Introduction
Every year after the summer solstice in June, the nights start to get longer and the days shorter.
This natural and ancient cycle brings some beautiful sights, but it also has its downsides – many people feel more afraid of crime and anti-social behaviour during the darker months.
Table of contents
Nighttime and ASB
In some parts of the country, local councils have recently decided to turn off streetlights in towns and villages after 11pm to save electricity.
Local residents have raised complaints to their councils about this, citing the absence of light as creating an atmosphere where criminal activity is more likely to occur and correspondingly, residents feel more likely to become victims of these crimes or anti-social incidents.
It’s true that most violent incidents linked to the nighttime economy happen on weekends, especially between 10pm and 6am.
These hours, often called “nighttime economy hours,” can involve large crowds in areas with bars, pubs, and nightclubs, where alcohol and sometimes drugs play a role.
Take a look at the Local Government Ombudsman’s report on ‘Approaches to managing the nighttime economy’ for more info.
The lack of lighting not only makes the area feel more intimidating but also creates opportunities for offenders to hide and target unsuspecting victims. Situations like this highlight the vital need for well-planned and effective lighting in urban areas, especially where pubs, clubs, and a busy nighttime economy are central features.
This also shows the importance of collaboration between the planning sectors within local authorities, law enforcement and investigation from the police and local business improvement groups ensuring trade and commerce provide as safe a platform for their customers as possible.
The impact
There are very similar ways in which victims of anti-social behaviour and crime can feel the impact of reduced visibility/lighting during late hours.
Perpetrators can also be affected by this but of course in a different way.
When lighting is poor, victims feel more vulnerable because they cannot easily identify who might be responsible for the ASB, and investigators such as the police or local authorities may also struggle to gather clear CCTV evidence. At the same time, perpetrators feel more confident and comfortable taking advantage of these conditions.
However, there are now numerous excellent CCTV units for commercial and private use that can provide high quality imagery for just such occasions, throughout a 24-hour period. This measure together with adequate security or street lighting can provide a deterrent and therefore a source of comfort for the victim.
Rural vs suburban
It is often perceived that people who live in more rural areas feel more at ease from incidents of crime and ASB. However, in a think tank event at Lincoln in 2022 various delegates actually flipped this interpretation and cited that despite large gatherings of people and numerous drinking establishments being less common if not non-existent in villages, the very thought of an incident occurring was easily as stressful and in fact, to some (particularly those with vulnerabilities) was actually even more concerning.
The reason for this was mainly to do with geography, and the fact that any emergency response would in all probability take more time to reach the victim or to potentially apprehend the offender in adequate time. This research was revealed during the knife crime initiative called Think Sharp in Lincolnshire.
Transversely, the higher number of incidents per capita in towns and cities made this a source for concern for residents in this demographic. Both sets of people felt that the impact of it occurring at nighttime further exacerbated the impact and fear.
Conclusion
So, we can see that with adequate design and collaborative considered planning, the impact of nighttime reduced visibility can be mitigated to some degree and can aid detection as well as reducing potentially harmful incidents to help restore/maintain public trust and confidence.