Case Studies
May 5, 2026
Reducing crime through street lighting improvements: Newark, NJ
Published on: May 5, 2026
- Issue Areas
- Justice and public safety
- Outcomes
- Supportive neighborhoods
MORE ABOUT THE STRATEGY USED IN THIS CASE STUDY Community-led violence prevention, Gun violence prevention
Overview
Summary
- The scale and persistence of violent crime in Newark have long made public safety a priority for local leaders. As a result, Newark became a national leader in crime prevention, including in the implementation of alternative, community-based crime prevention strategies. Unfortunately, while violent crime rates have fallen significantly in recent years, it remains a concern for residents and local leaders alike.
- Residents and leaders have long called for improved street lighting in Newark, pointing to insufficient lighting as a safety concern after dark. In 2019, the Newark Public Safety Collaborative (NPSC) and PSE&G, the local energy utility, partnered to prioritize the replacement of outdated halogen street lights with new, brighter LED lights in areas of the city at the highest risk of nighttime violent crime. Over a three-year period, PSE&G upgraded 1,500 street lights, resulting in substantially better lighting and a reduction in violent crime in these parts of the city.
- Keys to the project’s success included the existing relationship between PSE&G and NPSC, previous evaluation work suggesting improved street lighting could effectively reduce crime, and NPSC’s ability to leverage data to build consensus around the project, among other factors.
- Barriers to the success of the project included the COVID-19 pandemic, which slowed its progress; staff turnover, which challenged collaboration dynamics between partners; and the limitations of street lighting as a crime prevention tool.
Results and Accomplishments
1,500
PSE&G installed 1,500 new LED streetlights in areas at risk of violent crime.
35%
Violent crime fell by 35% near enhanced streetlights, with no reductions observed in similar areas without improved lighting.
0
Zero homicides occurred near enhanced streetlights over a six-month period following upgrades.
- Meaningfully reducing violent crime: The Newark Public Safety Collaborative (NPSC) and PSE&G, the local energy utility, partnered to prioritize the replacement of outdated halogen street lights with new, brighter LED lights in areas of the city at highest risk of nighttime violent crime. Between 2019 and 2021, PSE&G upgraded 1,500 street lights, resulting in substantially better lighting along Newark’s streets. Over a six-month period after the installation of enhanced lighting, violent crime fell by 35 percent within 200 feet of streetlight poles; meanwhile, no change in crime was observed in areas without enhanced lighting.
- Real reductions, instead of displacement: A common concern with improving street lighting as a crime prevention strategy is that it does not reduce crime but displaces it, either from one location to another, from nighttime to daytime, or from outdoors to indoors. As part of its evaluation of the project, NPSC found no change in crime in areas nearby but near the lighting coverage of enhanced streetlights (i.e., between 200 and 750 feet from enhanced streetlights). Similarly, researchers saw no increase in crime during daytime or indoors after enhanced lighting was installed. These trends suggest that the project resulted in an actual reduction in crime, not displacement.
- Building local momentum for alternative approaches to public safety: The effectiveness of the lighting enhancement project built awareness and credibility for crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) strategies in Newark. As a result, local leaders felt empowered to double down on community-based interventions that increase public safety without directly involving law enforcement. For example, after the LED Lighting Replacement Project, PSE&G launched a low-cost program to install floodlights near storefronts in high-crime areas.
Solution
What was the challenge?
- Poverty and disinvestment impact Newark: Newark, like other post-industrial cities in the United States, experienced significant deindustrialization, white flight, and disinvestment beginning in the mid-20th century. These trends resulted in persistent disparities in economic, educational, and health outcomes between Newark and the surrounding communities. Despite recent progress in reducing these disparities, today, Newark’s poverty rate is more than double – and median household income roughly half that – of New Jersey’s.
- Crime rates position public safety as a priority: Neighborhoods with high levels of poverty overwhelmingly bear the brunt of violent crime. This pattern holds true in Newark, where crimes remain geographically concentrated in some communities. The scale and persistence of crime in Newark have long made public safety a priority for local leaders. As a result, Newark became a national leader in crime prevention, implementing effective community-led initiatives, such as the Newark Community Street Team, a community-based violence prevention program. While work remains, local leaders’ focus on public safety has contributed to significant declines in crime rates in recent years; for example, in 2025, the number of murders in Newark reached 60+ year lows.
