Tucson Policeman Keeps Tabs on Lights

Mark Wilson remembers the disgust he felt four years ago when this city toughened its lighting ordinance, figuring the amended law would only complicate his job as a crime prevention officer with the Tucson Police Department.

“It seemed like one of those laws the do-gooders think up that end up being a big pain for the cops,” said Wilson, the department’s resident expert on lighting for security purposes. “Originally, we thought the astronomers wanted all the lights out, and you know you gotta have lights to catch the bad guys.”

Wilson soon was to learn, however, that the brightest lights are not necessarily the best deterrents to crime. And to learn the lesson, he didn’t have to look farther than the police department’s own parking lot, where three patrol cars recently had been firebombed.

Before the passage of the amended ordinance, the lot was illuminated with mercury vapor lights placed on high poles, which created intermittent areas of intense glare and dark shadows. “We’d walk to our cars and have no idea what we might run into out there,” Wilson said. “Not only was it one of the worst cases of light pollution in the city, it was damn unsafe.”

After meeting with astronomers from Kitt Peak, Wilson redesigned the department parking lot lighting, converting to high-pressure sodium lamps that conformed to the ordinance. “We haven’t had a single incident of crime there since,” Wilson said proudly. “Once the department saw the difference, they were really glad about what I was doing.”

However, Wilson now often recommends the use of the yellow-hued, low-pressure sodium lights that recently have become commonplace throughout San Diego County. Initially, because the low-pressure sodium lights distort color rendition, the officer thought they would encourage criminal activity. (City Councilman Bill Mitchell had similar concerns about crime prevention when the City of San Diego converted its street lights to low-pressure sodium.)

But his fears were allayed when he learned that just a small amount of spill light from a nearby source, such as an office or store display window, allows the eye to pick up the natural color, while the use of low-pressure sodium eliminates the shadowy areas where nighttime crimes most often are committed.

The University of Arizona Medical Center, for example, was advised to outfit its parking lot lights with low-pressure sodium. Before the conversion, Wilson said, there had been a series of rapes and vehicle break-ins in the lot. Nurses on night shifts demanded to be escorted to and from their cars.

“Since the change, we’ve eliminated their crime problem completely,” Wilson said.

Wilson’s expertise has earned him a unique position within the department--that of a full-time lighting consultant. In his role as a crime prevention officer, he reviews lighting plans of new commercial developments to see that they conform to the ordinance--and are effective from a security standpoint.

In addition, he constantly is on the lookout for poor lighting schemes at existing buildings, and he is not averse to offering unsolicited advice, particularly in high-crime areas.

“You can’t believe the number of places where I see lights that actually promote crime,” Wilson said. “Really, this ordinance has turned into one of the most effective crime prevention tools around. It has created a whole new awareness about lighting and security within the department, and we’ve been able to pass that on to the citizens. People are really open to my suggestions, and oftentimes we can save them money as well as improve their lighting.”

Wilson has traveled to cities throughout the Southwest advising police departments on lighting and security.

“This is an exciting new concept in police work, particularly in the areas where the dark sky must be preserved,” he said.

“I don’t think there’s any place in the country where they are into the lighting thing like we are. But I think you’ll see jobs like mine popping up at other police departments in the near future.”