Street lights to be turned off in a bid to save energy

TALLINN 's Police officials say that if local authorities in Tallinn go ahead with a cost-cutting plan to switch off streetlights in night hours the efficiency of surveillance cameras would be reduced.

"There are many surveillance cameras in the city whose efficiency is bound to suffer if the streets in their field of sight are dark," head of the public order maintenance division of the North prefecture Kristian Jaani told BNS.

Cameras have been installed in many parts of the city where street lighting is the only source of light, he said. "Without sufficient lighting we can see a crime being committed but not the faces of the persons, things taken away during the assault, weapons used to threaten and other necessary details which the camera may capture, in other words, subsequent proving (of the crime) may suffer," he explained.

Many crimes are committed between 3 and 5 a.m., Jaani said. "But at the same time we cannot say that reduction of street lighting will directly cause an increase in crime rates because this depends on the area and the kinds of crime prevailing there," Jaani continued.

For many years, the police have worked in cooperation with the municipal authorities to have lighting in as many streets, courtyards, parks and other public places as possible, Jaani said. "Experience has shown that when a previously unlit area receives streetlights, the number of certain types of crime, such as theft from cars, falls off," he explained.

In his words, the possibility of anonymity is an important consideration for thieves in picking the object and lighting plays an important role in this.

The Tallinn authorities have said that switching off street lighting at night is under consideration as a way to save costs. However, the final decision has not yet been made and so far only trial switch-offs have been conducted.