CRIME, DESIGN AND URBAN PLANNING: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE1

First published in the Royal Australian Planning Institute magazine, New Planner, June 2001.
Phil McCamley2

Introduction
Criminals, like most people are motivated by needs, desires and the probable costs and benefits of behaviour. With few exceptions, offenders dont want to be caught or punished. Nor do they want to invest significant time and energy in crime if the risks of being caught are high and the returns are low. It is no accident that burglars often target one or two houses in a street and leave the rest; rapists will strike at particular places and times, armed robbers choose targets with clear escape routes and car thieves consistently favour certain shopping centres, commuter carparks and streets. Criminals in other words, often make choices about who or what they victimise.

Crime Prevention through Environmental Design

Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) fosters positive community interaction and influences offender decision-making. It uses planning, design and place management strategies to reduce the likelihood of necessary crime ingredients from intersecting in time and space. CPTED reduces crime opportunities by increasing the risk to offenders, increasing the effort required to commit crime, reducing opportunities for excuse making (eg, spatial ambiguity is commonly used by burglars to justify trespassing) and reducing the likely rewards of criminal behaviour (Clarke & Homel, 1997). CPTED strategies fall into 4 broad categories; territorial reinforcement, surveillance, access control and space management. Territorial Reinforcement Community ownership of public space sends positive signals to the community. Places that feel owned and cared for are likely to be used, enjoyed and revisited. People are also more likely to be protective of places with which they feel some connection or affinity. Effective design, planning and space management helps to stimulate natural community policing.

Printed in Royal Australian Planning Institute, New Planner, June 2001. Phil McCamley M.Arch, B.Soc Sci (Crim), MAITD Phil is a Chief Inspector with the NSW Police Service and manager of the Safer by Design project. If you wish to enquire about design safety, the Safer by Design program or CPTED training, please contact mcca1phi@police.nsw.gov.au or phone 02 92655030.
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Strategically located activities enhance supervision in public places

Site rules at a skate park. This code was jointly developed by council and the young people that use this space

Surveillance People feel safe in public areas when they can see and interact with others, particularly people connected with that space, such as shopkeepers and adjoining residents. Criminals are often deterred from committing crime in places that are well supervised. Natural surveillance can be achieved by creating effective sightlines between public and private space; strategically positioning buildings, accessways and meeting places; matching lighting types with crime risk (as required in Australia and New Zealand Pedestrian Lighting standard ANZS1158.3.1) and by using attractive landscaping.

Attractive, well-used parkland with balanced landscaping and open sightlines

Car parking facilities with light painted ceilings and walls often feel bright and spacious. Generally, they require fewer lighting fixtures and use less electricity (to meet minimum lighting standards)

Access Control Physical and symbolic barriers can be used to attract, channel or restrict pedestrian and vehicle movement. They minimise opportunities for crime and increase the effort required to commit crime. By making it clear where people can and cannot go, it becomes difficult for criminals to reach potential victims and targets. Effective access

control can be achieved by creating landscapes and physical locations that channel and group pedestrians into areas.

The placement of this ATM besides a blind alleyway creates preventable crime risk Uncontrolled access to this site facilitated the concealment of an offender - and the entrapment of his victim. Predatory criminals have used many sites just like this.

Space Management Space Management is linked to the principle of territorial reinforcement. It ensures that space is well used and maintained. Strategies include activity coordination, site cleanliness, rapid repair of vandalism and graffiti and the refurbishment of decayed physical elements.

Evidence of prior crime often generates fear and avoidance behaviour. Rapid removal has a positive effect in curbing illegal graffiti and fear.

Well maintained space is often well used and well supervised.

Safer by Design: CPTED in practice

The Safer by Design program commenced in NSW in the early 1990s. Based upon the principles and practice of CPTED, the program is a co-operative initiative involving the NSW Police Service, local councils, government departments and key private sector organisations. The aim of the program is to ensure that development proposals are routinely assessed for crime risk, and that preventable risk is reduced before developments are approved. Some NSW councils routinely apply CPTED principles when assessing development proposals. While the widespread application of generic CPTED strategies can reduce crime opportunities, the environmental context of places can work against design based strategies, rendering them ineffective or even dangerous. Installing pedestrian lighting in areas where there is no one to see what is lit, for example, may actually increase crime risk. Similarly, using boomgates in some carparks can result in high levels of carbon monoxide. It is important therefore, that contextual considerations and site risk are properly identified, measured and assessed by trained personnel before design-based risk mitigation strategies are recommended. The NSW Police Service assessment tools Safer by Design Evaluation and a Companion to the Safer by Design Evaluation are based upon Australia and New Zealand Risk Management Standard 4360:1999. These tools are provided to persons participating in Safer by Design training courses. The Evaluation facilitates objective, transparent and contextually weighted decision-making. The Companion outlines research-based strategies capable of minimising crime risk within the built environment.

