Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

Institute

Part 1

1 Introduction to CPTED

2 Twenty Most Frequently Asked Questions

3 CPTED Concepts and Strategies

4 Behavioral Precedents of CPTED

5 Using the Environment to Affect Behavior

6 Aesthetics, Environmental Cues, and Territorial Behavior

7 Crime and Loss Prevention

8 Examples of CPTED Strategies and Applications

9 CPTED Implementation Program Planning

10 CPTED Training Outline

11 Objectives for a School Environment

1

Introduction to CPTED

The theory of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design is based on one simple idea: that crime results partly from the opportunities presented by physical environment. This being the case, it should be possible to alter the physical environment so that crime is less likely to occur.

—Ronald V. Clarke

Chapter Outline

Background

Asking the Right Questions

The Need for CPTED

Competing Crime Prevention Strategies

CPTED and Contemporary Planning Models

CPTED in the United States

CPTED Worldwide

Results of CPTED

Scope and Content of this Book

Background

The purpose of this book is to provide challenging questions and practical advice to people who make decisions that affect the physical environment and human functions in the community. This book is not intended to be an academic study of the environment, of crime prevention, or of environmental psychology; however, it does offer practical insights into the application of the theories that underpin crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) concepts and principles. Because of the pervasiveness of CPTED’s potential influence, it would be impossible for this book to be a complete study of all of the fields and disciplines that CPTED topics encounter.

A practical guide to the use of CPTED concepts is necessary because the research literature has yet to thoroughly investigate the considerable small-scale applications of the CPTED concept. Controlled research and evaluation activities are required to make CPTED a fully definitive concept. However, buildings must be built, major events must be conducted, and communities must continue to grow without the benefit of perfect scientific knowledge. Accordingly, this book contains some simple concepts and a variety of examples to assist the builder, planner, architect, or police and security consultant who will be making decisions about individual projects and human functions.

The intention of this book is not to tell people how to design buildings or what decisions to make about the future of the properties that they manage. It is rather to share concepts and ask questions that may never have been asked, with the hope that these concepts and questions will improve decisions and stimulate greater creativity in designing for and managing human activities.

This third edition builds on the author’s life work with the concept of crime prevention through environmental design. The CPTED concept, coined by Dr. C. Ray Jeffery in his book by the same title, expands on the assumption that the proper design and effective use of the built environment can lead to a reduction in the fear of crime and the incidence of crime and to an improvement in the quality of life. This idea translates to many practical and useful applications in a wide range of settings.

The contents bring together the observations, consulting work, and lectures and teaching materials from the first two editions of this book, along with new material written by the author before his sad passing on February 21, 2009. This third edition also includes updated chapters and fresh contributions by other CPTED practitioners who knew and worked with him.

Asking the Right Questions

CPTED concepts, at least as used in this work, are largely self-evident. Most of the time recipients of CPTED assistance exclaim, I should have thought of that! Too often, after it is too late to undo the damage, an individual will say, I thought of that, but I was afraid to ask. It is quite common for police officers and security consultants to withhold their comments in various situations because they feel that they would be overstepping the boundaries of their security role. Yet the performance of architects, developers, and facility managers can only be as good as the information they are given from all quarters. Once the basic principles of CPTED are understood, it is difficult to look at the environment again without asking, What if …? At the beginning of CPTED seminars and training programs, it is common for the following three points to be stressed by the instructors:

1. Never look at the environment the same way again.

2. Question everything, no matter how trivial.

3. Learn the language of the professions you are working with and you will understand their motivations.

Elizabeth Meehan, a color and light consultant and a visiting lecturer of the National Crime Prevention Institute (NCPI), summarized the problem with interior design. She said that illumination consultants are always looking up. Floor-covering consultants are always looking down. Wallpaper consultants are always looking at the walls. But no one usually looks at the whole interior as the sum of its parts. Each profession is trained to focus attention on its unique objectives. For instance, police officers are trained to look at openings—doors and windows. Not until they have had CPTED training do they begin to see the property as a whole, as it was intended to be. And it is not until this happens that a good crime prevention officer or security consultant can contribute to meeting the objectives of the human function. Never look at the environment the same way again. The old expression If I had a nickel for every time something happened that I knew would happen and didn’t stop, I’d be rich too often applies in CPTED experience. Designers and planners need help in identifying the little problems, which are often their undoing. For instance, many years ago the city of Louisville, Kentucky, replaced a portion of the failed River City pedestrian mall with a cobblestone street that was intended for people to walk on. Instead, people fell down. Similarly, in Jacksonville, Florida, a River Walk project with a pier was installed along a transitional site across from its downtown riverfront improvement program. But the designer got so involved in the aesthetics of his boardwalk that he installed boards that were separated to allow the pedestrian to see, as well as hear, the water lapping underneath. This was great for water drainage, but not for high-heeled shoes! Question everything.

