Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)

Provided by: Calgary Police Services

We constantly respond to our environment, whether we are aware of it or not. Our responses help us interact safely in our communities. Effective design of our environment helps us to feel safer and reduces opportunities for criminal acts to occur.

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED, pronounced sep-ted) is an initiative that helps us create healthy, safe communities through well planned environmental design.

CPTED is based on the premise that the design of our environment directly affects our behaviour. It influences both the opportunities for crime to take place and our fear of crime. This has an important impact on our quality of life.

CPTED enhances safety by altering physical design and encouraging positive social interaction.

CPTED offers an alternative to creating fortress-like communities where we have to lock ourselves away to feel safe.

CPTED complements the use of target hardening strategies like locks and bars, police and security personnel. It increases our freedom to use our communities.

How CPTED Works

CPTED promotes design principles in planned environments that encourage safe behaviour and reduce the opportunities for crime to occur. Second Generation CPTED takes these strategies further to include and encourage the interaction and participation of the community with their environment and with each other.

Three basic principles guide CPTED: natural access control, natural surveillance and territorial reinforcement.

Natural access control restricts access

Natural access control guides people entering and leaving a space through the placement of entrances, exits, fences, landscaping and lighting. Natural access control can decrease opportunities for criminal activity by denying criminals access to potential targets and creating a perception of risk for would-be offenders.

The fencing defines the site, thereby controlling access to the property. It also allows for strong natural surveillance and a sense of territorial reinforcement.	These transparent gates used for access control restrict entry while allowing for adequate surveillance.

Natural surveillance increases visibility

Seeing and being seen are important aspects of crime prevention. Natural surveillance guides the placement of physical features such as windows, lighting and landscaping which affect how much can be seen. A potential criminal is unlikely to attempt a crime if he or she is at risk of being observed. At the same time, we are likely to feel safer when we can see and be seen.

The solid gates prohibit surveillance thereby limiting access control.	The absence of natural surveillance leaves property owners vulnerable to criminal activity by providing cover to criminals.

Territorial reinforcement promotes a sense of ownership

Physical design can create a sphere of territorial influence that can be perceived by, and may deter, potential offenders. Defined property lines and clear distinctions between private and public spaces are examples of the application of territorial reinforcement. Territorial reinforcement can be created using landscaping, pavement designs, gateway treatments, signs and fences. In addition to the three main principles described above, two additional ideas support CPTED efforts in communities: maintenance and activity support.

Good border definition allows property owners to define public and private spaces while maintaining surveillance.

Maintenance deters offenders

Putting CPTED To Work

CPTED can be applied in both existing communities and during the planning stages of new communities. Ideally, CPTED principles should be applied during the design phase to avoid potentially costly changes later.

In existing communities:

CPTED can be applied by identifying problem areas and creatively finding solutions to make those spaces safe. These solutions can also help those spaces better meet the needs of users - you! For example, we can improve sightlines in playgrounds or parks by trimming hedges so predators won't have a place to hide.

A CPTED assessment can be done for an existing community, home, building, school, playground, park or business.

In new communities:

Many problems can be avoided if the principles of CPTED are applied during the design and planning process

CPTED reviews are becoming standard practice in the planning process. In fact, incorporating CPTED principles during the initial design can reduce the time and cost involved by eliminating the need to address safety issues later.

Design professionals can increase the quality of life for future users of a space by incorporating CPTED principles into design. Many CPTED principles help make living spaces more comfortable, which increases our sense of safety and security.

CPTED Tips To Enhance Security

Houses

• Use walkways and landscaping to direct visitors to the main entrance and away from private areas.
• Keep shrubs and trees trimmed from windows and doors to improve visibility.
• Use lighting over entrances.
• Use thorny plants along fence lines and around vulnerable windows.

Apartments

• Ensure hallways are well lit.
• Install good quality deadbolts and peepholes on unit doors.
• Provide common spaces in central locations to encourage tenant interaction.
• Join or start Apartment Watch in your building.

Neighborhoods

• Locate open spaces and recreational areas so they are visible from nearby homes and streets.
• Avoid landscaping that might create blind spots or hiding places.
• Make sure there is appropriate lighting.
• Design streets to discourage cut-through or high-speed traffic using 'trophic calming' measures.

Businesses

• Locate checkout counters near the front of the store, clearly visible from outside.
• Window signs should cover no more than 15 per cent of windows to provide clear visibility into and out of the store.
• Use shelving and displays no higher than five feet to help see who is in the store.
• Avoid creating outdoor spaces that encourage loitering, and provide increased security and lighting in parking lots. Safe design enhances good design.

CPTED Supports Other Crime Prevention and Design Strategies:

• Situational Crime Prevention
• Crime Prevention Through Social Development (CPSD)
• Block Watch/Apartment Watch
• Crime Free Multi-Housing
• Universal Design
• Feng Shui

Additional Resources:

• Crime Mapping
• Reporting Crimes online