Lighting against anti social behavior
Sydney, 25th December 2009
This is the time of the year, especially in the southern hemisphere where the summer is upon us and therefore we have our Xmas parties, barbeques and friends and family get togethers at the beach or outdoors on the verandah enjoying the balmy breeze of the night. We had ours yesterday, first with friends on the beach, later in the evening dinner with loved ones. Today we continue with some more… Besides food, drinks are an elementary part of the enjoyment…and I mean with that alcoholic drinks. Hence you can imagine the police being out in force with their “booze” control. Divers caught intoxicated can count on double demerit points and temporary confiscation of their driver’s license! It does not take much to be over the legal limit!
Most of the beaches in Australia are supposed to be alcohol free zones and in order to increase safety and combat so called “anti-social behavior” lighting of the beaches and beach fronts can be found at most city beaches as part of the urban development plans. The same holds for important central city key areas, such as plaza’s, railway stations, etc. Some years ago we completed a study and redesign of the lighting for Perth City Centre in relation to anti social behavior and we found indeed that crime and anti social behavior had significantly reduced after the lighting was installed compared to what was before. Most of the lighting however is very functional and basic, cost and energy saving obviously being one of the driving considerations. But there is no doubt that the lighting extends the use of these places and though basic, allows the public to enjoy themselves into the night much more safely.
Cheers!
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