DUAP Design Safety Guidelines

In April 2001, the NSW Department of Urban Affairs and Planning (DUAP) introduced legislative guidelines to Section 79C of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979. These guidelines outline Council responsibilities to identify crime risk and to minimise opportunities for crime though the appropriate assessment of development proposals. Councils have an obligation to ensure that a development provides safety and security to users and the community. If a development presents a crime risk, these guidelines can be used to justify: modification of the development to minimise the risk of crime, or refusal of the development on the grounds that crime risk cannot be appropriately minimised (DUAP, 2001:2) The Guidelines contain two parts. Part A outlines circumstances when councils should initiate a crime risk assessment (for the purpose of considering a development application). These are conducted in cooperation with trained local police.

Part B outlines basic design safety principles that should be considered when councils assess developments. Councils and local police are encouraged to identify the types of development that will typically require a crime risk assessment, and prepare a consultation protocol. Protocols are location (need) based agreements which outline the types of development that will be jointly assessed, how consultation will occur and timeframes for consultation. Subject to council discretion, development types not listed in local consultation protocols will not require a formal crime risk (CPTED) assessment. The Department of Urban Affairs and Planning is also working with the Australian Building Codes Board to incorporate crime prevention strategies into the Building Code of Australia.

Safer by Design Courses

To help consent authorities to identify and reduce crime opportunity during the assessment of development proposals, the NSW Police Service has been asked to provide Safer by Design training to planners, designers, crime prevention officers and other key professionals. Commencing in May 2001, Safer by Design courses will be held in metropolitan and rural centres across New South Wales. Course content includes: Criminology and crime prevention Historical applications of CPTED Identifying crime risk in architectural plans and drawings Lighting, fear and crime Crime risk management and CPTED applications Councils, planning and design safety. Course facilitators are experienced practitioners with backgrounds in environmental criminology, architecture, risk management systems, community based crime prevention and lighting design (engineering). Further information about Safer by Design, course dates, locations and costs can be found at the Safer by Design webpage www.police.nsw.gov.au Crime Prevention and the assessment of development applications: Guidelines under section 79C of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 can be downloaded at this site.

CPTED Q&As
Didnt they introduce CPTED in the 70s and 80s? CPTED was introduced approximately thirty years ago. At that time, design safety was fashionable more than practical. Considerable research, experience and complementary criminological practices have refined and fortified contemporary CPTED to the point where it is now recognised as a key crime prevention tool (Eck, U.S Senate, 1997; Herbert, UK Home Office, 1997; IRC, Inquiry 1880:1997; NSW Govt, 2001). Isnt CPTED just common sense? CPTED is sensible, but it is not commonly applied. The introduction of legislative guidelines under section 79C of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act will shift CPTED from sensible theory to common practice. If you know about sightlines and target hardening, you know about CPTED! False. Approximately 150 socio/economic, physical and behavioural elements are assessed when Safer by Design (CPTED) crime risk assessments are conducted. Why worry about design safety when you can just install security cameras? CCTV can be an effective crime prevention strategy when it is part of a broader crime prevention and community safety package. CCTV, however, can be very expensive and labour intensive. Typically, CPTED practitioners only recommend electronic surveillance measures when crime risk is high and other crime reduction strategies are unlikely to minimise that risk. Is there a link between the built environment, fear of crime and area prosperity? People - particularly women, older people and children often avoid places that look or feel threatening. It is well proven that fear induced avoidance behaviour can negatively impact quality of life, area reputation, local employment, the value of real estate and the prosperity of businesses. Why is the Police Service providing Safer by Design training? The NSW Police Service is widely recognised as a leader in the development, training and promotion of CPTED. Although the Service is helping to satisfy a current need, it is important that universities and colleges incorporate core design safety education into future undergraduate and professional development courses. Will we end up with fortified suburbs and privatised public space if we implement CPTED? Safer by Design is not about gated communities or privatising public space. Natural community policing is a by-product of good planning, design and healthy community interaction. CPTED aims to build out crime opportunities by building in people. Are consent authorities required to assess crime risk in every development application? Yes. Using design safety principles outlined in Part B of Crime Prevention Guidelines to Section 79C of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, council staff will (solely) assess the majority of development proposals. Larger, more complex proposals will be jointly assessed by council staff and trained police (DUAP 2001). Will crime risk assessments bottleneck the approvals process? Local consultation protocols between consent authorities and police commanders will be developed in each LGA to ensure that crime risk assessments are carried out in an appropriate, timely and effective manner. These can be modified if required.

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Authorisation Stamp NSW SafeComm Last Modified: 9858 7973 Document Created:

29 April 2003 29 April 2003