Newark’s citywide LED streetlight upgrade lowered nighttime violent crime by about 46 percent in the months after installation, according to Rutgers-Newark. The drop did not last.
Researchers say the city will need community programs alongside lighting to hold the gains.
Alejandro Gimenez-Santana, head of the Newark Public Safety Collaborative at the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, said the effect was not permanent. Lighting alone is not the solution, he said…