UK: Street lights to be switched off at midnight

The Telegraph ^ | 2/11/08

[bruinbirdman]

Street lights in suburban areas are to be switched off after midnight as part of council plans to save energy.

A series of trial blackouts will be carried out over the next few weeks by local authorities in the Home Counties, Hampshire and Essex among others.

Buckinghamshire council is reported to be switching off more than 1,700 lights along 25 miles of road in an attempt to meet energy targets.

It says the scheme will save £100,000 and reduce CO2 emissions by nearly 600 tons a year.

If the trials are successful, all street lamps across the country could be turned off between midnight and 5am.

Other areas taking part in the scheme include Maldon and Uttlesford in Essex, while parts of Hampshire have already carried out pilots.

Residents' groups, police organisations and motoring groups have expressed fear that the darkness could cause increases in crime and road traffic accidents.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: "The councils are considering these schemes to both reduce their energy budget and cut down on emissions.

"Areas where street lights will be turned off will be on routes there is little need for them."

[Liberal Bob]

In addition, most robberies are also done in...Broad daylight!

Robbery Times

The crime of robbery is mainly a nighttime crime, increasing after 8:00 PM and subsiding after 3:00 AM in most areas. Robberies often increase during the winter months because of extended periods of darkness. Dozens of robbery studies have indicated that robbers like isolation, prefer lone victims, good escape routes, and few witnesses in addition to a good cash score.

http://www.crimedoctor.com/robbery1.htm

Now most bank robberies occur when they are open :) except of course ATM, Most occur at night, with the highest risk between midnight and 4 a.m.

http://www.popcenter.org/problems/robbery_ATMs

[dragnet2]

Violent crimes by juveniles occur most frequently in the hours immediately following the close of school on school days. Peeking about 3 p.m.

Department of Justice:

http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/offenders/qa03301.asp?qaDate=2001

Note: Violent crimes include murder, violent sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. Data are from law enforcement agencies in 21 states and the District of Columbia.

Non school days it appears to peak about 8 pm, which would be daylight, I would assume mostly in the summer time. (Daylight savings).

Let me see if I can dig up some more stats about robbery, and other crimes committed in broad daylight by juveniles and adults.

[dragnet2]

U.S. Department of Justice:

Time of occurrence (Violent Crime) In 2005 - * 53% of incidents of violent crime occurred during the day between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/offenders/qa03301.asp?qaDate=2001

I look for some more regarding robberies and other crimes.

[Liberal Bob]

http://books.google.com/books?id=Y-2CXxJxmoMC&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28&dq=what+time+of+day+do+crimes+occur&source=web&ots=2wkImTZh5-&sig=1HV2bIA2f3cnxOSPe5DmbGm5Upw&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result#PPA28,M1

6pm to 6am

Auto theft 75%
Rape 67%
Aggravated assault 63%
Robbery 55%

[Liberal Bob]

Your stats are for:

Violent crimes by juveniles occur most frequently in the hours immediately following the close of school on school days.

[Democrap]

Do you let your kids stay out all night?

[dragnet2]

Yes, I know what they were for. Same with burglaries occurring in daylight hours. Ya see, the bad guys don't fear street lights or the neighbors seeing them. They only fear being caught and hurt the homeowners. They just go to homes where the homeowner is gone. Lights have little to do with it.

Same with robberies that occurring at greedy marts and liquor stores that are not only lit up like Christmas trees, but also use video tape. Ya see, the lights and video tape just don't scare them. You ever notice that?

[dragnet2]

Do you let your kids stay out all night?

Why of course not. But not because of the night time boogie man, but they were in school all day, and had to get up early and go to school. As they got older, ya sometimes they stayed out all night. I have no idea how they ever survived the darkness.

:o

Seems some of you folks are very afraid of the dark. The only thing I can suggest, is hanging more lights on your house, maybe a few searchlights might help you feel better, or give that that secure feeling.

[Yardstick]

Naturally most crime is committed during the day. That's when human beings are active and the most victims are out and about. But this says nothing about how lighting affects the rate of crime at night.

Same with robberies that occurring at greedy marts and liquor stores that are not only lit up like Christmas trees, but also use video tape. Ya see, the lights and video tape just don't scare them. You ever notice that?

