to include a fourth criterion. This was labelled the „intimate handler‟ and describes
another person who can enforce informal social control.
A principle known as VIVA is used to determine how suitable a target is. VIVA consists of
four criteria. These are value, inertia, visibility and accessibility. However it should be noted
that what constitutes a suitable target is very subjective and varies enormously between
offenders. The increased luminance from street lighting can result in higher street use and, it
can be argued, increased numbers of potential victims accessible for offenders. It also gives
the potential offender better visibility to determine how vulnerable and suitable a potential
target may be.
Once it is understood what factors need to be present to result in a conductive criminal
environment methods can be put into practice to shape these to decrease criminal opportunity.
Street lighting acts to alter this by means of increasing the number and efficacy of social
guardianship. This is achieved through the resulting increases in law abiding citizens present
in the area and increase in visibility. Greater visibility allows potential victims to assess
situations at a further distance and with greater detail in order to determine whether an
aggressive, defensive or avoidance reaction is needed (Raynham and Saksvikronning 2003).
It can also be beneficial for witnesses as more of the details of the offender can be observed.
Both these can deter offenders due to the improvement of guardianship.
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Another critique to opportunity theories is that they place equal influence on factors such as
the perceived risk, accessibility of the target and perceived gains; however this may not be
the case. For example if the perceived gains for committing crime are high then offenders are
likely to go to greater lengths, down playing other factors such as risks. Determinist theories
of crime would also predict that situational crime prevention in innefective due to the belief
that the criminal‟s behaviour is inevitable and by blocking criminal opportunities street
lighting can cause the offenders to move their delinquent behaviour elsewhere. This is known
as displacement and is explained in further detail below.
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It is also argued by Felson (1983) that law abiding citizen‟s routine activities „ set the stage
for spatial and temporal patterns of illegal activities‟ (pg 665) and thus crime is a constant
inevitability. It is suggested that these routine activities that can lead them to increasingly
come into contact with potential offenders, and consequently cause a convergence in time of
a suitable target, a motivated offender and a lack of guardianship (Fattah 1991). This is
especially true for young people who generally spend more time engaging in non-household
activities at night (Cohen & Felson 1979; Hindelang, Gottfredson & Garofalo 1978).
However, this emphasis on routine activities and risk of victimisation has come under much
scrutiny for its victim blaming nature (Miethe et al 1987).
3.2 Displacement & Diffusion of Benefits
A key critique of situational crime prevention is the issue of displacement. Displacement is
the notion that „the foreclosure of one type of criminal opportunity will simply shift the
incidence of crime to different forms, times and locales‟ (Repetto 1976:167). „Studies of
displacement tend to assume rational decision making on the part of the offender‟ (Hessling
1994:119) and as RCT predicts „offenders will displace their prevented crimes when the
benefits for doing so outweigh the costs‟ (Felson & Clarke 1998:26-27).
Repetto (1976) identified five types of displacement. These are: temporal, tactical, target,
spatial and functional. As a result of the implementation of street lighting primarily spatial
and functional displacement occurs. Spatial displacement describes the situation in which an
offender commits the same crime but in a different area, and functional displacement occurs
when the offender commits a different type of crime than was intended. Bar and Pease (1990)
added to this list by suggesting a sixth category, which they named perpetrator displacement.
This is the notion that due to an opportunity to commit crime being so appealing, that
different offenders will commit the same crime in the same area repeatedly. This sixth type
supports the use of street lighting in these problem areas and concurs with the ideas of
rational choice and routine activity theory.
Displacement has been reported in many early studies (e.g Press 1971; Tyrpak 1975) but
recent studies have failed to observe the rates once shown and often find no evidence of
displacement occurring at all. Guerette & Bowers (2009) assessed displacement among 102
evaluations of situational crime prevention initiatives. They concluded that crime does not
simply relocate once a situational prevention method is employed; rather it is more likely a
diffusion of benefits would occur. They also found that when displacement was evident it
tends to be less than the gains achieved by the situational intervention (ibid). These findings
are consistent with previous reviews of displacement (Eck, 1993; Barr and Pease, 1990).
Repetto (1976) suggests that some crimes are so opportunistic that prevention in one locale
will not lead them to commit crime in another. Many offenders commit crime due to an
opportunity arising, and moving to commit crime in another area means the offender will
have to actively seek these criminal opportunities.
