Introduction

Since ancient civilizations, crime has been a problem that has affected societies across the globe. Traditionally, society looked up to law enforcement agencies to protect and safeguard individuals from criminals and punish lawbreakers. However, this system proved to be inadequate as more people continued to fall victim to crimes such as rape, murder, robbery and vandalism among other things. The goal behind Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design or CPTED is to incorporate the society in the war against crime by having various players chip in to create environments that are safer for law abiding citizens. Here, the approach makes use of the police, neighborhood watch programs, security guards (Crowe 2000), and individual responsibility to keep the society safe. CPTED takes a preventive approach towards crime and hence reducing the rate of crime in general. In addition, it makes it easier to catch offenders in cases where they break the law in spite of the preventive measures. Through risk assessment, implementation of controlled and layered access as well as the use of physical security, people can realize Newman’s dream and consequently CPTED.

Risk-Based Methodology for Physical Security Assessments

The successful implementation of Newman’s views on CPTED depends on the accurate assessment of the environment. Through the risk-based methodology, architects can work hand in hand with the government and particularly law enforcement authorities to asses the risk and determine the best ways to divide spaces to create defensible spaces. According to Newnam’s views in his ‘Creating Defensible Space’ (Fennelly & Perry 2018),  the presence of unmanned greatly influenced the crime rate, designated shared spaces with poor visibility. In his study, areas with larger spaces with limited natural surveillance were more prone to vandalism and unscrupulous activity. In his research, he found that dark apartment alleys, for instance, were prone to vandalism and crime rates in larger buildings with such alleys were notably higher than in smaller buildings with similar alleys. As such, having limited control over one’s space considerably increased crime rates. Due to these findings, it became crucial to asses risk in architectural design as far as physical security is concerned.

Risk based assessment is the most fundamental aspect of physical security assessment. It is only through accurate assessment of the risk that authorities can determine the proper ways to mitigate potential threats. The purpose of risk-based methodology for physical security assessment is to identify the vulnerabilities of architectural design concerning the CPTED approach. Here, the findings can bring to light the vulnerabilities the facility in question has (Andresen 2016). One can thus undertake a risk assessment on both already constructed properties or properties in the planning phase. These findings are crucial as they can assist in determining areas that could potentially attract criminal activity. These findings can make it possible to decide on the right measures to plan and implement for the facility to reduce potential threats.

In the modern day, technological advances have greatly improved the methods used in the risk assessment. Some of the conventional methods of technology assessment are also in use in the implementation of CPTED. These include the use of surveillance and monitoring (Crowe 2013), which can be used to determine areas that may be at risk in terms of physical security. However, traditional methods of assessment are also very effective and are commonly in use in CPTED risk assessment. The most common and effective methodology of risk assessment for physical security assessment is to identify and consolidate the vulnerabilities, threats, and impact to determine the level of risk anticipated. The method makes use of both qualitative and quantitative techniques to asses the risk level in architectural design. Here, the results are assigned a numerical digit to identify the intensity or seriousness of the threat, vulnerability, and impact to give a risk level.

The successful assessment of risk is determined by the variables taken into account during the risk assessment process. As such, this means that if the assessment process leaves out critical aspects such as the areas, assets or people that needed protection, it would not be successful. Taking into account all the variables and key players in the field of assessment are thus critical in identifying the potential threats (Minton 2018). The second step in the methodology is identifying the risks and potential vulnerabilities of the facility. Through this, the researcher can determine the key areas requiring attention. Moreover, this enables proper mitigation strategies, which is critical for crime prevention through environmental design.

