Students petition to keep street lights on in Lincoln all night

Anna Kincaid, a student at the University of Lincoln has recently started a petition to urge Lincoln City Council to keep the street lights on all night across Lincoln.

Following a news report that Lincoln’s sexual offence crimes are more than double the national average and this is what sparked Anna to create this petition as Lincoln is largely a student city.

We spoke to Anna about why she chose to start the petition. She told The Tab, “I was sickened by how high our sexual offences rate is. More than double the national average is completely unacceptable.

“I know people have always hated the street lights being turned off at night because it just opens you up to the possibility of anything. I live down the high street and as soon as you turn off onto one of those side roads it’s complete darkness and you can’t see a thing and it is terrifying.

“On the petition, people have said they walk with rape alarms for protection – and it’s not just females too. My male friends have said the same.”

The petition has been shared across multiple Facebook posts and groups by Lincoln students in order to gain more signatures. Anna said, “The response has been amazing, I’m overwhelmed by how many people feel as strongly as I do, I’ve had over 500 signatures in less than 24 hours.”

Niamh, a student at the University of Lincoln said, “I’d feel safer if the street lights were kept on all night. I would never want to walk back from the library at night on my own with how it is.”

Another student told The Lincoln Tab, “I would definitely feel safer by then attacks happen in daylight too. I think as a form of situational prevention then it’s good to keep the lights on longer but I’d still probably get a taxi home or walk back in a group.”

Click here to sign the petition.

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