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Clarke and Weisburd (1994) proposed the term „diffusion of benefits‟ and defined it as „the
spread of the beneficial influence of an intervention beyond the places which are directly
targeted, the individuals who are the subject of control, the crimes which are the focus of
intervention or the time periods in which an intervention is brought‟ (Clarke & Weisburd
1994 pg 169). Diffusion works in two ways; diffusion through discouragement, and diffusion
through deterrence. Street lighting predominantly causes diffusion through deterrence due to
increasing the offender‟s perceived risk of committing crime.
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It should be noted that there are two types of displacement, „benign‟ and „malign‟. Benign
describes when crime is displaced but when the number of crimes decreases or the crime type
is less serious and malign refers to the shift of crime increasing in prevalence or seriousness.
For this reason displacement should not be seen as solely negative.
Hesseling (1994) evaluated 55 street lighting projects with an aim to identify the presence of
displacement and diffusion of benefit effects. It was found that in 22 of the 55 projects there
was no evidence of displacement, and in the remaining studies the amount of crime displaced
was never more than the total crime prevented. Mclennan & Whitworth (2010) in their paper
„Geographical displacement or diffusion of benefit around area-based interventions‟
supported Hessling‟s findings and discovered that in around 23% of cases diffusion of
benefits were present compared to only 2% of displacement. These studies confirm the
importance of including control and adjacent areas to measure diffusion of benefit effects.
It should be noted however that it is very difficult to measure displacement and diffusion of
benefits due to the continuous fluctuations in crime (Barr & Pease 1990). For example an
increase in crime in one area may have occurred without any crime prevention methods
employed; and this increase in crime may be interpreted by researchers as an occurrence of
displacement. Choosing the area to observe can also cause many problems. This is difficult as
the researcher will have to second guess the offender as to where they will displace their
crimes. As Barr and Pease 1990 state „some displaced crime will probably fall outside the
areas and types of crime being studied or be so dispersed as to be masked by background
variation‟ (pg 91). Secondly is the size of the area. How far away from the experimental area
will crime have to be recorded? Offenders could choose to displace their crimes just outside
the experimental area or they could choose to travel further distances to avoid detection.
Weisburd and Green (1995) also identified the issue of contamination of the displacement
area. This occurs when areas overlap and run the risk of crimes being recorded more than
once. Another limitation of research was noted by Gurette (2009) who states „few
examinations of displacement have explored or tried to measure the myriad ways
displacement might behave‟ (pg 50). In focusing on spatial displacement the research is
therefore bounded by the type of crime and area.
Below is an outline of how researchers can use theories to best plan and put into practice
street lighting initiatives, with a focus on how to best manipulate the environment to achieve
the greatest effectiveness possible.
3.3 Crime Prevention through Environmental Design & Defensible Space
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Within CPTED are four main principles: natural surveillance, territoriality, maintenance and
natural access control. CPTED works by drawing more people to use areas in the way that
they are intended and therefore making these areas safer for the public through natural
surveillance and increasing guardianship. Jacobs (1961) suggested that streets with high
crime rates were caused by a lack of informal surveillance and by designing areas so that they
can be constantly monitored will act as a deterrence.
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In 1971 Jeffreys coined the term Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED).
The term posits that „proper design and effective use of the built environment can lead to a
reduction in the fear and the incidence of crime, and an improvement in quality of life‟
(Jeffrey 1971).
Influenced by Jeffery‟s work on CPTED, in 1972 Oscar Newman propounded the theory of
„defensible space‟. Defensible space expanded Jeffery‟s CPTED and conclusively identified a
causal relationship between environmental design and crime. Newman (1972) analysed crime
rates in New York estates compared to building height and discovered that as the height of
buildings increased so did average crime rates. Newman suggests that for a „defensible space‟
to be achieved „dwellings should overlook outside areas, impersonal space should be reduced,
and entrances should be made discrete for residents use only‟ (pg. 35).
Marcus Felson (1987) also supported the manipulation of the physical environment in order
to divert possible offenders away from potential targets or to areas where they can be
monitored. He proposed this be done by enhancing guardianship through measures such as
increased street lighting which would deter likely offenders from entering public areas due to
the increased surveillance and increased perceived risk of being caught. Rubenstein et al
(1980) also proposed the notion of social surveillance and suggested that by utilising the
methods above that a resulting improvement in community cohesion would consequently
increase the likelihood of residents reporting crimes.
The placement of street lighting to maximise effect in these areas could be determined by
exploring the Space Syntax Theory.
3.31 Space syntax theory
Space Syntax theory works on the notion that any environment can be viewed as a
mathematical matrix of areas and spaces, in particular pedestrian movement and luminance.
