By Mike Finney

DOVER — While increased safety in high-crime areas might be one benefit of the city installing LED lights, there are also other positives, such as affordability and uniformity.

Dover’s Electric Department has just begun upgrading 618 LED lights in a designated high-priority area, part of redevelopment in the downtown district.

“This is in conjunction with the light study that we had done about a year-and-a-half ago,” said Paul Waddell, electric director for the city. “It identified areas of the city that weren’t up to lighting standard. And so this project is going to fix that. We’re going to get everything up to lighting standard, either for traffic or pedestrian, depending on the area.

“And it’s also going to reduce the overall cost to the city because the wattage of the LED lights is going to be lower than the lights that were taken down.”

The initial stage of the lighting project will have members of the Electric Department installing LED lights as far north as Mary Street, as far east as East North Street, west out to Cherry Street and south to South West Street, while also illuminating all points in between.

The area of focus in the first stage contains either a high-crime, historic or high pedestrian-traffic area and is expected to result in better and more uniform lighting, as well as a substantial cost savings to the city.

The projected timeline to install all 618 LED lights is around four weeks. Electric Department officials said there may be brief impacts to street parking, so individuals should be aware of any “no parking” signs placed along those roads and in the vicinity of existing lights.

The city has been planning to spend more than $1 million to convert to LED in 2021. The goal is to eventually light up all areas of Dover with LEDs.

“The master plan is to get the whole city done,” Mr. Waddell said. “This is just the first step that we’re going to do. We’re focused on the downtown area — areas that were identified by the police department and areas that are identified ‘insufficient,’ according to that study that we had done and areas where the lighting is just old.”

Replacing the older lights with LEDs, which produce a whiter, brighter light than the older ones do, will also help the city bring a more uniform system throughout, which will make it easier to replace bulbs and parts.

“If you go down on North Street, between the railroad tracks and State (Street), you may see five different light heads down there, and that’s something that we want to take care of and minimize stock levels that we have or the items of stock that we have in the warehouse,” said Mr. Waddell. “Instead of stocking 15 items, we can maybe stock five.”

Will lights help deter crime?

Dover City Councilman Fred Neil said the project is not only cost-beneficial to the city, but it can also help deter crime.

“I want to maintain that because the LED system that’s going to be installed will allow us to increase the lighting in case of an emergency,” said Councilman Neil. “Light is the enemy of crime.”

Sgt. Mark Hoffman, spokesman for the Dover Police Department, said that police studies have shown that lights have been proven to decrease crime. They can also make it easier for officers to monitor potential crimes on video cameras throughout the city.

“Adequate lighting is shown to have an impact on crime, and it is something that we are very excited about,” Sgt. Hoffman said. “The brighter lighting will help deter activity by criminals who benefit from the cover of darkness and improve safety for pedestrians, drivers and cyclists in the area.”

In Ronald Clarke’s report, “Improving Street Lighting to Reduce Crime in Residential Areas,” submitted to the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services in December 2008, he noted there are both advantages and disadvantages to increased lighting.

“In most people’s minds, there is a simple and direct relationship between lighting and crime: better lighting will deter offenders who benefit from the cover of darkness,” Mr. Clarke wrote. “Improved lighting means that offenders are more likely to be seen by someone who might intervene, call the police, or recognize the offender. Even if this does not happen, some offenders who fear that it might would be deterred from crime.”

However, in Mr. Clarke’s report, Professor Ken Pease, a crime-prevention expert, explained how improved lighting could actually have a negative effect on crime.

Professor Pease said it could lead to increased social activity outside homes in the evenings, which can increase the number of unoccupied dwellings available for burglary.

He also noted that increased visibility of potential victims allows better assessment of their vulnerability and the value of what they carry. Offenders also might be able to see more easily whether parked cars contain valuable items.

Professor Pease said that increased visibility allows criminals better judgment of the proximity of “capable guardians” who might intervene in crime and added that better lighting also might facilitate activities like drug dealing and prostitution or attract disorderly youths from nearby areas.

In the conclusion to the report, Mr. Clarke noted that mostly positive gains have taken place in areas that increased the amount of LED lighting.

“It is clear that reductions in crime can be achieved by improvements in street lighting and that these reductions will be most worthwhile in high-crime neighborhoods,” Mr. Clarke wrote. “It is also clear that improved lighting can reduce crime during the day and at night.

“This suggests that improvements to lighting not only act as a situational deterrent to crime, but can also improve local community cohesion and pride, which in turn increases the willingness of residents to intervene in crime or cooperate with the police,” he added. “Improved lighting will also send a message to potential offenders that the neighborhood no longer offers easy opportunities for crime.”