PCC raises serious concerns on council proposals
Matthew Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Thames Valley has written to Leader of Oxfordshire County Council Liz Leffman raising serious concerns about the Council’s proposals to reduce street lighting across the county.
The proposals include several variants with the default and majority position that street lighting will be switched off between 11pm and 6:30am, rather than remaining on all night as most lights currently do. If approved by the Cabinet later this month, the proposals would come into effect without wider public consultation.
The PCC has expressed concern that proposals will present a significant risk to both public safety and public confidence.
Matthew said: “Badly lit streets can exacerbate both the risk of crime and the fear of crime.
“One of my greatest areas of concern is for the safety of women and vulnerable members of the public, particularly on a night out. While current proposals do not suggest changes in town centres around the night time economy, we know that both the fear of crime and the actual risk is not limited to town centres itself.
“We also know that the single biggest cause for safety concerns raised by Thames Valley residents on the Home Office StreetSafe reporting system is inadequate street lighting. Thames Valley Police has been leading the way nationally in the work to protect women, particularly in the night time economy, with operations such as Project Vigilant. The unilateral dimming or switching off of street lighting may jeopardise not just the confidence that has been built up, but also the safety of women in the county.
“Of course there are other areas of potential criminality that are of concern. Overall crime has fallen across Oxfordshire, but I want that trend to continue. I urge the Cabinet to reject the proposals and as a minimum, to carry out a proper consultation.”
You can read a full copy of Matthew Barber’s letter to the Leader of Oxfordshire County Council Liz Leffman on our website.