Many agencies and professions learn to stick to their own bailiwick and avoid direct conflict. At least in direct conflict they are still talking, albeit somewhat loudly. It is not until someone is able to cross over the disciplines that common interests are found. This is perhaps the hardest lesson for law enforcement officers and security consultants to learn. It is too easy to allow buildings to be built and events to be planned before thinking about security. There is a tendency to feel out of place in insisting that security be considered in the design and layout of an environment where a human function or activity will take place. Conversely, event managers, architects, and planners often view security and law enforcement consultants as myopically concerned with what can go wrong, not with what can go right. CPTED enthusiasts know that planning ahead to make things go right is the key to reducing or eliminating security problems. Learn the language.

The Need for CPTED

Do you currently have review and approval authority for all physical changes occurring in your jurisdiction? Are you involved at the concept stage in event planning, or are you last in line to comment on a completed plan? Are you tired of hearing about new crime prevention efforts that are abandoned after several years? Are you willing to take a calculated risk, one that presents great promise for the future role of your organization or community?

It’s been a mere 40 years since C. Ray Jeffery coined the term, but any analysis of CPTED concepts and principles reveals a long and ancient tradition of leveraging the environment to support and influence human behavior. After initial awareness of CPTED began in the 1970s, there was a surge of interest again in the late 1980s and early 1990s. With CPTED-related policies and ordinances in place in some communities for more than 20 years, trends are pointing to another resurgence of interest in CPTED. CPTED practitioners are being asked to consider how previous implementations of the fundamental CPTED principles can be refreshed in an environment that is evolving to respond to the needs of the uses of these spaces. Consequently, CPTED is again being seen as a featured topic at numerous conferences and seminars around the world. For example, the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) featured a CPTED session in its store security segment at the 2012 convention in Philadelphia. In addition, the ASIS publication Facilities Physical Security Measures (ASIS GDL FPSM-2009) includes CPTED as a key consideration.

Since some of the earliest implementations of CPTED-related laws and ordinances in Florida, literally thousands of jurisdictions around the world have followed suit, establishing policy, passing laws and regulations, and implementing guidelines to ensure that CPTED concepts and principles are followed in a wide range of contexts. The CPTED-related ordinance passed by the city of Gainesville, Florida, so many years ago in relation to convenience stores demonstrated at the time that there were wider benefits to be gained through following the principles. That ordinance required, among other things, that the stores provide security training, remove signs from windows, increase the number of store employees after 9:00 P.M., and increase internal lighting at night. At the time, the implementation of this ordinance was credited with a reduction of robberies alone of more than 65 percent. Other studies over time have reportedly shown links between the implementation of CPTED principles and increases in productivity and profitability and, of course, an enhanced quality of life for people living and working in those communities.

Since the first edition of this book was published, downtown pedestrian malls and those horrible downtown one-way street systems have been under the gun. In the latter case, critics continue to find that the one-dimensional value of enhanced traffic flow is not worth the loss of traditional business areas. The loss of on-street parking and the diversion of traffic have hurt many business areas. We have given up a lot for the sake of moving commuters through traffic a little faster. Why don’t we just divert them instead? NCPI’s CPTED Studio and one- and two-week courses present an excellent opportunity to initiate a team approach to CPTED, even for the corporate businessperson. Bring your facility planners and designers with you to a class that could change the way you do business. Learn how to merge your common interests and objectives, thus helping each member of the team do a better job of attaining his or her own goal. One strong admonition is, Don’t hide CPTED from your boss, like you do everything else that you want to control.

A friend of the author is known to have complained that his boss had gone off half-cocked and shot his mouth off about CPTED. The official complaint was that the boss couldn’t be protected unless what he saw was controlled. Perhaps the real problem was that the boss couldn’t be controlled when he understood what was going on.

Both you and your bosses need to understand and practice CPTED. It will take all the support you can get to make it a success. Of course, you are only looking at something that has the potential, for the first time, of achieving some results over the long term for your community or organization. What we do right or wrong with our human and physical resources produces a lasting legacy.

Competing Crime Prevention Strategies

A number of related concepts have become confused with the CPTED operating theories and applications. Although some of these concepts overlap with CPTED, others are very different in that they attempt to repackage and redefine the commonsense approach of CPTED. An explanation of some of these related concepts follows:

• A CPTED-organized and mechanical approach versus a natural approach. There is some confusion and competition within the CPTED movement itself that boils down to one group that casually blends the three strategy areas (organized, mechanical, and natural approaches) as opposed to another group of specialists whose principal emphasis is on natural approaches. The former is more of a crime-control model; the latter may be conceived of as a planning model.

• Defensible space. This concept was developed in the public housing environment and is attributed to the work of Oscar Newman. It is similar to CPTED in that it shares the basic characteristics of natural surveillance, natural access control, and territorial concern. CPTED, in its narrowest form, can be seen as an extension of defensible space concepts to commercial retail, industrial institutional, and low-density residential environments.