This results in researchers being able to view what areas are in need of increased street
lighting and what areas street lighting is effective (in terms of street usage), all before
installing lighting. Hillier et al (1993) provide a framework for Space Syntax Theory and
break it into two important sections, first being the „axial map‟. This is a representation of
open spaces including line of sights. Second is representing this map in a graph form „where
nodes represent lines, and edges depict their relations of intersections‟ (Choi et al 2006). Just
like law abiding citizens, offenders also have their own routines and as Beavon, Brantingham
and Brantingham (1994) identified offenders commit crime in nodes and walkways they most
often use. It has also been found that edges (the boundaries that separate areas of different
usage) often have high levels of crime due to the lack of informal social control (ibid). It can
therefore be assumed that by identifying these areas that this would result in the greatest
reduction in crime if street lighting was administered there.
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Above is an overview of how theories can aid the policy maker in maximising the crime
reducing effectiveness of street lighting (see appendix 1 for research scope and procedure),
but at what cost? Any crime prevention method invariably will have some negative
implications, and street lighting is no exception. Below the crime attracting nature of street
lighting is addressed.
3.4 Street Lighting as a Crime Attracter
Street lighting is frequently utilised in the development of CPTED and Defensible Space but
can also itself paradoxically attract crime. In a document written for the Greater Manchester
Police named „designing out crime: parks and public open spaces‟ it is suggested that „in
certain situations, lighting may aid or encourage congregation, crime and disorder‟ and that
„consideration should be given to (1) avoiding lighting in remote locations under minimal
surveillance and (2) lighting car parks and buildings only during periods when authorised
staff retain a site presence‟ (pg 15-16).
3.41 Vandalism to Street Lighting
Due to the effectiveness of street lighting they can themselves become a target of vandalism.
Gladstone (1978) highlighted the growing rates of vandalism to street lights and showed that
48% of 11 to 16 year olds in Merseyside admitted breaking a street lamp during the previous
six months. Many vandals target lighting as it interferes with their delinquent behaviour and
has meant that measures need to be employed to deter these criminals. However, it is not as
simple as using tall columns to keep them out of reach from criminals as in some instances
this may not be an option. For example, when lighting is close to buildings it would have to
be taken into consideration the possibility of offenders using the lights to climb as a means of
accessing properties.
Propounded by Berlyne (1971), aesthetic theory states that the „positive hedonic value of a
stimulus is determined by its potential for eliciting arousal, which can produce pleasure under
specified conditions‟(pg 127). For this reason the sound of the breaking glass from
vandalising a street lamp is going to elicit a greater arousal than the „thud‟ that would result
from a plastic casing. Using unbreakable materials would reduce vandalism as the breaking
of these would not create the visual and audio output the offender craves. This theory also
predicts that offenders are less likely to vandalise in areas that area badly lit as they would
not be able to view and appreciate the results of their vandalising behaviours. Aesthetic
Theory also stresses that any vandalism that does occur should be repaired immediately so
that offenders cannot return to the scene to „admire their work‟ (ibid).
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A move towards the better protected street furniture lighting may be beneficial to public areas
such as parks as it would offer a vandal proof solution. In research carried out for the
Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) it was found that 85% of
people felt „that the quality of public space and the built environment has a direct impact on
their lives and the way they feel‟ (CABE 2002). This stresses the importance of the
maintenance and protection of street lighting. Modern light designs are starting to incorporate
the mechanics into the luminaire making it more difficult to vandalise but replacing the old
lighting systems is a lengthy process (Woolley 2003).
3.5 Light Pollution
Most crime prevention methods are likely to have some form of negative impacts on the
environment. How much is a key factor in whether or not these measures are utilised. In the
case of street lighting the excess light emitted can cause light pollution and is a continuous
cause for concern. A summary of the extent of these effects and how these effects are
measured is given below.
3.51 Outdoor site-lighting performance (OSP)
One of the primary disadvantages to street lighting is the resulting light pollution. The
luminance emitted can interrupt sleep and cause unpleasant gaze, as well as causing nuisance
to star gazers. OSP is a useful tool in ensuring maximising deterrence effects of lighting,
whilst keeping light pollution to a minimum (Brons, Bullough and Rea 2007). OSP measures
three factors of light pollution, which are glow, glare and trespass. Light trespass describes
unwanted light that enters a property, glare is light that acts to impair vision and glow is light
that rises and dominates the sky (see appendix 2). All these consequences of street lighting
impact on energy use as they are unwanted light. Research has also found a connection to this
over-illuminance and anxiety (Knez 2001).
