CPTED: Landscaping

Last week, I introduced you to some of the most important concepts in CPTED. For those who missed that posting, I would strongly urge you to go back and catch up so you can continue this journey at the same pace as the rest of us. However, I will briefly mention that CPTED is founded on four critical principles; Natural Surveillance, Natural Access Control, Territorial Reinforcement, and Maintenance.

In the coming weeks, we will be exploring Natural Surveillance in-depth and applying this principle to your home or business. CPTED emphasizes the design of the physical environment, the behavior of people, and the productive use of space in terms of crime and loss prevention. Natural Surveillance places people, physical features, and activities in a way that maximizes visibility. If you remember, I mentioned the front porches that homes used to have so that people would be front-facing and able to see the coming and goings in the neighborhood. I am not sure if CPTED was a thing back then, but early designers had it right in those design builds. Nowadays, no one sits on the front porch anymore, let alone hang out in the front yard, especially in Las Vegas. So that is the first tip if you want maximum visibility, consider a front yard design that places benches or table sets so that you can show the neighbors or would-be criminals that you are present in the neighborhood and that you are paying attention. This is an excellent deterrent to criminal activity because they want to operate undetected.

People, as well as professional designers, use landscaping to define territory, control access and create ownership. The problems that form from landscaping come from poor maintenance and improperly placed plants that disrupt visibility and access control. We have all seen areas of large, lush vegetation that create that plush, comfortable feeling of being in nature. Perhaps while frequenting parks, resorts, or popular garden sites that feature a wide array of plants. This is great for achieving that desired feeling of peace and tranquility, but it places you in potential danger. Imagine a narrow pathway lined with large, overgrown bushes. You can see down the path, but not behind the bushes. This provides excellent cover for bad guys and poses as potential ambush points for you. As you can see, placement and maintenance become critical in providing a safe space for people to work, live, and play. So, what about the landscaping around your house or business?

When you begin the design process for landscaping around your home or business, you need to think about species, placement, and the maintenance needed to maintain the two-foot/six-foot rule. The two-foot/six-foot rule means that we want to keep bush height near two feet high, and no more than three feet, and then we want to trim our tree canopies up to at least six feet or more. The reason for this is concealment. Bushes higher than 2-3 feet provide excellent hiding spots for would-be offenders to conceal their locations and their intentions. Likewise, tree canopies hanging below the six-foot mark can also conceal a grown man standing. The combination of shading and the draping of leaf-covered branches can make visibility and detection difficult. This is where maintenance becomes critical. For plants around walkways, front doors, gates, and other access areas, we want to maintain the maximum visibility possible. If you desire large plants, place them on the outer perimeter and away from your activities or your customers.

In line with the two-foot/six-foot rule is the species of plant and its placement. If you want to keep within the height recommendations, then choose plants that will flourish under these maintenance conditions and still serve the purpose of beautifying our homes and businesses. In some cases, the species selection can serve a dual purpose; one for aesthetics and the other as a deterrent. Take a rose bush for example. If you place a rose bush or other thorn-bearing plants at the base of windows, they can provide that beauty you are looking for and they will keep perpetrators from wanting to crawl over or through them to get to your window for entry. I think by now you are starting to see the value that a well-planned landscape design that is both properly placed and well maintained can bring towards our safety. Moreover, if done correctly, you will maximize the visibility in your exterior spaces and ensure proper visibility from inside your home or business while looking out.

So, what about businesses that have no real landscaping around their buildings, but have large glass fronts? Most owners will be tempted to plaster them with advertisements and posters in an attempt to capture free advertising. While that sounds good in practice, it is in reality placing the business and its employees in harm’s way. Covering the windows reduces visibility in the same way large overgrowth does. Lighting also plays a role in this, but that is a topic that we will cover in our next article. If owners want to advertise in their window spaces, CPTED recommends keeping it below two feet, above six feet, and no more than 50% of the total window space being covered. In doing so, you provide visibility for employees to see people approaching and entering the business, and it allows customers to see inside so they do not accidentally walk into an armed robbery in progress.

We spent a great deal of time covering the topic of visibility and landscaping in my CPTED training. It is impossible to cover that depth of discussion in a short blog such as this. This posting is designed to plant the seed and get the conversation going. I hope you didn’t mind the pun too much. But seriously, this is a critical area in safety so if you want more information on the topic, feel free to reach out to Boss Security Screens or check out other articles on CPTED practices. We provide our customers with a CPTED evaluation of their home or business at-cost as a way to say thank you. When creating your safety envelope, Boss Security Screens is there to provide an important barrier between the predators and their prey. With Boss’s no break-in guarantee, their screens become the most important layer in a layered approach; you can’t find anything better.

Next week, we will talk about lighting and the important role it can play in keeping us safe or how it can place us in peril.

Until next time, be safe and remain vigilant!

Written by,

Michael Johnston

Chief Security Advisor at Boss Security Screens

*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.