A steady blue light makes the police more visible and the public feel more security

VTI’s research forms the basis for the government’s decision to allow the police to use identification lights. An identification light produces a steady, dim, blue glow on the top of police emergency vehicles. It serves as a signal to increase police visibility, which helps to deter crime and foster security.

These can be used in areas where there is unrest and crime, outside restaurants and entertainment venues where there is a risk of unrest related to intoxication, and at important public gatherings like sporting events, concerts, or demonstrations where there is a risk of riots.

Different types of identification lights exist in other countries, such as France, Luxembourg, Spain, Jordan, Israel and the United States. On the initiative of traffic police officer Göran Duesgård, the Swedish police tested an early version of identification lights for the first time in 1992. Since then, various tests have been carried out.

Research at VTI now shows that the light is appropriate, especially when the police are patrolling and want to be seen. The study was commissioned by the National Operations Department (NOA) at the Swedish Police Authority. The rule change the government has now decided to implement will enter into force in October 2023.

Using field and questionnaire studies, the researchers have investigated the impact of the identification light and drawn an unambiguous conclusion.

According to project manager Björn Lidestam at VTI, “Our recommendation was that the police receive legal support to use identification lights when increased visibility and security-creating measures are sought, and it is good that this is now the case.”

In any case, the effect of the identification light on improved visibility has not been overestimated in this study. Additionally, he claims that there is no evidence to argue against the use of identification lights or that they might be misunderstood.

Two important conclusions are that the police emergency vehicles’ light array needs to be mounted high up, especially in large crowds, and that people who have actually seen the identification light are much more likely to appreciate its purpose, which was an unexpected outcome.

The field experiment showed that the identification light had an objectively large effect on visibility, especially in the dark, with about three times better visibility in the dark and about one fifth better visibility in daylight.

Survey studies showed that the public feels safer and that they think traffic is calmer with a visible police presence. The police are aware of this and generally place a slightly higher value on safety-enhancing and traffic-calming measures than the general public.

Additionally, the identification light’s visibility-enhancing effects are rated as being positive by both the general public and the police. The combination of these results means that the researchers consider identification lights to be beneficial to create a sense of security, improve safety and calm traffic.

Text: Gunilla Rech

Translated by: CBG Konsult & Information AB