Crime Prevention Through Community Design

By Kevin Barnard

CPTED employs the strategy of involving educated community planning groups that have an understanding of the concepts of crime prevention through community design.

Crime is no accident.

My experience of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) began when I proposed a special detail in the early 1990's to combat the ever-increasing auto burglary rates in San Diego. Having worked the beach areas for most of my patrol career, I was aware that auto burglary was a constant concern to residents, and something that certainly affected their actual and perceived quality of life. Non-residents (tourists) also suffered inordinate amounts of victimization in this category of crime. Auto burglars came to realize that tourists were more apt to keep valuables, money, credit cards, etc. in a car since this was there "home away from home" as they traveled. In my estimation this had a negative effect on tourism in a city that depends on tourism.

We formed this detail, all two of us, and were given wide discretion to try several different strategies to combat the problem. This detail was active for more than four years and during that time it averaged requesting charges on at least one auto burglar per day worked. We also saw auto burglary rates drop significantly overall, and in particular areas that were formerly hardest hit, we almost eliminated auto burglaries altogether.

We discovered several factors were responsible for these declines in the auto burglary rate.

Changing the Environment First, awareness needed to be raised - in our own organization and the community - that this was a problem that was worth attacking. We had to sell this idea like any business must sell it's product. We sold our idea to victims who formerly had given up on reporting these incidents out of frustration that nothing would be done about an auto burglary if they took the trouble to report it. We advertised our presence through business, community, and media contacts. We sold the idea to our own troops, who made the vast majority of arrests for us (what really sold the troops was our willingness to come in and do the paper work at any time of the day or night - seven days a week - close any potential holes in the cases through thorough investigation, and identify any related cases for which the arrestee(s) might be responsible).

Second, there was no replacement for good old-fashioned aggressive police work in which workable cases were pursued to their end through identification, arrest, and prosecution.

Third, we identified "hot spots' where this activity was concentrated and began to experiment with environmental design changes. We had dramatic results with design and layout changes in large public and private lots where, in some cases the activity virtually disappeared.

Problem Oriented Policing This integrated style of police work has evolved over the years and become much more sophisticated, now being known by names such as Neighborhood Policing, Problem Oriented Policing, and the most advanced form, CPTED.

CPTED often employs the strategy of involving educated community planning groups that have an understanding of the concepts of crime prevention through community design. Having an educated community based planning group, with a balanced, multi-discipline background, involved at the earliest part of community planning, is an efficient way to design, or re-design, any community. It brings the architects, developers, residents, business interests, police and other safety services, together at the front end of the process, developing consensus, reducing controversy and conflict, and increasing livability.

"Eyes on the Street" vs Social Disconnect

CPTED employs concepts like surveillance through design where the community is designed so that people are exposed, through routine activity, to public and semi-public areas, thus reducing the chance for un-witnessed activities (crime). This is a direct contrast to our ever-sprawling, auto-dependant, suburban expanse whose main design features separate people in ways that can aid criminal activity. With overly wide streets and three car garages, these overly-auto dominated designs are also gobbling up our open spaces and backcountry at an alarming rate. Instead of playing outside and being in safe community spaces, more and more of our kids are disappearing behind the front door and are locked into the TV or computer screens.

We are just beginning to see more thought put into community design. Examples of this might be the concept put forth by Westfield to redesign University Towne Centre into a mixed use, commercial-residential facility combined with a transit center. A walkable community with all kinds of positive human contact, services, and entertainment, at our doorsteps can provide a high-density urban environment that works well.

Face Our Urban Hearts

For so long we have run from our urban cores in this county because of their declining states and increasing crime rates. It was so easy for many decades to just expand into what seemed like limitless areas outside the urban core. Now we are running into ourselves and causing our transportation and public services to be stretched to the breaking point. What we lost, and are beginning to re-discover, is the beautiful culture of well maintained urban areas, the arts, the entertainment, the excitement of a vibrant "downtown". We have also threatened the beauty and health of our hills, ridges, waterways, beaches, and open spaces by failing to face our urban hearts.

I am convinced these concepts can be successfully applied to our North County Cities as well. There lies so much potential to re-create the urban areas of North County.

At a crossroads

Our threatened open spaces, mountains, hills, valleys, waterways, wildlife, our aching urban cores, and our very souls, cannot stand for another, "last great freeway". This type of effort - what is really government-sponsored land speculation # is not a sound investment. We are at a cross roads in this county. Down one road # continuing to pursue sprawl - we find rising taxes leading to traffic, cultural emptiness, isolation, and urban. Down the other road # reinvesting in declining urban areas # combined with the preservation of priceless natural features, village environments with low crime rates # our taxes will support a future based on quality of life.

The choice is simple yet requires courage. I believe we will have the courage to take the proper course.

Please vote for Kevin Barnard and volunteer at www.kevin barnard.com