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Benefit #2: Enhanced Security

Smart lighting techniques increase security by creating even illumination rather then harsh glare.

Summary of the Problem:

Often the purpose of outdoor lighting is to provide security. Certainly parking lots at malls need to have light to be safe. This is true in many circumstances. However, if the lighting is overly bright with much glare, they actually make it easier for a criminal to hide in the deep shadows produced by objects in the harsh glary light and encourage crime rather than discourage it.

A great deal of noise is made by folks who over light facilities. They claim to be concerned only with safety. To that end we respond: " Let's have real security, not just bad lighting." We believe that full shielded lights and moderate illumination levels increase safety. Not overly bright, glary lights.

Security Lighting and Crime:

A National Criminal Justice Information Center report to Congress in 1997 says:

  • "Is street lighting an effective approach in the reduction and deterrence of crime? The answer is inconclusive. The paucity of reliable and uniform data and the inadequacy of available evaluation studies preclude a definitive statement regarding the relationship between street lighting and crime."
  • "We may speculate that lighting is effective in some places, ineffective in others, and counter productive in still other circumstances. The problematic relationship between lighting and crime increases when one considers that offenders need lighting to detect potential targets and low-risk situations."

See the full report - "Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn't, What's Promising"

Next: Reduced Glare