Day and night: Evaluating the impact of CCTV and street lighting on urban crime prevention in Detroit

Abstract

Adequate lighting is essential for CCTV effectiveness, with streetlights being a primary factor influencing urban nighttime surveillance. However, limited quantitative research has examined the relationship between CCTV effectiveness at night and the surrounding number of streetlights, hindering the optimization of both CCTV and streetlight deployment. To address this gap, we applied the Weighted Displacement Quotient (WDQ) algorithm to assess the performance of 38 CCTVs installed under Detroit's “Green Light Project” between January and July 2023, both during the day and at night. Our findings show significant differences in CCTV effectiveness between day and night, with cameras that work well during the day not necessarily performing equally at night. Furthermore, the effectiveness of CCTV at night is closely linked to the number of surrounding streetlights. Insufficient streetlighting can hinder CCTV performance, while an increase in streetlight numbers enhances its effectiveness in reducing both general and property crimes. However, this relationship is nonlinear. These findings highlight the need for data-driven planning to optimize CCTV and streetlight deployment for effective interaction. The insights are important for urban planners looking to optimize CCTV and streetlight configurations for crime prevention.