A CAMPAIGNER has questioned research which said switching streetlights off in the early hours of the morning has no impact on crime rates.

Police, fire and crime commissioner for Essex Roger Hirst ordered a report to find out the impact of part night lighting on crime, anti-social behaviour and crashes following concerns raised by residents.

According to the report, levels of crime have increased in part-night lighting areas between 1am and 5am when the lights are off, but it was in line with national rise.

Mr Hirst said: “When there is an operational need for the lights to stay on, for policing purposes, officers can make the request to Essex County Council for the lights to go on for a period of time.

“This arrangement is a good way of ensuring for the safety of Essex residents remains a high priority.

“I have heard many people say they feel safer when the lights are on but councils need to take decisions on hard evidence and the data shows no overall impact on crime or road safety of lights being turned off at night.

“I will continue to review any potential impact of part-night lighting on crime levels through my regular performance and resources board meetings with the chief constable and his team.”

Statistics for Colchester showed in the year prior to the switch off in 2015, there were 745 crimes reported between 1am and 5am.

In the year 2016/17 when the lights were off there were 756 crimes – just 11 more. Overall, excluding time when the streetlights were turned off, crime rose from 9,809 incidents to 11,580.

Anti-social behaviour dropped between 1am and 5am compared to the year before part night lighting and most recent figures by 22 per cent.

Essex county councillor Julie Young (Lab) said she believed emergency services were being hamstrung by the lack of lights.

She said: “I feel many people in urban areas want the streetlights back on – it is different for people who have chosen to live in rural communities and the countryside and want it to be dark at night.

“I have spoken to several officers, and colleagues have spoken to some quite senior officers, who have suggested having the lights off makes it more difficult to apprehend people who are running away.

“The streetlights being off make it more difficult for the other emergency services to work in the dark – ambulance staff need light to find houses and road traffic collisions.

“The fear of crime has gone up – people feel less safe. We have seen an increase in drug and gang crime coming into the county. People doing those deals will want to do it in the dark.”

Mrs Young said she was due to have a meeting to discuss improving CCTV in Greenstead, the area she represents on Colchester Council, after a series of incidents there at a newsagents and at the library.

She said: “We need to find solutions to problems and for me that is better CCTV and increased lighting.”