Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A method of identifying dark-time crime locations for street lighting purposes

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Crime Prevention and Community Safety Aims and scope

Abstract

Research on the effect of street lighting on crime and fear of crime has received much attention, especially between 1970s and early 2000s. Yet no study has documented an empirical method for choosing where to best site street lights for the purpose of crime prevention. This study describes a statistical clustering method (Kohonen’s SOM) that can be used to identify microplaces where crimes mostly occur during nighttime within stable crime hot spots. The results of this clustering analysis were visually examined and compared with streets, which are located near the University of Cincinnati West Campus and selected for lighting during early 2014. The findings revealed temporal patterns of crime within crime hot spots. In addition, there is a substantial overlap between the areas identified as heavily dark-time locations by clustering analysis and previously lighted streets determined by the city of Cincinnati managers. Implications of the study are discussed in conclusions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • AASHTO (American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials). 2010. An informational guide to roadway lighting. Washington, D.C.: AASHTO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agnew, R. 1992. Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency. Criminology 30(1): 47–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akers, R.L. 1990. Rational choice, deterrence, and social learning theory in criminology: The path not taken. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 81(3): 653–676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashby, M.P.J., and K.J. Bowers. 2013. A comparison of methods for temporal analysis of aoristic crime. Crime Science: An Interdisciplinary Journal 2(1): 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balbi, A., and A.-M. Guerry. 1829. Statistique comparée de l’état de l’instruction et du nombre des crimes dans les divers arrondissements des Académies et des Cours Royales de France. Paris: Unknown Publisher.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyce, P.R. 2008. Lighting for driving: Roads, vehicles, signs, and signals. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Boyce, P.R. 2014. Human factors in lighting. 3rd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Brantingham, P.J., and P.L. Brantingham (eds.). 1981. Environmental criminology. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bushell, M.A., B.W. Poole, C.V. Zegneer, and D.A. Rodriguez. 2013. Costs for pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure improvements: A resource for researchers, engineers, planners, and the general public. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, University of North Carolina.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, R.V., and D.B. Cornish. 1985. Modeling offenders’ decisions: A framework for research and policy. Crime and Justice 6: 147–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, R.V., and J.E. Eck. 2005. Crime analysis for problem solvers in 60 small steps. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, L.E., and M. Felson. 1979. Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociological Review 44(4): 588–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohn, E.G. 1993. The prediction of police calls for service: The influence of weather and temporal variables on rape and domestic violence. Journal of Environmental Psychology 13(1): 71–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cornish, D.B., and R.V. Clarke. 2003. Opportunities, precipitators and criminal decisions: A reply to Wortley’s critique of situational crime prevention. In Theory for practice in situational crime prevention and crime prevention studies, vol. 16, ed. M.J. Smith, D.B. Cornish, 41–96. Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eck, J.E. 1994. Drug markets and drug places: A case–control study of the spatial structure of illicit drug dealing. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Baltimore, MD: University of Maryland.

  • Eck, J.E., and D.L. Weisburd. 1995. Crime places in crime theory. In Crime and place, ed. John E. Eck, David Weisburd. Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eck, J.E., and D.L. Weisburd. 2015. Crime places in crime theory. Crime Prevention Studies 4: 1–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eichenthal, D. 2016. It’s not just Petersburg. The Washington Post. Retrieved October 14th 2017 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/its-not-just-petersburg/2016/10/14/9fd1a2a2-8f2c-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae_story.html?utm_term=.57cdda4a9a8d.

