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USEFUL CRIME PREVENTION THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN STRATEGIES
 
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED, pronounced sep-ted) is a multidisciplinary approach to deterring criminal behavior that focuses on changing how places are laid out, and how they look and feel. 
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Fundamentally, CPTED suggests that you can change how people act in a place by altering its design. The goal is to reduce crime and fear, and improve quality of life.  Basic principles include “natural surveillance,” and how signage and maintenance suggest that a space is cared for.  These principles often get people talking about windows, lighting, fences, and landscaping (including rose bushes), which can reduce opportunities for crime in relatively cost-efficient ways.
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THESE STRATEGIES CAN BE USED ALONE OR IN COMBINATION
 
  • Provide clear border definition of controlled space.
  • Provide clearly marked transitional zones which indicate movementfrom public to semi-private to private
  • Create gathering areas at locations with natural surveillanceand access control.
  • Re-designate the use of space to provide natural barriers to conflicting activities.
  • Improve scheduling of space to allow for effective use(parking for nightshift workers closest to the building).
  • Overcome distance and isolation through improved communications.
  • Place safe activities in vulnerable areas, e.g. community gardenin vacant land.
  • Place vulnerable activities in a safe place, e.g. kindergarten play areain school courtyard.
  • Increase the perception of natural surveillance, especially around accesscontrol points.
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