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OSP results from many studies (Raynham & Saksvikronning 2003; Knight 2010) identify
techniques for improving lighting. They found that to minimise glow it was important not to
exceed suitable luminance and to „minimise ground reflectance‟. It was also suggested that to
minimise trespass light that buildings and walls be used to reduce light leaving the intended
area, and for cut-off luminaires be used to reduce glare(ibid).
4. Social
A problem encountered in early studies of street lighting and crime was that there was an
assumption that because street lights only shine at night, that consequently their effects were
restricted to night-time crime. This assumption has since been dismissed as research has
consistently found crime reduction effects on daytime crime. It is therefore plausible that the
increase in community cohesion and informal social control can in fact deter offenders.
4.1 Community Cohesion
It has been found in many studies that there is a correlation between community cohesion and
actual or perceived crime rates in the area (Cooper & Innes 2009). David Farrington and
Brandon Welsh (2002) executed a meta-analysis of 13 British studies and found positive
effects of street lighting on the reduction of crime, however surprisingly it was discovered
that day time crime rates reduced as much as night-time rates. They proposed that community
pride and cohesion was a major contributing factor to this.
Many studies on community cohesion and crime suggest that areas with high community
cohesion display lower crime rates (Shaw & Mckay 1942; Sampson & Groves 1989;
Sampson & Raudernbush 1997; Hirschfield & Bowers 1997). This is due to communities
with high cohesion levels acting to dissuade offenders from committing crime through
strengthening informal social control. Another benefit of community cohesion is the increase
in reporting rates. It was found in the Chicago Alley Lighting Project of Morrow and Hutton
(2000) that subsequent to the employment of increased street lighting reporting rates rivalled
that seen after the implementation of neighbourhood watch schemes.
So does more community cohesion always result in less crime? Not necessarily. This is due
to some communities being organised criminogenic communities and thus the stronger social
bonds may in fact stimulate and sustain criminality (Hobbs 1988; Foster 1990). It also
increases the numbers of offenders frequenting the area, hence allowing the spread of
information on potential criminal opportunities and the formation of criminal gangs (ibid).
4.2 Fear of crime
Page
The effect of fear of crime on quality of life is arguably the most serious effect of crime. It
can affect people‟s lives by limiting the continuation of daily routines and causing
psychological stress. Research carried out in Brighton highlighted that of their respondents
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Street lighting can also aid in crime prevention through its resulting psychological benefits
and as stated „lighting is still recognised by the Home Office as having an important role,
although primarily in terms of the reduction of fear rather than crime‟ (Ramsey & Newton
1991: 22). Painter (1988; 1991; 1994) demonstrated a causal relationship between increased
street lighting and fear of crime (FOC). It was discovered that people reported a reduction in
fear of crime as lighting was improved, the main reason given that it increased the distance to
which they could assess situations and the perception that offenders had less places to remain
hidden from public view (ibid).
over ¼ stated they would not leave the house after dark, for fear of becoming a victim of
crime (Demuth 1989). These results were in keeping with statistics seen in the British Crime
Survey (Hough and Mayhew 1983). It has been found in many studies that fear of crime is
primarily effected by crimes such as anti-social behaviour, youths hanging around on the
streets and property crimes (Department for Communities and Local Government 2009).
These crime can be seen to be significantly reduced as a result of the implementation of
increased street lighting (Painter 1999), and it can therefore be hypothesised that the street
lighting should increase cohesion through preventing these crimes.
In Painter‟s Hammersmith and Fulham study (Painter 1989, 1991) on behavioural and FOC
changes after increased street lighting, interviews and measurements of walkway usage were
employed. It was discovered that walkway usage increased 101% for men and 71% for
women. This was due to the reported decrease in fear of crime and increase in feelings of
safety (ibid). Respondents also stated „you can see everything that moves outside now‟, „If
you hear a noise outside and you look outside, you can recognise who they are‟ (pg 107).
These statements highlight the effectiveness of street lighting in improving informal
surveillance and reducing fear of crime and suggests that offenders perceived risks of
committing crime in areas with high luminance are not misplaced assumptions. However,
whilst street lighting‟s effect on fear of crime can be very beneficial in improvement of
lifestyle and reduction of crime, it can also bring about some negative implications. For
example, some levels of fear of crime ensure we avoid potentially dangerous situations for
fear of becoming a victim. If fear of crime was removed it would result in this avoidant tactic
lessening also, and unless crime was dramatically reduced additionally it would put many
more individuals in potential harm.
