The Econmist - USA (2021-10-09)

30 Britain The Economist October 9th 2021

The police’shandlingofcrimesagainst

women  wasalreadyunderscrutiny.Vic­

tims have complainedthattheyaretreated

insensitively. A backlog in the courts

means  thatthenumberofrapeprosecu­

tions  completedhasfallenbymorethan

two­thirdsinthepastfiveyears.DameVera

Baird,  thegovernment’svictimscommis­

sioner,  hasdescribedtheoffenceasinef­

fect “decriminalised”.OnOctober3rdBoris

Johnson,  the prime minister, admitted

that prosecutionsare“goingwrong”.

After thesentencingofMrCouzens,the

Met  announcedoperationalchanges,in­

cluding deployingplain­clothesofficersin

pairs  wheneverpossible,andpromiseda

new  strategyforviolenceagainstwomen.

The  reviewannouncedbyDameCressida

will seek waystoimprovevetting:MrCou­

zens  passedtheproceduredespitehaving

been accusedofindecentexposureandde­

spite  his  creepybehaviourinspiringfor­

mer  colleaguesattheCivilNuclearCon­

stabulary tonicknamehim“therapist”.On

October 5thPritiPatel,thehomesecretary,

announced another investigation into

what had goneawry.

Who watchesthewatchman?

The  big  questionis whether eitherwill

change policeculture.Arecentinquiryin­

to  the  unsolvedmurderin 1987 ofDaniel

Morgan,  a private investigator, declared

the  Met  “institutionallycorrupt”—notin

the sense ofthe1980s,whenbackhanders

were common,butbecauseitremainsun­

willing to admitmistakesandtobetrans­

parent. Likethatinquiry,theoneplanned

by Ms Patelwillnotbeona statutoryfoot­

ing, and willthereforebeunabletocompel

witnesses toappear.Althoughtheseparate

Met one willbeledbyanoutsider,thatper­

son will reporttoDameCressida.

Dame  Cressidaispopularamongcop­

pers, not leastbecauseshegoesoutofher

way  to  defendthem. Having just reap­

pointed  her,neitherofhersuperiors—Ms

Patel  and  SadiqKhan,themayorofLon­

don—has shown much desire to apply

pressure.  Theformerbelievesthatbeing

tough on crimerequiresbeingpro­police;

the latter doesnotwanttodrawattention

to the capital’sknife­crimeproblem.Even

with pressure,thepoliceareoftenslowto

change.  TwodecadesaftertheLawrence

inquiry, theshareofethnic­minorityoffi­

cers  in  theMethasrisenfrom3%to16%.

That is progress,buttheforcestilldoesnot

represent thoseit ismeanttoprotect.

In the sameperiod,theshareofwomen

officers  hasrisenfrom15%to29%.Three

years ago theMetlauncheditsfirstfemale

recruitmentdrive, boastingofimproved

maternitysupportandnewcareerpath­

ways. Blatantmisogynywasmeanttobea

thing of thepast.Inpartsofthepolice,it is.

But  the  Everardcaserevealsthereisa lot

further to go.n

Streetlighting

In the gloaming

B

ritainwasoneofthefirstcountries to

lightitsstreets atnight.In1782  Karl

PhilippMoritz,a Germanessayist, was as­

toundedbythe“festiveillumination”  of

London;a visitingGermanprince thought

thelampshadbeenlitforhisbenefit. But

Britain has also been ambivalent  about

providing light. Whereas streetlamps  in

Parisexpressedstatepower(hence revolu­

tionaries hanging their enemies  from

them),streetlightinginBritainwas  often

theresponsibilityofhouseholds and busi­

nesses. Even today,localauthorities  are

notlegallyrequiredtolightthestreets. 

Outside bigcities, they aredoing  so

less.Overthepastdecadecouncils have re­

placedsodium­vapourlampswith  light­

emittingdiodes(leds),whichuse less en­

ergy andcan cast lightprecisely  on  the

pavement.Theyseldomrunonfull power.

Since 2009 Hampshirehasgonefrom dim­

mingitslightsby25%inthemiddle of the

night,todimmingthemby65%,to switch­

ing themoff inresidential areas.  North

Yorkshireisbeginningtopermit  residen­

tialdevelopmentswithoutstreetlights. 

For some,the point is to reveal  the

beautyofthenight.AndrewGriffith,  the

Conservativempwhochairsthe  All­Party

ParliamentaryGroupforDarkSkies,  grew

upinsuburbanLondon.Hisfirst sight of a

trulydarksky,inMorocco,was  a  revela­

tion. Others care about bats or  moths.

Councilsmustcuttheirelectricity  use  in

ordertoreducecarbonemissions. 

Overwhelmingly,though,the  aim  is  to

savemoney.Despiterisingelectricity pric­

es, Lincolnshire County Council has man­

aged  to  cut  spending  on  streetlights  by  a

fifth in the past decade, to £4.6m ($6.2m).

That  is  less  than  in  some  London  bor­

oughs,  where  the  lights  blaze  on.  Richard

Davies, the councillor in charge of Lincoln­

shire highways, says complaints often fade

when  people  hear  that  the  savings  have

gone on social care and filling potholes. 

In  general,  young  people,  women  and

left­wingers are the most concerned about

climate  change.  But  when  Lincolnshire

County  Council  surveyed  residents,  it

found  that  the  young  were  most  opposed

to turning off the lights. Female students at

the University of Lincoln have lobbied for

all­night  lighting.  Conservative  rural  dis­

tricts are often content with darkness; ur­

ban ones dominated by Labour and the Lib­

eral Democrats, less so. The borough of Ips­

wich in Suffolk restored all­night lighting

following  the  murder  of  Sarah  Everard,

who was abducted in London in March. 

Local  authorities  that  have  reduced

public  lighting  tend  to  argue  that  crime

does not increase as a result. That may be

true. But Jemima Unwin, who studies atti­

tudes  to  light  at  University  College  Lon­

don,  says  that  darkness  appears  to  deter

people from walking around, at least in the

evenings.  She  also  finds  that  pedestrians

feel  reassured  when  vertical  objects,  such

as walls and other pedestrians, are well­lit.

Sodium­vapour  lamps  do  that  better  than

carefully focused leds. 

The  truth,  however,  is  that  few  people

outside  big  cities  are  out  in  the  middle  of

the  night.  “Most  residents  don’t  know

whether the lights are on or off,” says Alas­

dair  Ross,  a  Labour  councillor  in  Ipswich.

Paul  Gilmore,  North  Yorkshire’s  electrical

engineering  manager,  did  on­the­ground

research  before  the  council  switched  off

the  lights.  Loitering  in  the  middle  of  the

night,  he  usually  found  no  one  elsewas

around,  on  foot  or  in  a  vehicle.  Thelights

were only helping foxes find their way.n

The lamps are going out all

over Britain

Elf-light, bat-light