- Expanding alternative approaches to public safety: As in many U.S. cities, a history of improper behavior by local law enforcement strained the relationship between the Newark Police Department and the broader community. While law enforcement remains a core component of Newark's public safety strategy, local leaders have long had an appetite for alternative, community-based approaches to public safety that better address the environmental factors and social challenges that drive violence and crime.
- Street lighting as a crime prevention strategy: In Newark, local leaders recognized that existing street lighting infrastructure was insufficient; incomplete coverage and the technical limitations of the city’s legacy halogen lights meant some street segments were underlit at night, negatively impacting residents’ perceptions of safety. Researchers have also long pointed to a clear link between poor street lighting and higher risk of crime. As such, when PSE&G secured funding to retrofit streetlights in Newark with brighter LED technology, local leaders recognized it as an opportunity to reduce crime by prioritizing installation of upgraded lighting in areas experiencing high rates of crime.
What was the approach?
- Leveraging existing relationships to build a partnership: For years, residents and leaders in Newark called for improved street lighting, pointing to insufficient lighting as a safety concern after dark. When PSE&G secured funding in 2018 to upgrade Newark’s street lights, it was a member of the Newark Public Safety Collaborative (NPSC), which operates out of Rutgers University and convenes local partners to use data to advance place-based strategies to improve public safety. Recognizing the community’s desire for improved lighting, PSE&G sought a way to make its streetlighting upgrades more responsive to community needs. When NPSC proposed a collaboration with PSE&G, the door was opened to a data-informed LED light replacement project.
- Using data to identify areas in need of more lighting: NPSC blended two types of data: crime metrics and the location of street lighting poles. This analysis identified poles in areas at the highest risk of violent crime. With this information, PSE&G could prioritize these locations when retrofitting street lighting with brighter LED light fixtures. Both NPSC and PSE&G hoped that better lighting at these locations would lead to reduced nighttime crime.
- Installing upgraded lighting technology: Using NPSC’s analysis as a guide, PSE&G began replacing outdated halogen street lighting with LEDs in 2019. The utility’s crews focused work along street segments containing poles in areas at the highest risk of violent crime; gradually, work shifted to locations at lower risk. By 2021, PSE&G had upgraded 1,500 street lights, marking substantial progress toward improved lighting conditions on Newark streets.
Who was involved?
- NPSC Staff: Newark Public Safety Collaborative (NPSC) operates out of Rutgers University and convenes cross-sector stakeholders to advance public safety through alternatives to traditional, police-centric crime prevention strategies. NPSC’s professional staff facilitated the selection of the LED Lighting Replacement Project by the Collaborative’s member organizations. As the project advanced, NPSC staff provided PSE&G with the data needed to prioritize lighting upgrades in areas at the highest risk of violent crime and led the evaluation efforts for the work.
- NPSC Member Organizations: NPSC convenes dozens of community-based organizations, local and state governments, and corporate and philanthropic partners. NPSC staff kept these organizations informed about the LED Lighting Replacement Project via updates at bimonthly stakeholder meetings. The organizations provided high-level feedback on the project, and as the project progressed, they kept the broader community informed about the project’s status, rationale, and impact.
- PSE&G: The Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) is Newark’s energy utility company. A member of NPSC, PSE&G secured funding for the street lighting upgrades and performed the upgrades on each lighting pole.
How was this approach funded?
- Leveraging existing funding for street lighting upgrades: In 2018, PSE&G shared its intention to upgrade 2,200 streetlights in Newark from legacy halogen bulbs to modern LED technology. This funding came from the utility’s infrastructure investment program.
- Performing data analysis and evaluation through NPSC: NPSC provided technical capacity to assist PSE&G in prioritizing street lighting upgrades and evaluating the impact of the project on crime levels through its general operating funding. NPSC is funded directly by Rutgers University and through a combination of local foundations, state, and federal government grants.
Timeline
PSE&G, a member of NPSC, agrees to collaborate more closely with NPSC staff on the LED Lighting Replacement Project. NPSC begins analyzing crime data to inform the order in which streetlights are upgraded.
PSE&G begins retrofitting streetlights in areas at the highest risk of violent crime with brighter LED bulbs.
