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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.
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.
THESE STRATEGIES CAN BE USED ALONE OR IN COMBINATION
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Provide clear border definition of controlled space.
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Provide clearly marked transitional zones which indicate movementfrom public to semi-private to private
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Create gathering areas at locations with natural surveillanceand access control.
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Re-designate the use of space to provide natural barriers to conflicting activities.
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Improve scheduling of space to allow for effective use(parking for nightshift workers closest to the building).
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Overcome distance and isolation through improved communications.
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Place safe activities in vulnerable areas, e.g. community gardenin vacant land.
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Place vulnerable activities in a safe place, e.g. kindergarten play areain school courtyard.
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Increase the perception of natural surveillance, especially around accesscontrol points.
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