[Summit] lights left on all night

Tue Nov 6 18:41:58 UTC 2012

Property crime is a serious problem in Providence.
I know - used to work for the Community Policing 
unit of the PPD.

As for lighting - I think that bright lights (motion sensor
or steady) may be effective in deterring some miscreants 
- but not all.  The best use of lighting is probably keeping
lights on in your house or apartment when not there - to
give the impression someone is at home.  The other best
deterrent, as I see it, is not to have anything of any possible
value on view in your car - or be seen hiding something in
the trunk.

That said, there is no easy or infallible answer.  As for the
police being apathetic - it may be because there is not 
much they can do.  No real clues or suspects, and the
police can't be everywhere to "catch them in the act".
Unfortunately, it may be that the fact that success is
unlikely discourages them sometimes from a quick 
response.  I once saw someone climbing out of a
basement window with some "swag" and fleeing on
a bicycle.  I called with a description and indication
of where they were heading, but nothing was done.
It seems a little strange that a guy on a bicycle could
evade a cop in a car.

Blessings,

Liberty G
***********************************************************

--- On Mon, 11/5/12, Daren Bulley <dlbulley at gmail.com> wrote:

From: Daren Bulley <dlbulley at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Summit] lights left on all night
To: "Jeffrey Cavanaugh" <jeff at cavanaugh.org>
Cc: "summit at sna.providence.ri.us" <summit at sna.providence.ri.us>
Date: Monday, November 5, 2012, 1:28 PM

Continuous lighting is very effective in allowing a thief to see what there is to take and makes escape easy!  Motion detector lights are very common and do very little to discourage crime. After the initial shock of getting caught in an unexpected light, thieves do not run away, they proceed with what they were trying to do before the light came on. Over the years I have lost a brand new lawnmower, a mountain bike (securely locked in a shed), several pairs of sunglasses, two car stereos, multiple cell phone chargers and other things from my car. We always feel violated when this happens, and can't afford to get another new lawnmower. Even though I dream about having a new mountain bike I have not purchased one yet and the main reason is because I live here. I fear that I will not have anything nice for very long. I certainly have no plans for a nice car stereo! I grew up in a town where people leave there keys in their cars and do not lock their
 houses! I moved to Providence in 1995.

A few months ago I couldn't work late because my family were so worried about the rash of house break-ins. I enjoy living here, but hate that the thieves can control my purchasing decisions, my vacation plans, my work and my quality of life. 

There has to be something we can do. I do get the sense that the police are more apathetic than understaffed. I am not aware of anything our local politicians have done about area crime. I would like to attend a meeting or become a block "captain" for some crime watch.

In terms of the lighting:
I have one Neighbor who leaves a very bright light on in their back yard almost every night and it shines brightly into my bedroom. Even with Shades down I have trouble sleeping from the warm glow that illuminates the perimeter of the window. I suspect they just forget to shut it off. I do not think it is a security light, it is just in the back yard.

On Mon, Nov 5, 2012 at 10:03 AM, Jeffrey Cavanaugh <jeff at cavanaugh.org> wrote:

Continuous lighting let's a thief plan to stay in the shadow.  Motion sensor lights tend to catch them off guard.  At best continuous lighting is no more effective than motion sensor and motion sensor has many other benefits.

On Mon, Nov 5, 2012 at 9:17 AM, Martha Fraenkel <mfraenkel at gmail.com> wrote:

There is alot of private lighting  that stays on all night for security.  But the cop I talked to recently said that the vast majority of the property crimes he sees are so fast that lighting is irrelevant.

Anyway,  there is a big down-side to all night lighting.  Artificial light at night has negative health consequences.  Among these, it raises the risk of breast cancer by interfering with tumor suppressing hormones, including melatonin.   See info from the American Medical Association (as mainstream as it gets)  at http://www.ama-assn.org/resources/doc/csaph/a12-csaph4-lightpollution-summary.pdf  And it makes it hard to sleep.

A better option is to replace all-night lighting with motion-sensitive lighting.  Also saves energy.  Or, you can use  cut-off or"shielded"  light fixtures that send light down only, so that your light does not illuminate your neighbors.   It's only fair to ask your neighbor before you illuminate their property.

Martha

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