Crime Prevention through Environmental Design
11/13/13
ABSTRACT
The theory of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) was introduced in the United States of America by criminologist C. Ray Jeffery in the late 1960s. Aiming to reduce the fear and incidence of crime with the effective use of the built environment, this theory combines security hardware, psychology, and site design. In doing this, a physical environment could be developed that would, by its very nature, discourage crime.
Brantingham and Brantingham (1991) have argued that there are four dimensions to any crime; the law, the offender, the target and the location. Hence, crime prevention strategies are mostly place-based, focusing on crime sites where crime rates are high due to the physical environment of the place itself.
Traditionally, most people think of crime prevention in terms of target hardening or fortification. (Gabbidon & Greene, 2012) Crime Prevention through Environmental Design, or CPTED, is a different approach to preventing crime. Much more far-reaching than dead-bolt locks on doors, or locks on windows, CPTED principles are applied easily and inexpensively during the design phase of development and have been implemented in communities across the nation. Design professionals have always integrated into their work resistance to natural threats such as fire, earthquakes, floods and harsh weather. In recent years, design professionals have begun to recognize crime as a man-made hazard that can be resisted through quality design. (Fennelly, 2013)
This paper will discuss how CPTED works and whether it’s effective which will show why it should be implemented as a major crime prevention measure.
CPTED was originally coined and formulated by criminologist C. Ray Jeffery in the late 1960s. During this time the federal government took an interest in crime prevention in urban housing; few serious attempts were made to develop a workable philosophy for...