A limitation in researching fear of crime and ontological security is that there are many
determinate „signal offences‟ that can be present that are difficult to account for. These
„signal offences‟ are crimes that shake the foundations of our belief in a safe environment,
often with a large press coverage or centre of discourse within a community. These crimes
often include personal crimes and cases of rape and violent assault and can reduce the
benefits of street lighting on FOC. Also many questions arise, the predominant being „what is
fear of crime, and how should it be measured?‟ Many researchers rely on questions such as
„how afraid are you of leaving the house after dark?‟ or „how afraid are you of becoming a
victim of crime?‟ These questions are very subjective and are influenced by the respondents
past experiences and opinions. Also surveys are often presented to respondents prior and
close after the implementation of street lighting and thus it can be argued the immediate
benefits on fear of crime may fade over time and are not accounted for.
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A theory that can explain the resulting crime attracting nature of street lighting as a result of
benefits to community cohesion and fear of crime is the lifestyle/exposure theory. This theory
is a subset of opportunity models of crime and suggests that the lifestyle an individual leads is
a deterministic factor in their risk of victimisation. Lifestyle is defined as „routine daily
activities, both vocational activities and leisure activities‟ (Hindelang, Gottfedson and
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4.21 Lifestyle/exposure Theory
Garofalo 1978:241). Felson (1994) puports that „crime derives from many of the good aspects
of society‟ (pg 21) and that „society provides temptations to commit crime‟ (pg 22) through
their routine activities. The resulting increase in street usage subsequent to improvement of
FOC can cause individuals to alter their behaviour and spend more time outdoors after dark.
This can potentially put them into contact with offenders more often, increasing their chances
of victimisation.
Street lighting offers a perception of safety and thus it is likely that an increased number of
individuals will take greater risks, i.e. use walkways after dark, and thus increase their
chances of victimisation. Whilst this theory can explain contributing factors for victimisation,
it does however place the blame upon the victim through suggesting they contribute to their
victimisation. However, the lifestyle an individual leads can also decrease the risks of
victimisation. For example if their routines predominantly involve activities in groups it is
likely that the resulting increase in social guardianship will deter criminals.
4.3 Investment in the area
Implementation of street lighting may also improve pride in the area (Skogan 1990).
Offenders often perceive that because of the investment in the area that it is likely that there
will be high levels of informal social control and community cohesion, thus increasing risks
of being caught (Taylor & Gottfredson 1986; Wilson & Kelling 1982).
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This improvement of pride in the area predicts the reduction of crime in both daytime and
night time and thus is a plausible theory for the crime reduction effects of street lighting even
when they are turned off. This was supported in Painter‟s (1999) Stoke-On-Trent study where
an increase in pride in the area was found to deter potential offenders from entering the area.
However, it has been argued that high levels of pride in the area lead to increased street
lighting due to residents pushing for improvements (Farrington and Welsh 2002). This would
therefore suggest that it is community pride that deters offenders, rather than the increases in
lighting.
5. Economic
With any potential crime prevention method it is important to consider the economic costs
and benefits, for example the costs of implementation and maintenance against the amount
saved through prevention of offences. One method of acquiring this data is through the use of
cost-benefit analyses. Below this method will be evaluated, as well as other methods of cost
analyses.
5.1 Cost-Benefit Analysis
Crime has a substantial expense to society with an estimated annual cost of between £35
billion (Association of British Insurers 1998b) to £60 Billion (Anderson 1999). Due to the
recent spending cuts, cost efficient crime prevention strategies are crucial in reducing the
financial hit on society as a result of crime. As Lynch and Rasmussen (2001) state „the one
common subject in any budget decision is money. Other subjects are important, but they are
mentioned in relationship to money or are translated into money‟ (pg 14). This stresses the
importance for governments to employ cost effective crime prevention strategies.
There is a need for cost-benefit analyses in crime prevention, but the complexity of the
process and a „lack of rigorous program evaluation; which provides the necessary foundation
for benefit-cost analysis‟ (Chisholm 2000 pg 15) is keeping many researchers from including
it into their work. Extensive quantification of cost-benefit analyses has also proven to be very
expensive (see Cohen 2000). For this reason there „is a relative dearth of extant cost-benefit
analyses of crime prevention‟ (Roman & Farrel 2002:54). The most comprehensive to date
was undertaken by Painter and Farrington (2001) on their Dudley and Stoke-On-Trent
projects. In their revised cost analysis of these studies they used The Economic and Social
Costs of Crime published by the Home Office (2000) and found a financial saving of between
2.4 and 10 times over a period of one year after the implementation of street lighting,
therefore highlighting its cost effectiveness (for detailed data see appendix 3).
