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Switching street lights off after midnight has been proven to deter criminals and reduce car thefts by half.

The research, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), found that when streetlights are switched off between midnight and 5am, car thefts went down from about 12 per street, every month, to six per street.

Shockingly, vehicle thefts went up by 1.5 times on nearby streets where the lighting remained on all night.

This suggests some criminals may have moved to better lit-areas to steal cars there instead.

However, the study found there was no evidence that street lighting changes had any impact on violence, robbery or residential burglary which remained at similar levels.

Dr Phil Edwards, who led the research, said: “It is possible that when lighting is switched off after midnight, offenders consider that the costs of committing a crime, such as using a torch that could raise suspicion among residents, outweighs the benefits.

“When lighting is switched off after midnight the streets are likely to be in near darkness, which means that any would-be offenders may find it challenging to see if there are any valuable goods left unsecured in vehicles, so offenders may choose to move elsewhere to fulfil their intentions.”

The government-funded study was commissioned to investigate “part-night” lighting, which is when streetlights are turned off between midnight and 6am.

It has been widely introduced by local councils that want to save energy costs and cut down on carbon emissions in quiet, urban residential and rural areas.

Dr Edwards said: “Our previous research showed that switching off street lights at night does not increase crime. This new study suggests switching off street lights between midnight and 6am may actually reduce some types of crime”.

However, despite evidence of car theft deterrence, previous studies show that improved street lighting can actually reduce crimes such as burglary and vandalism by an average of 17 crimes per 100.

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Violent crimes were also reduced by about nine cases in every 100 in areas with better lighting, according to US research cited by the College of Policing (CoP).

But the research also suggested that the improved lighting appeared to have a more significant impact on crime rates during daylight hours, rather than at night.

The CoP study stated: “For night-time crime only, no fewer crimes were observed in areas with improved street lighting”.

The researchers suggested this could be due to increased visibility, making it less attractive as a target for criminals and the fact that investment in street lamps showed it was a stronger, more community-oriented neighbourhood.

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