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NIGHTTIME OUTDOOR LIGHTING PREVENTS CRIME
Does outdoor nighttime lighting prevent crime? Nobody knows! In
some cases, lighting seems to deter crime, and it makes people
feel more secure, even if they are no more secure than without
it. In some cases, nighttime lighting probably increases crime,
because it draws attention to a house or business that would
otherwise escape attention. Most crimes, violent and otherwise,
take place during the day. After all, criminals need light to do
their work. A dusk to dawn light shining all night in a rural
area probably is an inducement for robbery and vandalism. A
passerby would not otherwise know the farmhouse was even there.
An infrared motion sensor security light which comes on only
when someone steps into the beam makes a lot of sense. It is
only on when needed, thereby conserving energy. Its sudden
illumination serves to frighten away the criminal. These lights
are now beginning to replace the all night dusk to dawn 175 watt
mercury vapor lights. This makes good sense from the economical,
environmental, and crime prevention points of view.
The motion sensor security lights can cause light pollution and
light trespass if too high a watt spot light is used, and if
they are not aimed down toward the ground. They should also have
some shielding. The early motion detection lights also suffered
from being triggered by any sort of disturbance, frequently
going on and off all night on a windy evening. The newer ones
are better designed and less likely to be triggered by a small
animal or tree branch crossing their path.
Do street lights, parking lot lights, and security lights
prevent crime? Maybe yes, maybe no. If they are overly bright
with much glare, they may actually make it easier for a criminal
to hide in the shadows and encourage crime rather than
discourage it. Bright, glaring lights shining in your eye and
reflecting off a wet street during a light drizzle certainly do
not increase highway safety. On the other hand, properly lit
streets with even lighting and little glare from fully shielded
fixtures have lower vehicle and pedestrian accident rates and
are a pleasure to drive on.
How about bright lights in a parking lot? How many people do you
know whose car has been broken into during the day? One speaker
at a recent lighting symposium recounted how his car was robbed
at a local mall. It sat near a store entrance and was directly
under a bright light! There are simply no good scientific
studies that convincingly define the relationships between
lighting and crime. Our cities are far more brightly lit than
ever. Yet, the crime rate soars. Maybe lights directly lead to
crime. One study at a small eastern college showed almost all
violent nighttime crimes took place in well lit places. This
study, while informative, can not be generalized to other
locales because of the somewhat unique nature of the college and
the college town. Crime is a very complex sociological
phenomenon controlled by many factors, and it will vary
considerably from place to place.
Our own personal opinion is crime is little affected by
nighttime lighting for better or worse. However, we believe main
arterial streets should be well lit to reduce automobile and
pedestrian accidents. Busy malls should have good lighting to
reduce accidents and perhaps deter crime. After business hours,
this lighting can be reduced or even turned off. Security
lighting can be relatively low level. This saves money, and not
much light is needed to find one's way to a back door or to find
your way out to your car. Not much light is needed to see a
suspicious looking person loitering around. No matter the
lighting situation, the proper wattage, not overkill, should be
used, and all lighting should come from full cut-off shielded
fixtures.
ONLY ASTRONOMERS CARE ABOUT LIGHT POLLUTION (THOSE PERSONS
FIGHTING LIGHT POLLUTION ARE JUST CRAZY IDIOTS)
This is the right diagnosis for the wrong reason! Many of our friends, relatives, working associates and acquaintances have considerable evidence we are "crazy idiots."
None the less, this is only true because of our personal
idiosyncrasies. It is not true because we (and many others as
well) are concerned about light pollution, light trespass, radio
pollution, and space debris. After all, the night sky is part of
everyone's environment, enormous amounts of energy are wasted
lighting the night sky, radio astronomers have to struggle to
find useful portions of the electromagnetic spectrum for their
work, and space debris is a rapidly growing problem.
Why should someone be considered a nut because he or she is
concerned about the environment? Nevertheless, persons involved
in environmental causes must carefully define the problem they
want to solve, learn the facts, appreciate the legitimate
perspective of their opponents, and offer people solutions
rather than complaints. This is the International Dark-Sky
Association's (IDA) philosophy and modus operandi. Light and
radio pollution can be solved if the facts are properly conveyed
to the public. Light pollution is the one form of pollution
whose solution immediately saves money.
Many IDA members are
not astronomers or particularly interested in astronomy. They
are concerned about energy conservation, preservation of our
environment, and proper nighttime outdoor lighting. They include
housewives, scientists, lawyers, pilots, doctors, engineers,
and retired persons. Much of IDA's strongest support
comes from professional lighting engineers, lighting suppliers,
and lighting manufactureres.
POWER COMPANIES ARE NOT INTERESTED IN SAVING ENERGY OR
CONTROLLING POLLUTION; THEY ONLY WANT TO SELL ELECTRICITY
Yes, power companies are in business to make money, and yes
their product is electricity, but their owners and operators are
everyday citizens just like the rest of us. It is doing them a
disservice to say they are so irresponsible as to want to make
money no matter the results. If they sell and put up harmful
fixtures and promote "security lights" with no regard to the
effects on the night sky, it is mainly because they are ignorant
of the problem.
It is up to concerned amateur and professional astronomers to
work with power companies to promote good lighting. Some of the
strongest supporters of quality outdoor lighting and energy
conservation in Arizona are the public utilities for Tucson and
Phoenix. This support did not happen over night, and it took the
hard work of many persons over several years to achieve it, but
it did occur, and it is possible to accomplish elsewhere.
Power companies have several good reasons to help preserve the
environment and conserve energy. Their employees live in the
community and must put up with the same local conditions as the
rest of the citizenry. Promoting energy conservation is a public
duty and gives corporations good public relations. It also makes
very good economic sense. Many utilities work on a thin profit
margin and have a hard time selling electricity for what it
costs to produce. They simply can not afford to build new power
plants. It is difficult enough for them to raise rates to cover
increased fuel costs, let alone pass along costs for
construction of new power stations.
Even if a utility has the financial basis to build new plants,
there is a staggering multitude of environmental, legal, and
governmental problems to overcome. No one wants a coal burning
generating plant in his or her backyard. Look at how much effort
and costs are involved in starting up a nuclear power plant.
There are not too many areas left in the United States for the
construction of hydroelectric plants. Besides, damming up rivers
is not very popular these days. Wind and solar power generation
offer great promise but have their environmental problems as
well, and they are not cheap. Thus, energy conservation helps
forestall the need for new generating capacity and makes
business sense for most power companies.
Lighting manufacturers and distributors often are just as
supportive as public utilities for conserving energy and
protecting the environment. Their customers want efficient
lighting. They don't like big electric bills. We all recognize
the need for nighttime outdoor lighting: safety, security and
recreation. All we ask is the lighting be mindful of the
environment. There is so much terrible lighting around that
lighting manufacturers and distributors ought to make a bundle
replacing it with good designs.
SUMMARY
This essay summarizes some of the most common myths in nighttime
lighting. There are many others. They can be overcome by
learning the facts behind the myths, presenting the case for
quality nighttime lighting in a persistent, forthright fashion,
and by working with people rather than against them. If the
night sky is important to the astronomical community, then it
ought to devote a portion of its resources and efforts to
preserving dark places and restoring dark skies in other
locales. This helps our hobby, improves the environment, and
saves money in the long run, a win-win situation for all
involved.
First published January 1, 2000
Revised February 1, 2014
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