• Environmental security. This concept was developed on a parallel basis to CPTED. It was initially used in residential settings. Environmental security differs from CPTED in that it contemplates the use of a broad range of crime-control strategies, including social management, target hardening, activity support, and law enforcement.

• Security by design. This concept is best understood as a repackaging of solid security engineering, physical security, and procedural security measures to provide improved emphasis on the design process.

• Natural crime prevention. This concept grew out of the CPTED emphasis on natural strategies, those that factor behavior management and control into the design and use of the built environment.

• Safer cities. This is another spin-off of CPTED that attempts to define an approach to crime prevention that incorporates traditional crime prevention and law enforcement strategies with CPTED. Of course, CPTED planners know that CPTED does not replace other crime prevention strategies but that a high priority should be placed on natural strategies that take advantage of how human and physical resources are being expended.

• Situational crime prevention. This concept is much more comprehensive than CPTED because it incorporates other crime prevention and law enforcement strategies in an effort that focuses on place-specific crime problems.

• Place-specific crime prevention. This is just another name for situational crime prevention and environmental security. It is clear from a review of these apparently competing concepts that they actually overlap and are extremely compatible with CPTED. Many were developed to provide a vehicle for incorporating organized and mechanical strategies into a free-standing model. However, most long-time CPTED planners have always viewed CPTED as a small subset of the total set of measures required for effective crime prevention and control. Criminologists know that a comprehensive system must include strategies on a continuum that ranges from prenatal care to dementia among elderly persons. It would be unconscionable for anyone to think otherwise.

• Second-generation CPTED. The authors of this term suggest that second-generation CPTED is a new form of ecological, sustainable development. It includes a focus on building neighborhoods on a small, local scale and incorporates community building and the social aspects of the environment. To a large extent this revisits C. Ray Jeffery’s CPTED model, which included engineering the social environment and the built environment as well as recognizing the importance of rewards and disincentives for behavior (including the role of enforcement).

CPTED and Contemporary Planning Models

There have been some controversy and misinformation about the role of CPTED in contemporary planning models. These contemporary models include the urban village, transportation-oriented development, neotraditional planning, livable cities, and New Urbanism. Supporters of these planning approaches will often cite conflict with CPTED based on a narrow perception that all CPTED planners do is close streets and cut bushes.

A study of the concepts and beliefs associated with these contemporary planning models and the natural approaches to space management and design emphasized in CPTED reveals that there is very little conflict. Moreover, there is an overwhelming amount of compatibility. Perhaps an increase in education about all of these planning approaches will help eliminate the myths. The key to overcoming the concern about conflicts is to understand that CPTED is a process for improving planning decisions. Once the critic understands that CPTED is a process and not a belief system, it will be easy to use CPTED to improve on decisions within the framework of whatever planning model that is adopted.

CPTED in the United States

Early interest in what has become known as CPTED began with the research of Jane Jacobs. Her book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, published in 1961, described many observations of the relationships between urban design and crime. Jacobs’s work stressed the importance of increasing territorial identity and natural surveillance. Oscar Newman demonstrated the importance of natural surveillance, access control, and territorial concern in his 1972 book, Defensible Space. Newman proved that a relationship exists between space management and design and crime in public housing environments.

As mentioned earlier, Dr. C. Ray Jeffery coined the phrase crime prevention through environmental design in his 1971 book by that title, in which he described the relationship between urban design and crime. His book included excerpts from a 1968 report from the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence that warned the American public of the direct relationships between urban design and crime. This commission studied the massive urban violence and racial unrest that occurred in U.S. cities between 1964 and 1968. Richard Gardiner, a landscape architect and developer, successfully demonstrated the use of CPTED concepts in residential areas. His 1978 manual, Design for Safe Neighborhoods, presented the results of a successful project in a Hartford, Connecticut, neighborhood that significantly reduced crime and improved the quality of life. The most significant CPTED developmental effort in the United States to date was conducted in the 1970s by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation through a massive contractual effort funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. Westinghouse managed a large group of consultants and subcontractors who were responsible for adapting CPTED concepts that had been proven effective in public housing environments to retail, transportation, and school environments.

Much was learned from these efforts, which formed the basis of current efforts in the United States. Interest in CPTED at the federal government level waned during the 1980s. However, state and local units of government took the lead and produced a large number of successful projects. These led to the incorporation of CPTED principles into local building codes. Design review ordinances have been modified to require the use of CPTED in building design. Several state governments have passed legislation and developed new regulations governing the design and management of schools and the convenience-store industry. The state of Florida has taken the most steps by passing legislation and actively conducting training for the public and private sectors.

NCPI at the University of Louisville created the first CPTED training program in 1985. A design studio was created to assist in teaching CPTED concepts. To date this training program has been attended by several thousand participants who have spread the use of CPTED concepts in their communities throughout the world. The content of this training program formed the basis of the first edition of this book in 1991, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design: Applications of Architectural Design and Space Management Concepts, by Timothy D. Crowe. This book is still the most widely used manual for CPTED at the present time in the United