Electronic methods, Controlled Access, and Layered Defense

Electronic methods

As stated earlier, the successful implementation of CPTED makes use of and often relies on electronic means. These methods include the use of electronic surveillance and monitoring, electronic access and detection, alarms and intrusion detection. These technological advances have greatly improved security and drastically contributed to crime prevention (Minton 2018). Budgets play a critical role in the electronic budget used by an institution, organization or residence. The implementation of electronic methods is expensive. As such, organizations often have to eliminate the various techniques to determine the electronic method that best suits them. Also, architects and relevant parties must also determine, based on the risk assessment findings, which electronic method is most crucial to meet the needs of the

Depending on the nature of the environment, different clients opt for different electronic means to protect their environments. For instance, local governments make use of surveillance in public spaces to deter unscrupulous characters from committing crimes. The placement of CCTV cameras in public parks and roads among other things dramatically reduces crime rates ins such places especially when the cameras are easy to detect. The reason for this is that possible perpetrators are aware that they are under surveillance and thus their actions will soon catch up with them (Norman 2011). Therefore, surveillance enables the realization of crime prevention through environmental development. By creating an environment that deters criminals from committing their crimes, authorities realize the dream of CPTED.

Controlled access

However, the use of surveillance alone is not enough to deter criminals since many of those who are determined to commit crimes to wear masks to protect their identities. As such, surveillance often works hand-in-hand with controlled access. Many organizations often make use of this in the form of electronic access. Hospitals, for instance, provide their medical personnel with electronic devices such as smart key cards to allow them access to areas that are otherwise restricted. The use of controlled access has become a worldwide phenomenon with various institutions and organizations making use of electronic entry devices to increase their security. Depending on the institution, controlled access can either be very successful or very problematic (Mawby 2017). Most organizations such as banks and private institutions use electronic controlled access to prevent unauthorized people from entering into areas designated for staff use only. The use of such security has proven to be very important as it has reduced cases of robbery in banks. Similarly, controlled access has discouraged people from vandalism since those areas have protection.

Checkpoints are another excellent implementation of controlled access. For instance, airports have areas that are restricted for authorized personnel only, and that require electronic identification to pass. On the other hand, they also have multiple lines of security checks to control access into and out of the airport. These physical security checks search travelers to ascertain that they do not have any dangerous materials such as weapons and items that can be used to make weapons. In addition, they control access into various flights, and entry into nations by making use of checkpoints. This form of controlled access deters unauthorized entry as well as unwarranted behavior (Vera & Fabian 2016). By doing this, airports can prevent crimes by creating environments that deter potential terror attacks through physical security measures, access control, and electronic security.

Another aspect of controlled access is the presence of barriers and signs that dictate usage policies (Wenzel 2008). For instance, parking spaces designed for people with disabilities, or parking slots reserved for specific individuals such as staff members, loading zones, etc are a great way to create environments that reduce criminal activities. Other architectural designs that contribute to CPTED are roads and paths that dictate access. For instance, in some airports, some roads are designated as drop zones only and do not permit drivers to go beyond that point. A clear indication of such factors and primarily due to the reinforcement of such rules reduces criminal activities.

Layered Defense

A layered defense is a fundamental aspect of crime prevention. In Newman’s proposal on creating defensible spaces, he asserted that it is crucial to give people a level of control and a sense of power to protect their property (Mawby 2017). The use of layered defense significantly achieves this by providing individuals with an exceptional level of responsibility and sense of authorization to protect their spaces. Layered defenses work by creating different levels of filtration to keep out people depending on their level of clearance. These are common in hospitals, military operations, airports and private companies that have strong hierarchical setups among others. These forms of defenses make use of controlled access with both visitors and staff members having different levels of access within the organization.

In hospitals, for instance, layered defenses can have five layers of clearance. These include the exterior building perimeter, the building’s entry and perimeter, designated area for outpatients, designated area for inpatients and visitors, designated areas for staff only, and specific areas for staff members with clearance only, particularly areas with sensitive information. Areas identified for staff members only and areas further designated for specific staff often require special access such as electronic entry, or even biometric identification (Norman 2011). It is worth noting that layered defenses vary in structure depending on where their implementation takes place. For instance, the militarily have many layers of authorization and division. In fact, there are layers of restriction within the military that are not even known to the other members of the military. These layers enable the organization to run smoothly and create a level of defensible space as prescribed by Newman.