  • Farrell, G., and P. Pease. 1994. Crime seasonality: Domestic disputes and residential burglary in Merseyside 1988–90. The British Journal of Criminology 34(4): 487–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D.P., and B.C. Welsh. 2002. Effects of improved street lighting on crime: A systematic review. London: Home Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Felson, M. 1986. Linking criminal choices, routine activities, informal control, and criminal outcomes. In The reasoning criminal: Rational choice perspectives on offending, ed. D.B. Cornish, R.V. Clarke. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, B., and J.L. Nasar. 1992. Fear of crime in relation to three exterior site features: Prospect, refuge and escape. Environment and Behavior 24(1): 35–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gottfredson, M.R., and T. Hirschi. 1990. A general theory of crime. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haans, A., and Y.A. De Kort. 2012. Light distribution in dynamic street lighting: Two experimental studies on its effects on perceived safety, prospect, concealment, and escape. Journal of Environmental Psychology 32(4): 342–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2012.05.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heller, N.B., and R.E. Markland. 1970. A climatological model for forecasting the demand for police service. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 7(2): 167–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelling, G.L., T. Pate, D. Dieckman, and C.C. Brown. 1974. The Kansas city preventive patrol experiment: A summary report. The Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment: A Summary Report.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohonen, T. 1998. The self-organizing map. Neurocomputing 21(1): 1–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohonen, T., M.R. Schroeder, and T.S. Huang. 2001. Self-organizing maps. New York: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lab, S.P., and J.D. Hirschel. 1988. Climatological conditions and crime: The forecast is…? Justice Quarterly 5(2): 281–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laycock, G. 2005. Defining crime science. In Crime science: New approaches to preventing and detecting crime, ed. M.J. Smith, N. Tilley, 3–24. Cullompton: Willan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nasar, J.L., B. Fisher, and M. Grannis. 1993. Proximate physical cues to fear of crime. Landscape and Urban Planning 26(1–4): 161–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newman, O. 1972. Defensible space. New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pain, R., R. MacFarlane, K. Turner, and S. Gill. 2006. When, where, if, and but: Qualifying GIS and the effect of street lighting on crime and fear. Environment and Planning A 38(11): 2055–2074.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Painter, K. 1996. The influence of street lighting improvements on crime, fear, and pedestrian street use after dark. Landscape and Urban Planning 35(2): 193–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Payne, T.C., and K. Gallagher. 2016. The importance of small units of aggregation: Trajectories of crime at addresses in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1998-2012. Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law and Society 17(1): 20–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pease, K. 1999. A review of street lighting evaluations: Crime reduction effects. In Surveillance of public space: CCTV, street lighting, and crime prevention. Crime prevention studies, vol. 10, eds. K. Painter, N. Tilley. Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peeters, L., and A. Dassargues. 2006. Comparison of Kohonen’s self-organizing map algorithm and principal component analysis in the exploratory data analysis of a groundwater quality dataset. In GeoENV2006 pp. 1–12.

  • Quinet, K.D., and S. Nunn. 1998. Illuminating crime: The impact of street lighting on calls for police service. Evaluation Review 22: 751–779.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ratcliffe, J.H., and M.J. McCullagh. 1998. Aoristic crime analysis. International Journal of Geographical Information Science 12(7): 751–764.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rengert, G.F. 1997. Auto theft in central Philadelphia. Policing for Prevention: Reducing Crime, Public Intoxication and Injury 7: 199–219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R.J., S.W. Raudenbush, and F. Earls. 1997. Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science 277(5328): 918–924.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, G.S. 2016. City on the brink: Petersburg can’t pay its bills, and time is running out. The Washington Post. Retrieved 9th September 2017 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/city-on-the-brink-petersburg-cant-pay-its-bills-and-time-is-running-out/2016/09/04/9327c962-6ef9-11e6-8533-6b0b0ded0253_story.html?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.db16234d7499.

  • Shaw, C.R., and H.D. McKay. 1942. Juvenile delinquency and urban areas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, L.W., P.R. Gartin, and M.E. Buerger. 1989. Hot spots of predatory crime: Routine activities and the criminology of place. Criminology 27(1): 27–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tien, J.M., V.F. O’Donnell, A. Barnett, and P.B. Mirchandani. 1979. Phase I report: Street lighting projects. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tompson, L., and K. Bowers. 2013. A stab in the dark? A research note on temporal patterns of street robbery. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 50(4): 616–631.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • US Naval Observatory. 2016. Sun or moon rise/set table for one year. United States Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department. Retrieved 1st June 2016 from http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneYear.php.

  • Weisburd, D.L., W. Bernasco, and G. Bruinsma (eds.). 2008. Putting crime in its place. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weisburd, D.L., S. Bushway, C. Lum, and S.M. Yang. 2004. Trajectories of crime at places: A longitudinal study of street segments in the city of Seattle. Criminology 42(2): 283–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welsh, B.C., and D.P. Farrington. 2008. Effects of improved street lighting on crime. Campbell Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2008.13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, R.T., and S.H. Decker. 2011. Armed robbers in action: Stickups and street culture. Lebanon: UPNE.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminology, University of South Florida Sarasota Manatee, 8350 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL, 34243, USA

    Rustu Deryol

  2. Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Drive, Anchorage, AK, 99504, USA

    Troy C. Payne

Authors
  1. Rustu Deryol
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Troy C. Payne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rustu Deryol.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Deryol, R., Payne, T.C. A method of identifying dark-time crime locations for street lighting purposes. Crime Prev Community Saf 20, 47–62 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41300-017-0035-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41300-017-0035-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation