CRM 201
19S01ACRM029
Explain CPTED fully, including advantages and limitations and principles underpinning CPTED.
‘Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design’ (CPTED) is a crime prevention theory focusing on tactical design and the effective use of the built environment, which, when applied, reduces both crime and the fear of crime. The main objective of CPTED is to reduce/remove the opportunity for crime to occur in an environment and promote positive interaction with space by legitimate users. CPTED is a preventative, pro-active model, and not a reactive one. It originated in America around 1960 when urban renewal strategies were felt to be destroying the social framework needed for self-policing. Architect Oscar Newman developed the initial and most recognized documentation of CPTED in 1972 in his book Defensible Space. Later a criminologist C. Ray Jeffery, coined the term CPTED. The growing interest in environmental criminology led to the study in natural surveillance, access control, and territoriality.
CPTED is a crucial element of the service that Design for Security provides, and the benefits are optimal when the strategy is applied in the earliest possible stage of the design process before integral design decisions are set in stone. CPTED should not operate alone as the sole crime prevention method; instead, it should work in conjunction with other social, environmental, and community-based strategies.
Advantages of CPTED
Its mechanism is simple and direct, it gives clear ways of crime prevention such as secure locks, which are easily understood by the general population.
It improves the sense of security in the community through the reduced fear of crime.
It increases the interaction among residents and builds stronger neighborhood bonds.
It is widely tested and proven as a major method of crime prevention in the community.
Disadvantages of CPTED
It only serves to displace crime to other places. Criminals may choose to move to a less protected building in case their target security is enhanced.
It is costly; methods such as access control aimed at decreasing people’s opportunities to engage in the crime, such as by use of secure locks, hinges, and CCTV, is mostly limited to private property.
It is resistant to change.
There is an absence of social cohesion.
Principles of CPTED
- a) Natural surveillance; it works by designing the placement of physical features, activities, and people in such a way as to maximize the visibility of the space and its users. Criminals do not like to be seen or recognized, so they will choose situations where they can hide and quickly escape. This is done through; keeping areas well lit, creating landscape designs that provide surveillance, eliminating hiding spots by clearing bushes, and using Closed Circuit Television (CCTV).
- b) Natural access control; it limits the opportunity of crime by differentiating between public and private space. It’s done by using curbing and landscaping to direct automobile and foot traffic into a controlled, visible area and use maze entrances in public lobbies, among others.
- c) Territorial reinforcement; promotes social control through the increased definition of space and improved proprietary concern. It creates a sense of ownership, thus making owners be able to challenge intruders or report them to the local authorities. The feeling of owned space creates an environment where people know each other and can identify a stranger or intruder amongst them.
- d) Maintenance; it’s more of territorial enforcement in that a well-maintained area sends the message that people notice and care about what happens in an area. This, in turn, discourages vandalismand other crimes.