Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)

This is just an acronym for Crime Prevention through Environmental design. This concept originated from America in the sixties. It was first called defensible space by an Architect known as Oscar Newman. Later it was C. R. Jeffery that gave it its modern name. The need of the society to prevent crime and promote a peacefully living. We have the security personnel and the apparatus, different apparatus needed to prevent crime but one could from the look of their efficacy and results so far see that these security measure acts as sort of a cure to the menace. More of a way of reducing the effect not just a way of preventing it. The police is called most times after the crime has been committed and the offender is most times already in the wind. The investigations will start and will go on for months and years, most times some of these investigations are never solved. There are victims of these crimes who may never remain the same and sometimes it could lead to the loss of a loved one of a complete breakdown of a person’s nervous system causing post-traumatic stress disorders that the person may never get over from. We can see that the security personnel can only do so much. These great minds who are masters in the study of the human mind came together to device a means where the security measures will start before the criminal will have the opportunity to commit the crime. This idea lead to a lot of innovations but right now we will be talking about crime preservation through environmental design.

It is worthy to note that a criminal is actually a human being with a set of negative behaviors. It is important to point out the human nature of the human so one can actually understand that being human, The basic psychological rules of dealing with man applies to him. The rule of reward and punishment applies to him. Let us paint a scenario. Assuming a person with the intention to steal comes across two buildings one which is close to a bank and the other at the corner of the street just opposite a laundry store. Which of these two buildings will the steal attack first? Of course the building close to the bank will be heavily guarded. A little noise could attract attention and the security personnel will most likely step in to stop the crime. A criminal would not want that. He would rather attack the building close to the laundry store where he has a better chance of successfully carrying out his operations. Crime prevention through environmental design covers a set of design principles used to discourage crime and promote security. Now instead of having security personnel about five minutes out, the building structure and arrangement will restructure the criminal’s mind by giving him negative reasons why his criminal activities should be avoided. What these principles does therefore is the anticipate the thought pattern of a potential offender and create an environment that will go against this thought process and discourage these potential offender from carrying on with the intention to commit an offense. This principles also works to create in the mind of other people with the environment a feeling of security. A person functions better when the person is not afraid of his life. One could therefore say that the effect of crime preservation through environmental design is two phased. It first of all deters crime by dissuading the criminal mind from carrying out a criminal act in an environment. The second thing is does is create in the mind of law abiding citizens in the area a sense of security and also a sense of collective effort for the purpose of security. The ability to influence the decisions of a criminal can only be possible if the mind of a criminal is completely understood. We should know that without the decisions of the criminal a crime will not be committed.

What then is structure of a basic criminal mind? It is important to understand that there is one thing a regular criminal wants more the satisfaction that comes from carrying out the criminal act. The first thing the person wanting to carry out this criminal acts wishes for is the opportunity to get away with the act. There are exceptions to this rule. Criminal psychologist has therefore discovered why the presence of security officers did not do much work in preventing crime is because if the criminal reach the conclusion that the punishment can be avoided, if the criminal evaluates the situation and discovers that the chances of carrying the act out effectively is high, the severity of the punishment will mean nothing to him. This is why CPTED was created. It was created to remove from the the mind of the criminal the idea that there is a way out. The logic behind the invention of this set of principles is therefore very very simple. Since certainty of being caught is a better way of discouraging a criminal act than raising punishment in the status books, Why not raise the certainty of being captured by by creating designs that will make a criminal rethink his mission of committing a crime. Enhancing a perceived risk of detection and apprehension became therefore the goal of this brilliant initiative. What better way to stop the crime than to close the escape points, and put things together that will make the criminal see that this is not one of those situations that he will find a way out. How can this be done and it will not also inconvenient the life of those law abiding citizens. To deter crime and reduce the fear of crime. Also creating a quick and responsible way to report crime thereby making the Law abiding citizens also feel actively involved in the whole crime prevention process. These concept was further broken down into little comprehensible principles that will aid the effort to stop crime.

Detection or Natural surveillance.

How many patrol vehicles can be everywhere at the same time? Not so much. In those places we cannot get patrol vehicles to, what then are we to do to ensure that anyone seeking to commit a crime will rethink. We can do this by creating an avenue of letting the citizens be in charge of the security. Streets being constructed in a way that there will not be lonely areas and the windows will be all out on the street. This will make anyone trying to commit a crime know that getting his identity should he do something odd here will not be much of problem cause there is no way he can do it without someone getting him on camera or witnessing the offense. This open and well surveyed environment ought to be backed up with very little to no quick escape routes. Some ways to effect this principle is when streets are designed in a way that pedestrian and bicycle traffic is increased. This is a place where people will be always available. Let there be windows overlooking sidewalks and parking lots. When arranging the design let it be done in a way that there is a great deal of surveillance in the entrance points. Let there be very bright street lights in the area. These street lights should also be properly placed in order to avoid the creation of blind spots which will act to increase the likelihood of an offense being committed. Let the light not be too bright too so as to make it easier for members of the environment to be involved in the security keeping.

Fencing/ access control

IF a place is supposed to be made accessible to just a class of person let a considerable effort be made to ensure that the proper signs are place to clearly differentiate these areas. The use of fences in these regard is also very important. First it is important that where it has to do with a public building let there be just one clearly identifiable point of entry. Let the backdoor and other routes be placed ion hidden places. Let there be signs to direct people to the lobby or the general place of business in the building. It is also important to observe that From the entrance to door should be very open so that there will not be a situation where someone could from the entrance divert to an less conspicuous part of the building without first getting to the lobby.

Perimeter Security

Facility security/ Territorial reinforcement.

With this principle, X marks the spot. The efforts made with this principle is to inform anyone attempting to enter into the environment to commit a crime that the owners of these environment are security conscious and it is due diligence to expect even stricter security measures guarding the premises from within. People achieve this by placing some very important security gadgets as well. Security cameras motion sensors lights are usually seen at the entrance and even strategic points around the house to show that the territory is not one that anyone could commit a crime and expect to leave without being apprehended

CETP based strategies just emphasizes the structures and placement of environmental architecture to increase in the mind of a criminal a perceived risk of detection and apprehension, thereby reducing decisions that give birth the criminal acts. These can be done While also creating a safe condition for law abiding citizens.

By Doug Ruhl, VP of Business Development

Strategic Security Corp.