Articles

Why Choose Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) For Your Next Building Project?

By Joe Zaccaria, CPP

Many years ago in the USA, law enforcement professionals had a dilemma on their hands. Large public housing developments, which some had termed “The Projects”, were gaining a terrible reputation for being virtual hotbeds of crime. Breaking-and-entering, drug dealing, assaults, arson, and other serious crimes threatened the future of public housing.

During the course of investigating the root causes of these crimes, it was discovered that some serious building design flaws were hampering good policing of these areas and creating opportunity for crime. These flaws were simply architectural features that may have been aesthetically pleasing, but inadvertently provided “entrapment zones” that criminals could use to their advantage.

From this bit of history, security design professionals have found that a series of architectural enhancements can maintain the integrity of aesthetically pleasing design, while enhancing security one hundred-fold!

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) may have its roots in public housing, but its principles extend far beyond these roots into the field of urban planning as a whole, as well as security design for commercial and manufacturing spaces.

A CPTED professional will review architectural plans for new construction projects, or properties undergoing renovations. Involving the CPTED designer as early as possible in the schematic phases of design will result in a greater degree of flexibility and security enhancement potential.