Designing out crime - Australian Security Industry Association Ltd (ASIAL)

Designing out crime

Is there a link between design and crime and can careful attention to the planning and building of towns, buildings and housing estates help reduce crime?

Dr Tim Pascoe answers the question in an article for Security Insider magazine. He is currently the Head of Business Development at PRCI a leading crime, security and risk consultancy in the UK. He has been an active researcher for over 20 years and is currently the chair of the UK Design Out Crime Association (DOCA) and a Director of the International CPTED Association (ICA). More

Crime Prevention through Environmental Design

Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED- pronounced Sep-Ted) is a crime prevention strategy which outlines how physical environments can be designed in order to lesson the opportunity for crime.

This is achieved by creating environmental and social conditions that:

maximise risk to offenders (increasing the likelihood of detection, challenge and apprehension)
maximise the effort required to commit crime (increasing the time, energy and resources required to commit crime)
minimise the actual and perceived benefits of crime (removing, minimising or concealing crime attractors and rewards)
minimise excuse making opportunities (removing conditions that encourage/facilitate rationalisation of inappropriate behaviour).

Find out more from the QLD Police website

COPS - Crime Opportunity Profiling of Streets

COPS is the practical application of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) Find out more