However, there are many critiques of cost analysis due to researchers having to rely on
estimates of costs of crime. There is also a tendency to assume that falls in crime rates are
solely a product of improved lighting. The effects of increased street lighting may also wear
off over time and thus a longer follow up cost analysis may be necessary. However, this may
bring about further implications. For example if further improvements were made to the area,
if a reduction in crime was observed it cannot be attributed exclusively to street lighting.
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Under much discussion is whether emotional and psychological costs of victimisation should
be included in cost-benefit analyses of crime prevention and whether these can be estimated?
General consensus is „no‟ due to many arguing that non-monetary costs are irrelevant, there
are no estimates available, and costs vary dramatically with each individual (Roman & Farrel
2002). However, it is argued by some that many of the non-monetary costs of becoming a
victim of crime greatly outweigh the financial costs. For this reason it is suggested that if they
are not included in cost-benefit analysis, the effects of the initiative will be significantly
22
5.2 Intangible Costs
underestimated. But can these non-tangible costs be measured? Miller et al (1996) proposed a
victim-compensation model and identified that, for example, a victim of rape would incur
$5,100 of tangible costs, but a higher intangible cost of $81,400 (see appendix 4). According
to this model the effect of a crime on society and the victim cannot purely be based on
tangible costs. Also without taking into account intangible costs the impact on society of
certain crimes would also appear heavily underestimated. For example the costs of crimes
such as burglary may look more costly than rape, and whilst in monetary terms of stolen
property this may be true, the intangible costs of becoming a victim of rape are huge in
comparison and have shown to be 62 times more costly (Roman and Farrell 2002). However
it is argued by some researchers (Stephenson 2003) to be impossible to calculate the
psychological and physical costs to victims of crime as it would be distasteful to put a price
on human suffering. One method used to measure intangible costs is to ask individuals the
amount of money they would be willing to pay to avoid a certain event, or the amount of
money they would accept as compensation for the event actually occurring. Nonetheless this
method is very subjective and relies heavily on the individuals past experiences and
assessment.
5.3 Break-Even Analysis
Ekblom and Pease (1995) suggest that when planning an intervention a break-even analysis
should be cogitated. This analysis involves calculating the estimated costs of implementing
the intervention, and determining how many crimes would need to be prevented to reach a
break-even in costs. For example an intervention that costs x amount and to break even a
90% reduction in targeted crime would have to be achieved, a decision would have to be
made as to whether or not this is attainable. If this reduction was unlikely to be achieved, it
may be advisable to explore other crime prevention strategies. If the crime targeted had a
high cost to society, the breakeven point may be a lot lower and therefore easier to attain.
Although the cost analyses mentioned are fraught with limitations, estimating the costs of
crime provides appraisals of past and present prevention methods, allowing decision on
future measures to be evaluated based on previous facts and data gathered.
New technologies are aiding in the development of cost-effective lighting systems, and are
becoming increasingly important in the face of many spending cuts. Below is a review of
present advancements.
5.4 Technology Advancements
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One such technology has been developed by TV Delft Alumnus Management of the
Netherlands. The system has been shown to be 80% cheaper to run that present lighting, with
a breakeven of 3 to 4 years. It uses LED lights, motion sensors and wireless communication
23
The main problem of street lighting is that they are lit all night long, even when no-one is
around. For this reason they can cause substantial expenditure. The development of new
technologies is an on-going process with some promising progress.
meaning that the lighting can be dimmed when no one is in the vicinity. The system also
allows messages to be sent to a control room when there are any failures to the lights. This
technology would not only save money but would also make the maintenance process faster
(which as seen previously in the vandalism to lighting chapter is essential) and increase the
belief of surveillance due to their „spot light effect‟ (TV Delft Alumnas Management 2011).
In July 2011 Bath and North East Summerset pioneered this technology on stretches of roads
and have seen better illumination than previous lighting and a immediate saving of 40% on
energy and a further 20% due to the dimming technology (ibid).
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These new technological improvements could pave the way for cheaper, more efficient
lighting systems, thus making street lighting a more desirable form of crime prevention for
many councils. This is especially pertinent in the present day where councils are experiencing
budget cuts and consequently looking for more cost effective crime prevention strategies.
6. Discussion
The purpose of this dissertation was to answer the question „how effective is the utilisation of
increased street lighting as a situational crime prevention method? This was to be achieved
through the exploration of the environmental, economic and social costs and benefits.
