CPTED: Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

Welcome back, and hello to our first-time readers. If you are checking in for the first time, you have some catching up. I would recommend reading my earlier posts so you can get up to speed on this running safety script. 

Last week, I mentioned that we would move into the application of CPTED principles in our home security discussions as this is our next direction. Within CPTED, I want to share several definitions so that you build a proper foundation. Some of them may seem silly to define but bear with me.

Crime: An act or commission of an act that is forbidden or the omission of a duty commanded by a public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by that law.

Fear of Crime: Public perception is that crimes of all kinds are rising and that public safety faces a growing threat.

Crime Prevention: Crime prevention is the anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk and the initiation of some action to remove or reduce that risk.

Target Hardening: One of the most prevalent means used to prevent crime by making it more challenging to complete.

With these definitions in mind, I want you to know that the primary goal of CPTED is to reduce the opportunities for crime inherent in the design of structures or the design of neighborhoods. Sometimes the arrangement and design of buildings and open spaces can encourage or discourage criminal activity. You will understand this concept if you think of dark alleys, poorly lit parking lots, multi-level complexes, and blind corners. If we can change the physical environment with proper design and create more effective uses of the physical environment, we can reduce the occurrence of crime and the subsequent fear of crime. Sounds easy, right?

There are four overlapping parts to CPTED; Natural Surveillance, Natural Access Control, Territorial Reinforcement, and Maintenance.

Natural Surveillance: The placement of physical features, activities, and people in a way that maximizes the physical environment's visibility. To illustrate this concept, think about the old days when houses had front porches and folks used to sit at the front of the residence to observe the comings and goings in the neighborhood. Today, we retreat to the seclusion of our backyard, behind the privacy of our fences, and are oblivious to the activity in our neighborhoods. To make natural surveillance effective, we need to place people in positions of visual advantage as a deterrent to nefarious activity. If criminals know they are being watched, they are less likely to operate in that area.

Natural Access Control: The means of controlling access to a site by guiding people through the space using landscapes, sidewalks, pathways, streets, building entrances, and wayfinding, such as signs. While the application of Natural Access Control is most common in public areas, it also has a residential application.

Territorial Reinforcement: This refers to one's ownership of a space. Such spaces are defined by fencing, changes in the street, sidewalk, or pathway color or material to define a transition from public to private spaces. An easy way to explain this would be a city sidewalk made of plain concrete and the private drive of a residence made of pavers. Such a transition clarifies to the user that one is a public space and the other is private. You will see such transitions throughout residential neighborhoods and approaches to business entrances from a public way.

Maintenance: This is the last but the most important of all. If you make an effort to create spaces with the above design elements, you must also maintain that space for it to be effective. For example, the natural access control is diminished if park keepers allow the paths to become overgrown with weeds or signage to remain damaged or removed.

Now that we have some of the basics down, we can talk about our homes and our neighborhoods in terms of a designable space. Every space has a purpose, and around that purpose is the desired and acceptable behaviors we want to encourage. Once these are defined, we can now design that space to support and control those behaviors. And you all thought this would be hard.

I promise that this is the last of the difficult stuff. In our next installment, we will apply our growing knowledge of CPTED to the common challenges around our homes. With a bit of effort and some common sense, we can reduce the risk of crime and the fear that comes with it. With Boss Security Screens in your corner, you will get the tips and tricks needed to make your castle…home sweet home.

Until next time, be safe and be prepared!  

Written by,

Michael Johnston

Chief Security Advisor at Boss Security Screens

 About Michael Johnston:

Michael was born and raised in rural Nebraska. He began his law enforcement career in 1989 with the Lincoln Police Department, Lincoln, NE, where he worked as a patrol officer for nearly four years. Michael joined the Henderson Police Department in 1993, first as a Corrections Officer and later as a Police Officer in June of 1995. During his tenure, Michael has worked as a Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Officer in Charge, Crisis Negotiator, K-9 Handler, and Narcotics Investigator. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2005 and moved to the Investigations Division, where he supervised the Property and Special Victims Units. In 2009, Michael was promoted to Lieutenant, where he served as a Watch Commander in patrol and supervisor of the Community Relations Unit. In March of 2013, he became one of eight (8) Captains for the Henderson Police Department Command Team. Michael led the Special Services Division overseeing SWAT, K-9, and Motors but later took the lead as Division Commander of the Investigative Services Division until late 2017. Michael finished his career as the East Area Commander before retiring in early 2019. Immediately after retirement, Michael transitioned to the gaming industry, where he served as the Director of Security and Risk Assessment for Boulder Hwy Gaming and Water St Gaming, LLC. Michael created security strategies, training programs, and policies that reduced security risks and mitigated organizational liabilities. In late 2021, Michael opened Code 4 Consulting; Private Investigations (NV PILB LIC #3090). His company provides a broad spectrum of investigative services, case reviews, expert witness support, and executive protection. He also supports organizations with employee training, compliance, risk assessment, and prevention strategies to target organizational issues that create corporate risk and liability. Michael now joins Boss Security Screens as our Chief Security Advisor. Incorporating his training, experience, and expertise into our operation brings our customers valuable content and insight.

*The author is a paid consultant and product representative for Boss Security Screens. The information provided in this blog does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials are the author's opinion and for general informational purposes only. It is recommended that you consult an attorney, certified trainers, or licensed providers before acting on any information provided. This website may link to other third-party websites. Such links are for the convenience of the reader and are not endorsed by the author.

*The CPTED concepts presented in this article come from the NICP, National Institute of Crime Prevention, CPTED training manual. The definitions and verbiage contained in this article come as quoted and cited material. The purpose is to share the concepts as accurately as possible and apply them as intended.