A Crime Prevention Primer

It is no longer possible to discuss neighborhood crime prevention without discussing community planning. They are virtually synonymous.

Alarms, lighting and deadbolt locks are collectively referred to as “mechanical strategies” of crime prevention. They are included in the standard crime prevention guidelines issued by police departments. The process of deploying mechanical strategies is called “target hardening.” Target hardening is a secondary level of urban crime prevention.

The problem is that mechanical strategies do not actually reduce the crime rate in a neighborhood. They simply shift the occurrence of a crime from one house to another house within the same neighborhood. The greatest impact on crime comes from the physical design of the urban area or “community planning”.

The three main Community Planning models are “New Urbanism”, “Defensible Space” and “Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design” (commonly referred to as CPTED).

New Urbanism

New Urbanism has failed in many ways. There is growing evidence that New Urbanism actually increases urban crime rates.

CPTED and Defensible Space

In the United States the terms CPTED and Defensible Space are used almost interchangeably. The primary difference is that CPTED emphasizes improving the quality of life in the community while also deterring crime. Defensible Space is specifically a crime prevention program.

In the US, Defensible Space practices are routinely incorporated into the evolving CPTED model. Business, community and military anti-terrorist planners all use the CPTED model. The National Crime Protection Council (NCPC) has produced an excellent presentation explaining this model.

Secured by Design

In the UK Defensible Space is called Secured by Design. Secured by Design is the exclusive crime prevention / urban planning model currently being deployed by civilian and military planners in the UK. This only makes sense. The US is building new communities daily. The UK has been extensively developed for many years now. The UK simply needs to continuously improve on what is already there.

Further Reading

Article #1 is neighborhood crime oriented. It contrasts New Urbanism with Secured by Design.

Article #2 discusses the CPTED model applied to the planning of community parks.

Article #3 explains the Secured by Design (Defensible Space) model in greater detail.