Everybody wants to live in a community where they feel safe to explore and enjoy community life in their municipality . The way we use light in communal spaces can play a vital role in reducing criminal behaviour and encourage the community to enjoy their precinct by day or night. Adequate area lighting increases community pride and confidence and strengthens informal social control.

How can light create a safer community?

The connection between light and our sense of safety is universally known. Lighting provides reassurance to some people who are fearful to use public spaces and pathways at night. It helps to improve surveillance and deter crime whilst offering a cost-effective crime reduction measure which is especially effective when used in situational crime reduction programmes. 

Case Study

The New York City Police Department previously worked alongside the New York City Housing Authority and the scientific research team Crime Lab to conduct a six-month controlled trial involving nearly 80 public housing developments. Half of the developments received new, temporary outdoor lights, and half did not. The study found that the developments that received the new lights experienced significantly lower crime. Increased lighting levels led to a 7% overall reduction in serious criminal offences and property crimes. A 39% reduction was also apparent in night time crime thanks to the newly installed public lighting. (Lerner, 2017).