To assess how effective street lighting is as a situational crime prevention strategy it is
important to consider the effects it has on altering offender‟s behaviour. Through engaging in
the research it was apparent that street lighting acted to alter the behaviours of the offender
with the majority of research suggesting this change was due to the deterrence effects of
increased luminance, and although some evidence of displacement was found this was often
greatly outweighed by diffusion of benefit effects. An issue raised in the research was the
crime attracting nature of street lighting. This describes how the increase in luminance and
obvious sign of an effort of crime prevention caused some offenders to target street lighting
directly or use it to their advantage when targeting potential victims. This issue needs to be
explored further due to the limited amount of research available. The issue of light pollution
is also a cause for concern. However, although it was found that the glare and reflective
nature of street lighting did cause some levels of light pollution, one has to ask if this is a
small price to pay for its crime preventative efficacy. It should also be noted that technology
has been implemented to reduce these effects and is gradually replacing the old problematic
lamps.
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Economically street lighting has come under much scrutiny for its financial impact on council
spending. Furthermore the process of cost analyse is shrouded with cynicism and the lack of
any standardised measurements only reinforces these critiques. Whilst Painter and
25
In relation to the social costs and benefits of street lighting it was deemed effective if
community safety was enhanced. It was found that the effects on community cohesion and
informal social control, and the resulting deterrence effects, resulted in increased street usage
and improvements in fear of crime. Both these allowed for an increase in capable
guardianship and potential witnesses using streets and communal areas. As stated earlier in
the paper when discussing RCT, this increase in street usage and informal social control acts
to increases the perceived risks of potential offenders, deterring them from committing crime.
However, Lifestyle/ exposure theory suggests that the lifestyle an individual leads can either
increase of decrease their likely chances of victimisation. Street lighting was noted to affect
this through its reduction effects on fear of crime. This led to increased street usage which, it
was argued, could put more people into contact with potential offenders. Nevertheless, whilst
in some instances this reduction in fear of crime was in favour of the offender, the
improvement in informal surveillance was felt to be more beneficial to the law abiding
citizen. These deterrence effects were also seen when exploring the effects of perceptions of
improvement in the area. It was found that by the perception of a cohesive, well-kept area,
that potential offenders were deterred from committing crime in the vicinity. However, due to
the limitations of measuring fear of crime, exploration into attitudinal variations may be a
more advantageous method of measurement. This would involve the investigation into
changes of behaviour such as alterations in street usage patterns and lifestyle.
Farrington‟s Stoke-On-Trent and Dudley cost analysis offers the most comprehensive
research into this issue, it cannot however be used to support an argument for the cost
effectiveness of street lighting. This is due to the monetary values given for crime prevented
being estimates, falling foul to the subjective ideas and beliefs of the researchers. Whilst it is
appreciated that the researchers utilised all data available to them, their staked interest in the
performance of street lighting may have caused them to overemphasise the economic gains
and should therefore be taken into consideration. Also there is much controversy as to
whether to include intangible costs to crime. This merely supports the need for a more
standardised practice and measurement of the costs of crime. Having said this, although
Painter and Farrington‟s study was fraught with limitations, it should act as a foundation to
which further research could build on.
A promising advancement identified was the technological improvements in street lighting in
recent years. Whilst many were still in trial stages, it does however pave the way for a more
cost effective lighting solution. It should also be noted that they may indirectly improve the
crime preventative efficacy of street lighting. For example the use of spot lighting technology
that glow brighter when people are in the vicinity, could in itself deter offenders due to the
perception that they are being watched. This has yet to be researched but is an interesting area
for future study.
7. Conclusion and Recommendations for Future Practice
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Future research should also address the issue of displacement in more detail. Whilst
displacement of crime has shown to be infrequent, studies could investigate what
circumstances displacement occurs to develop methods to reduce this factor. Researchers
should ensure that several control, adjacent and experimental areas are used. This would
allow for the research of spatial displacement and diffusion of benefits. To add more
reliability to the research these areas could also be randomly selected. It would also be
beneficial to incorporate measurements of displacement and diffusion of benefits into all SCP
initiatives to further our understanding of these effects. Future research should also look at
the various types of displacement rather than focusing on spatial displacement as seen in the
vast majority of previous studies. More crime specific research into displacement and
26
It is evident from this research that there are many issues that need to be addressed. For
example whether it is the surveillance of street lighting or the effects of community pride that
reduce crime rates? Future research should explore this deterrence/surveillance vs community
pride issue. This could be achieved by administering self-reported surveys on pride in the
area before and after the implementation of street lighting, and comparing these against data
on crime rates. If it was found that a reduction in crime after street lighting was installed
coincided with an increase in community pride then it can be assumed that the effects of
lighting did in fact result in falling crime rates. However if it was discovered that community
pride in the area was high before the introduction of street lighting then it could be argued
that it is this pride that generated the improvements in the area.
diffusion of benefits is also required due to it being argued by Cornish and Clarke (1987) that
rational decision making varies enormously between crime types. For this reason it would be
beneficial to determine what crime types are most affected by the utilisation of increased
street lighting in order to better understand the how it aids in the deterrence of these crimes
and how best to prevent this clear disadvantage.