No, I haven't noticed that. What I notice is that the lone cashier at a quickie mart is a sitting duck, and yet robberies of quickie marts are fairly rare. Most likely, without the lights and cameras, quickie marts would be robbed more often.

As for lights and houses, if you had the choice of a well lit house and one with no lights, which one would you prefer to rob? Answer: The one with no lights, because you are less likely to be seen.

[dragnet2]

Same with robberies that occurring at greedy marts and liquor stores that are not only lit up like Christmas trees, but also use video tape. Ya see, the lights and video tape just don't scare them. You ever notice that?

No, I haven't noticed that.

You should get out more. Most greedy marts are brighter than the sun, and use multiple video cameras. The bad guys have no problems sticking guns in their faces regardless.

What I notice is that the lone cashier at a quickie mart is a sitting duck, and yet robberies of quickie marts are fairly rare. Most likely, without the lights and cameras, quickie marts would be robbed more often.

Well then, maybe they should install a few dozen more lights flood lights in the greedy marts. Make um real safe.

How about those banks? They'll even rob them with armed guards present under heavy lighting with more cameras than CNN.

[Yardstick]

The bad guys have no problems sticking guns in their faces regardless.

Yes, the bad guys do have problems. Namely that the lights and cameras make it easier to see and identify them. Granted not all bad guys are deterred by the lights and cameras, but many are. Without the lights and cameras, there would be more crime at convenience stores. The store owners know this. That's why they employ lights and cameras.

How about those banks? They'll even rob them with armed guards present under heavy lighting with more cameras than CNN.

That's because there's lots of money at banks, so the reward is high for successfully robbing one. This motivates people to rob them despite the risk. Banks recognize this, which is why they employ guards and lights and cameras as deterrence. Without guards and lights and cameras, bank robbery would be more common, because the risk would be lower.

This stuff is not hard to understand.

[dragnet2]

Without the lights and cameras, there would be more crime

You might be correct, but could you post the source for that?

[Yardstick]

I don’t have a source. I’m just using common sense. You should try it sometime. It works.

[dragnet2]

Do you believe the street light, (back to this article) in front of your home is making you safer?

[Yardstick]

Yeah, as a general rule I’d say better light deters crime.

[dragnet2]

Do you believe the street light, (back to this article) in front of your home is making you safer?

Yeah

This is your perception, as you have no source for this either.

By your logic, light stops or reduces crime. Yet as we have installed tens of millions of street lights, yet crime for the most part continues to increase. No?

So it would seem you're suggesting that we should probably be installing more street lights to reduce crime even more, right??

[Yardstick]

By your logic, light stops or reduces crime. Yet as we have installed tens of millions of street lights, yet crime for the most part continues to increase. No?

I don't know what the crime rates have done. But that's beside the point. There are lots of factors that influence crime rates besides lighting. I'm just saying the overall rate would be higher than it is without the lighting.

So it would seem you're suggesting that we should probably be installing more street lights to reduce crime even more, right??

Mostly I'm suggesting that the stuff you've said so far in this thread is goofy. As for the street lights, I'd suggest that in certain areas the likelihood of crime would increase if the lights were turned off.

[dragnet2]

As for the street lights, I'd suggest that in certain areas the likelihood of crime would increase if the lights were turned off.

Well in those certain areas you speak of (high crime areas) are already lit up with street lights, and crime is through the roof. No?

So again, it seems you are suggesting we install more street lights in an effort to reduce crime.

Right now in those bad neighborhoods streetlights are about 75' apart. Do you think if we install a street light every 20' it will reduce crime?

[Liberal Bob]

And burglaries of business occurs at night because the owners are gone, so what? The stats I gave you are from a 20 year study from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Very few rapes occur under street lights. Less autos are stolen from well lit areas. When the lights when out in NY a few years back the crime went off the charts... remember?

[dragnet2]

When the lights when out in NY a few years back the crime went off the charts... remember?

A few years back? You mean in 2003?

THE BLACKOUT: CRIME; This Time, Fewer Arrests As the City Stayed Dark

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said about 850 arrests had been made overnight, compared with about 950 on most nights.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04E7DB1530F935A2575BC0A9659C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/B/Blackouts%20and%20Brownouts%20(Electrical)