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CJE3444 – CRIME PREVENTION
CHAPTER 4: The Physical Environment and Crime
Dr. E. Buchholz
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Modifying the physical environment is one of the most well-know approaches in primary
prevention.
CPTED
 Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)
o CPTED grew out of many theories, most notably:
 Defensible space (Newman, 1972)
o Crime is inhibited “by creating a physical expression of a social fabric which defends
itself”
 Physical characteristics of an area can influence the behavior of both
residents and potential offenders
 Additional theories:
o Broken Windows Theory (Wilson, 1980s)
Defensible Space
Defensible Space - CPTED
 Newman(1972) argues that defensible space can be accomplished through physical design
actions which include:
o Door & window placement for visibility
o Limited entrances
o Lighting others
o Establishment of common areas for residents
o Additional elements which impact community behavior
CPTED
 CPTED is similar to defensible space, however, the theory rests on the assumption that
potential offenders are influenced by a cost/benefit analysis referred as OTREP (Kaplan,
1978)
o Opportunity
o Target
o Risk
o Effort
o Payoff
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When high risk is associated with low reward, a rational criminal will choose a different
target.
Manipulating physical design features may be one way to bring about higher costs relative to
benefits.
CPTED
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
“The proper use and effective design of the built environment can lead to a reduction in the
incidence and fear of crime, and an improvement in the quality of life (Jeffrey 1971).”
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CPTED
Four goals:
1. Access
2. Surveillance
3. Activity Support
4. Motivational Reinforcement
CPTED
Access Controls
Target Hardening
 Make potential criminal targets more difficult to victimize
 Regulating who enters and how people enter your dwelling.
Name a few ways we can do this???
Access Controls
 Placing identifying marks on personal property
o Makes stolen good more difficult to fence and easier to identify and return to victims
 Warning signs
 Closed-circuit TV cameras
 Lighting
Access Controls
 Eliminate access to the roof
 Lighting
 Motion sensors
 Alarms
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Low cut bushes
Single clear entry points
Locking gates
Low or picket fences to promote neighborhood surveillance
Surveillance
 Sometimes referred to as Natural Surveillance
 Actions that enhance observation.
Name a few of these???
Surveillance
Surveillance
 Windows facing high traffic areas
 Landscape design
 Use lighting, especially natural light to your advantage
 Avoid garages in dark alleys
 CCTV
 Meet regularly with neighbors AND KNOW them.
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Activity Support
 Functions that enhance interaction with citizens
 Create a communal atmosphere
 Interaction between legitimate users enables residents to distinguish legitimate users from
strangers
Any ideas????
Activity Support
Street fairs
Open houses
Community and neighborhood watch programs
School functions
Parades
Business sales
Sporting events
Other public functions
Reinforcement
Establish a sense of ownership and territory
Take pride in an area (broken windows)
Examples???
Reinforcement
Avoid bars, Razor wire, Other negative prevention methods
Private property signs
Maintain a positive appearance
Scheduling common area events
Refreshments in parks and public areas to promote gathering
Impact of Physical Design
Rubenstein et al. (1980) outlines 3 types of impact design:
 Type 1 - Those that measure the direct impact of physical design features
o Locks, lights, fences
 Type 2 - The impact of the physical design on a variety of intervening factors
o Attitudes of legitimate users about their community
o Feelings of territoriality
o Efforts of community members to combat crime
o Improved community atmosphere
 Type 3 - The direct effect of the intervening factors on crime and the indirect influence of
physical design on crime through the intervening factors
Impact of Physical Design
Physical Designs
 Lighting
 Began in the 1970s based on:
1. Leads to increased outdoor activity
2. Greater surveillance
3. Ability to detect crime
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4. Deterrent potential
5. Increase identification of criminals
Lighting
 Research is……..
Inconsistent at best!!!!
However, even though crime rates fail to decrease for some categories, the reduction of “fear” of
crime is seen as a positive.
Surveillability
 Prospect
o Ability of individuals to see an area
 Refuge
o Presence or absence of concealment in which offenders could hide from potential
victims
 Escape
o Ability of both offenders and victims to escape for an area before and/or after an
offense
(Fisher and Nasar 1993)
Surveillability
 Areas of increased concealment (refuge), blocked prospect, and limited escape elicit greater
fear.
 People make assessments of their surroundings and respond to the potential danger and fear
they interpret in different situations.
Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)
Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)
Pros
 Immediate reduction in crime rates
 Reduced fear
 Apprehension of criminals increase
Cons
 Limits on privacy
 Crime reduction is short-lived
 Displacement of crime
 Many criminals only view CCTV as an obstacle and not as a deterrent
Property Identification Programs
 Operation Identification - undertaken at most major universities
 Low participation rate
 Tagging vehicles - parking stickers, license plates, and reduced driving hours is a new
approach
 Major focus is to make disposing of stolen goods more difficult
 Inconsistent at best due low participation rate
Additional Methods
 Alarms
o Strong deterrent to household burglary
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Locks
o Make entry more difficult
Fencing
Additional Methods
 Street Design
o Affects crime through the level of accessibility potential offenders have to an area
 Newman & Wayne (197) found private streets with cul-de-sacs owned and maintained by
residents had less crime and lower fear of crime
o Landscaping
o Gates
o Entranceway
o More interaction between residents
 Operation cul-de-sac (1990s LA) - Use of road blocks to create cul-de-sacs that reduced
access, decreased gang activity, homicides, and violence and increased when removed years
later
Physical Design of Neighborhoods
 Public Housing
o Certain designs negate to build a sense of community, lay claim to an area
(territoriality), present a sense of safety (image), or allow surveillance
 Low crime areas
o Single-family dwellings
o Few major through streets
o Few vacant lots
o Predominantly residential
o Bound by other residential areas
o Uniform building setbacks
o Private parking
Challenging Defensible Space
 Proper design by itself is no guarantee for crime prevention
 Some prevention methods (trash cans and fencing) produce additional hiding spaces
 Building layout can be limited by previous structures, land owned, and can be confusing to
new residents.
New Spin on CPTED
CRAVED
 Products which lend themselves to crime.
o Concealable
o Removable
o Available
o Valuable
o Enjoyable
o Disposable
Additional concepts with CPTED
 Products and Misdeeds Approach
 Ekblom (2005) suggested it is possible to make products inherently secure
o Make them less attractive or distinctive, thus less targeted
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Design in such a way to protect other property
 Chairs which can secure purses from theft
Restrict offender access to the target or tools used to target a product
 Security cables or alarms
 Safes or access control
Additional concepts with CPTED
Changes made to automobiles
 Ignition and steer column locks
 Alarms
 Locator devices
 Stronger door locks
 Marking of parts with identification numbers
 Lockable gas caps
 Security coded radios
 Armor plating, ram bars
Incivility and Disorder
Approaches taken regarding incivilities in communities
 Signs of disorder may actively promote criminal activity
 Signs of physical and social disorder signal an area or location is not protected and is open to
criminality
 Perkins & Taylor (1996)
o Physical disorder can contribute to the growth of social disorder
 Nonresidential property or abandoned structures interrupting a housing block
 The physical layout may inhibit social interaction among residents and allow
for social incivilities to arise
Incivility and Disorder
 For the offender, signs of incivility are indicative of lower risk
 Many studies show crime and fear are higher in areas displaying signs of disorder