POLICE declined to give details of their views on street lights being switched off at night in Blandford.
The Daily Echo asked for a copy of their consultation response under the Freedom of Information Act.
The force said the information was a ‘confidential consultation between partner agencies’ and refused to release it.
Dorset County Council made the decision for street lights in some areas in the town to be switched off between midnight and 5.30am.
Mayor of Blandford Cllr Esme Butler had told the Echo she was worried crime, and the fear of crime, will both rise.
Dorset Police said in their response to the Echo: “Local authorities and the police consult on a wide range of issues, with the clear general understanding that they do so in confidence.
“Ignoring this understanding would clearly harm service provision to the people of Dorset.”
The county council plans to switch off 1,300 of its 42,000 streetlights in a move to save £150,000 a year from its £1.87million annual bill.
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