The COVID-19 pandemic begins, slowing – but not stopping – PSE&G’s work to upgrade Newark’s streetlights.
PSE&G completes upgrading 1,500 streetlights to new, brighter LED technology.
NPSC begins studying the impact of the LED Lighting Replacement Project on crime in Newark.
Among other outcomes, NPSC finds nighttime violent crime fell by 35% near enhanced streetlights, with no reductions observed in similar areas without improved lighting.
Implementation
What factors drove success?
- Leveraging existing connections and trust built through NPSC: Formed in 2018, NPSC created a shared forum for community partners interested in public safety to raise problems and collectively identify and implement solutions. As a member, PSE&G knew that proper lighting was a priority for the community; when the utility secured funding to upgrade streetlights, NPSC provided it with a direct line to engage the community on the project. The existing relationships that PSE&G had developed with NPSC researchers also smoothed the way for integrating crime data and evaluation into the project.
- Adopting an approach with an existing evidence base: Researchers had previously studied the relationship between street lighting and crime, finding some evidence that proper lighting can reduce crime in high-crime areas. The existing evidence base suggested that Newark’s LED Lighting Replacement Project would be successful, which built support for the project among community stakeholders.
- Using data to build community consensus: Upgrading Newark's streetlights was a multi-year endeavor, which meant PSE&G needed to decide which parts of the city received upgrades in what order. By using data to prioritize upgrades in areas at the highest risk of violent crime, PSE&G gained a clear rationale for where and when it made these investments. The clear reasoning – and the prioritization of areas with greatest need – built greater buy-in and consensus among community stakeholders inside and outside of NPSC.
- Taking advantage of existing funding: When PSE&G secured funding to upgrade streetlights in Newark, they and NPSC saw it as an opportunity to incorporate public safety into the infrastructure upgrades. With funding already in place, the LED Lighting Replacement Project advanced more quickly from conceptualization to implementation.
What were the major obstacles?
- COVID-19 slows project progress: The street lighting upgrades started strong in 2019 but slowed as the COVID-19 pandemic began a year later. While the project continued, local leaders acknowledged that the uncertainty at the outset of the pandemic dampened the project’s momentum.
- Navigating staff turnover: After the project launched, PSE&G’s lead representative to NPSC transitioned out of their role. While the turnover challenged the collaboration dynamic between PSE&G and NPSC, the project continued; PSE&G finished upgrading 1,500 streetlights based on NPSC’s analysis in 2021.
- Recognizing the limitations of lighting: LED street lighting is not without its critics. In Newark, local leaders acknowledged that the intensity and hue of LEDs may be perceived as creating a colder, less-welcoming environment. Additionally, while the LED Lighting Replacement Project meaningfully reduced crime for a six-month period, researchers and community members emphasize that improved street lighting is only one part of the set of solutions needed to sustainably lower crime. Recognizing this, NPSC and its partners continue to work on additional projects to address the broader causes of violent crime.
How was the approach measured and refined?
- Demonstrating impact through rigorous evaluation: NPSC researchers measured the impact of the LED Lighting Replacement Project by using a rigorous, quasi-experimental research design called difference-in-differences (DiD). The approach allowed researchers to compare crime levels at poles that PSE&G upgraded to those at similar poles nearby that had not yet been retrofitted. The study suggests that the project worked – violent crime in the area directly around upgraded streetlights decreased by 35 percent for six months after the upgrades were made, while no change in crime occurred at nearby comparison streetlights.
- Crafting an evaluation strategy responsive to practical realities: NPSC aimed to evaluate the project in a way that respected community priorities and PSE&G’s operational constraints. For example, from an evaluation perspective, distributing lighting upgrades randomly across both higher- and lower-crime areas would create cleaner comparisons to demonstrate the impact of lighting on crime. However, in practice, NPSC and its partners wanted to prioritize areas at highest risk of violent crime for lighting upgrades, as those parts of Newark needed the investment the most. Similarly, PSE&G preferred an approach that would allow their crews to work efficiently by upgrading whole street segments at a time, rather than individual poles. These realities informed the decision to employ a difference-in-differences design, among other analytical strategies, ensuring that the evaluation prioritized community and partner needs while maintaining a high level of rigor. This approach enabled comparisons between areas that received new lighting upgrades and similar nearby areas that did not.