Also it may prove useful to research into whether the type of area where street lighting is
installed has any effect on its crime prevention performance. For example it is argued that in
only homogenous stable communities would fear of crime improve (Farrington and Welsh
2002). Research could also explore if the effects of street lighting are greater if implemented
in areas where existing high crime rates are apparent. This would further our understanding
into what circumstances street lighting works to its full potential.
Anderson (1999) suggests that an offenders‟ decision making is a result of many factors, with
street lighting being just one. For this reason would multiple prevention methods have
increasing effectiveness? For example, would the combination of street lighting and CCTV
may be more effective than street lighting alone? This could be achieved by employing street
lighting in one experimental area, street lighting and CCTV in a second, and solely CCTV in
a third. By comparing the results between the three areas it would allow researchers to
explore whether the conjunction of the two is effective, or whether they are more effective
independently.
Many methodological flaws have also emerged i.e. sponsorship, placement of research areas
and conflicts in the application of cost-benefit analyses. To progress the research of street
lighting and crime these issues will have to be addressed. More standardised procedures
could be a foundation on which to progress in this issue. For example research should utilise
all methods of measurements of crime and changes in behaviour. Police statistics are
primarily used in street lighting research, and can be subject to many flaws such as the high
numbers of unreported and unrecorded crimes. This therefore can result in findings being
very misleading. For this reason household surveys, self-reported offending and police
statistics should all be used. The use of long term before and after periods are also essential in
further practice as this would identify any existing crime trends in the area. It would also
allow for the exploration into „initial deterrence‟ effects of street lighting as it has been
argued that its deterrence effects are likely to fade over time, as seen in many SCP methods.
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In summary, it has been found that increased street lighting is a cost effective, efficient crime
prevention method, and whilst there is much room for improvement in the research, there is
an overwhelming majority that demonstrate the clear benefits for law abiding citizens.
Furthermore, in all economic, social and environmental circumstances the research has
27
In economic terms street lighting has shown, in most analyses, to be a very cost effective
crime prevention method. However, due to the limited amount of research available and the
complexity of cost analyses many authors refrain from including them into their research. A
more standardised measurement of cost to society should be established to encourage the use
of cost analyses in future research.
shown that the benefits of street lighting often outweigh the costs. For this reason it can be
concluded that, on these fronts, street lighting can be deemed an effective crime prevention
method and should be seen as an important tool in the prevention of crime. It also has many
benefits over other SCP measures. For example it does not impede on civil liberties as seen in
CCTV and it also benefits a large amount of people rather than single individuals. However,
it should not be seen as a panacea for all crime and many issues have been raised that need to
be addressed in further research. Until this has been achieved, research into street lighting and
crime will continue to be critiqued on the grounds of weak methodological practice. It is
hoped that the conclusions and recommendations highlighted in this paper will aid in the
development of future research and further the knowledge around the relationship between
street lighting and crime.
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Word Count: 10, 722
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Space Syntax Theory Research Scope and Procedure
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41
Choi, A., Y. Kim, E. Oh, and Y. Kim. "Application of the Space Syntax Theory to
Quantitative Street Lighting Design." Building and Environment 41.3 (2006): 355-66. Print.
Appendix 2
Excess Illuminance

1. Upwards reflected light - unwanted but unavoidable light bouncing off the ground

2. Useful light - the right amount of light

3. Direct upwards light - wasted light shining above a fitting

4. Spill light - falls outside where it is needed

5. Intrusive light - overly bright and poorly directed, often going in windows
Source: RCEP and Environmental Protection UK
Dark blue- areas of least light pollution
Page
42
Red- areas of highest pollution
Winterman, D. (2012) "Light Pollution: Is There a Solution?" BBC News. BBC, 18 Jan. 2012.
[Online]. Available at: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16470744>. [Accessed 25
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Appendix 3
Revised Cost Analysis- Dudley
Page
43
Revised Cost Analysis- Stoke-On-Trent
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Appendix 4
Page
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Costs of Crime
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Price, N.
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