How L.A.'s Nighttime Park Programming Lowered Crime and Costs

Summer gang crime prevention was the original motive for adding nighttime programming in the parks of Los Angeles—city first, then followed by the county. The city of Los Angeles' has a program called Summer Night Lights (SNL). The county soon followed suit with its own program called Parks after Dark (PAD). Writes L.A. County parks planner Clement Lau:

According to a 2013 DPH study, 78 percent of PAD participants, many of whom used to be sedentary, reported through surveys that they engaged in physical activity.  Increased physical activity offers numerous health benefits, including (but not limited t0) reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, depression, colon cancer, breast cancer, dementia, and premature death.  DPH estimates that if PAD participants continued weekly physical activity throughout the year, it could translate into a 5 percent decrease in the burden of diabetes, dementia, and heart disease annually.

PAD has helped to make communities safer as well.  Serious and violent crimes in the communities around the original three parks dropped 32 percent during the summer months between 2009 (the summer before PAD started) and 2013.  It should be noted that this reduction in crime was not just due to increased Sheriff's Department presence, but also from a greater number of park patrons engaging in PAD activities and building relationships.  During the same time period, such crimes increased 18 percent in nearby communities with parks that did not offer the PAD program. 

For more about the summer night time park programming, please see the source article.