Crime is a very complex sociological phenomenon controlled by many factors, and it will vary considerably from place to place. My own personal opinion is that crime is little affected by nighttime lighting for better or worse. Main arterial streets should be well lit to reduce automobile and pedestrian accidents. Busy malls should have good lighting to reduce accidents and perhaps deter crime. After business hours this lighting can be reduced or even turned off.
Security lighting can be at a relatively low level.
This saves money, and not much light is needed to find your way to a door or find your way out to your car. Not much light is needed to see a suspicious-looking person loitering around. No matter what the lighting situation, the proper wattage, not overkill, should be used, and all light should come from full-cutoff, shielded fixtures. Low pressure sodium lighting is ideal for many of these applications because of its very low operating cost. However, persons involved in environmental causes must carefully define the problem they want to solve, learn the facts, appreciate the legitimate perspective of their opponents, and offer people solutions rather than complaints.