The use of such layered defenses prevents misuse and abuse of the facilities (Fennelly & Perry 2018) while preventing unauthorized personnel from accessing private and sensitive data. For example, in the case of the hospitals, it enables the blocking of unauthorized access to information such as patients medical records that people may want to access to commit crimes such as blackmail or sabotage. Similarly, in the military, these layers of access provide access to information according to one’s level of clearance hence protecting the good of the public. Moreover, layered defenses are crucial to the CPTED as they design the environment in such a way that criminals find it difficult to commit crimes altogether. Besides, in cases where the criminals chose to commit those crimes anyway, the strategies implemented of CPTED can catch the perpetrator quickly.

Physical security

Physical security is critical to crime prevention in environmental design. The use of physical security includes physical surveillance by guards, dogs, and police, as well as physical architectural aspects that reduce crime (Gigliotti & Jason 1992). Moreover, physical security sometimes considers technological advances that provide physical measures of protection. These include the detection of intruders and automatic alarms. These physical security measures are set in place to protect the society or the property in question. Physical security measures are critical in the implementation of CPTED as they determine the level of success criminals are likely to have when raiding or attempting to attack a place.

Places such as banks always implement physical security alongside the architectural, controlled access, layered defense and electronic design elements of security. These places employ people with proper training to protect premises from potential intruders (Andresen 2016) as they must think like the criminals. Physical security must take into consideration the possibility of intruders carrying weapons such as guns, knives, electroshock weapons, and bats among others. As such, such areas have armed guards to deter criminals from attacking or robbing the place. Such individuals are able to identify authorized individuals and control entry into a building physically. In addition, they can assist individuals hence reducing the unauthorized entry by lost individuals.

When it comes to physical security, architects focus on physical barriers such as strong and high walls and fortified gates to keep out the wrong people. Electric fences, bulletproof windows, and designated entry and exit points are also structural elements of physical security. Through these, organizations can implement controlled access, which in turn, increases crime prevention through environmental design. Such factors often deter criminals and improve safety in the environment (Wenzel 2008). In addition to these, physical security also incorporates the presence of electronic measures such as lasers and intruder detection.

Conclusion

The implementation of CPTED revolves around the concept of giving power and a sense of responsibility to the inhabitants of each environment. Through this, architectural design plays a unique role as it greatly influences the extent of achieving Oscar Newman’s defensible space. The success of the CPTED also relies on the use of electronic strategies to achieve its goals (Crowe 2000), which is critical. The creation of defensible spaces characterizes the primary approach of the CPTED design following the risk assessment. These include controlled access and layered defense, as well as physical security. The purpose of these systems is to create architectural environments that create what Newman referred to as ‘defensible spaces’ by doing this; the society would have less dependence on the government and more control over their personal spaces hence reducing crime rates.

References

Andresen, M. A. (2016). The place of environmental criminology within criminological thought. In Classics in environmental criminology (pp. 21-44). CRC Press.

Crowe, T. (2000). Crime prevention through environmental design. Butterworth-Heinemann.

Crowe, T. D., & Fennelly, L. J. (2013). Crime prevention through environmental design. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Fennelly, L. J., & Perry, M. A. (2018). Defensible Space Theory and CPTED. In CPTED and Traditional Security Countermeasures (pp. 3-5). CRC Press.

Fennelly, L. J., & Perry, M. A. (2018). Natural Access Control. In CPTED and Traditional Security Countermeasures (pp. 8-9). CRC Press.

Gigliotti, R., & Jason, R. (1992). Approaches to Physical Security. Effective Physical Security, 89-101.

Mawby, R. I. (2017). Defensible space. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Minton, A. (2018). The Paradox of Safety and Fear: Security in Public Space. Architectural Design, 88(3), 84-91.

Norman, T. L. (2011). Electronic access control. Elsevier.

Vera, Y., & Fabian, N. (2016). Crime prevention through environmental design.

Wenzel, R. L. (2008). CPTED: Interpreting contemporary security practices in the era of homeland security.

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