Oxford Street and other areas of Central London such as Bond Street and Piccadilly due to "pickpocketing, fraud and theft". The advent of closed-circuit television has reduced the area's attraction to scam artists and illegal street traders. Every Christmas, Oxford Street is decorated with festive lights. The tradition of Christmas lights began in 1959, five years after neighbouring Regent Street. There were no light displays in 1976 or 1977 because of economic recession, but the lights returned in 1978 when Oxford Street organised a laser display, and have continued every year since. Current practice involves a celebrity turning the lights on in
Swallow Street as Little Swallow Street as far as Glasshouse Street, then Swallow Street to Oxford Street, ending opposite Princes Street. It was the main road between Piccadilly and Oxford Street by the 18th century, and is marked as such on John Rocque's Map of London, 1746. In 1815, the majority of the street was demolished to construct Regent Street, a modern thoroughfare designed by John Nash. The former line of Swallow Street is roughly now where properties on the west site of Regent Street are. A small section of Swallow Street survives to the south, where Regent Street bends away at