Data-informed LED light replacement project
PSE&G aims to replace obsolete halogen lights by new and brighter LED light installations in high-risk areas for violent crime. PSE&G partnered with NPSC to prioritize the installation of 1,500 new LED lights across the City of Newark. This project seeks to improve the overall lighting conditions of different areas identified as high-risk places for criminal behavior during nighttime hours.
PSE&G, the local public utility company, prioritized the installation of 1,500 new LED lights in the city to places identified as highest-risk for criminal behavior during nighttime hours. PSE&G also enhanced its merchant outreach campaign to offer street-pole mounted floodlights directed at storefronts in an effort to help protect employees, customers and properties in risky places.
Research shows that poor lighting impacts the propensity of crime (see Chalfin et al., 2019; Fotios et al, 2015; Hans & DeKort, 2012; Xu et al., 2018).
A visual relationship illustrating the optical differences between a HPS cobra fixture and its LED equivalent
Results
Pre-post analyses suggest the number of violent crime incidents decreased by 35% (from 60 to 39) in the treatment areas (within 200ft of enhanced streetlight poles), as compared to the control area (untreated poles), for which no decrease was observed. We find that the new LED fixtures helped reduce nighttime aggravated assaults by 30% (from 34 to 24) and nighttime robberies by 35% (from 23 to 15). Notably, no homicides were observed within 200ft of enhanced streetlight poles. For more information, please click here.