Two research projects were carried out to investigate the effects of improved street lighting on crime in Dudley and Stoke-on-Trent. In Dudley, crimes decreased by 41% in the experimental area, compared with a 15% decrease in a control area. In Stoke, crimes decreased by 43% in the experimental area and by 45% in two adjacent areas, compared with a decrease of only 2% in two control areas. In the two projects, the financial savings (from reduced crimes) exceeded the financial costs by between 2.4 and 10 times after one year. It is concluded that improved street lighting can be extremely cost-effective.
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Painter et al. (2001) studied this question.
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