Altering the Physical Environment

CJS 380 Crime Science:Principles, Strategies and Practice of

Crime Prevention and Reduction©

J.A. Gilmer

REDUCING OPPORTUNITIES FOR CRIME

THREE BROAD STRATEGIES

• Defensible Space

• CPTED – Crime Prevention through Environmental Design

• Situational Crime Prevention

DEFENSIBLE SPACETECHNIQUES TO REDUCE OPPORTUNITES FOR CRIME

Jane Jacobs – “Death and Life”

• Criticized “modernist” urban planning

• Influenced “new urbanism” movement in planning

• Physical design of an urban area impacts the behavior of its residents

• Poor design and planning can increase crime Jane Jacobs

(1916-2006)

1961

Oscar Newman – ‘Defensible Space’• The physical environment

can engender feelings of belonging and ownership or alienation and anonymity

• Restructure the physical layout of communities to allow residents to control the areas around their homes

Oscar Newman (1935-2004)

1971

Elements of Defensible Space

1. Territoriality – Visual cues and boundaries between public and private space enhance perception of ownership

2. Natural surveillance – Easily seen movements project sense of safety, reduce fear

3. Image – The ‘message’ the building transmits about itself; should blend in with community

4. Milieu – Placement of high-density housing in relation to other land use is important

Is Defensible Space Effective?

• In practice, implementation often piecemeal– Simple physical alterations often ignore underlying

social processes• ‘Defensible’ is not ‘defended’ absent social

cohesion/efficacy• Must consider ‘pre-existing social fiber’

Building design

Social cohesion

Informal social

control

Defensible Space – 2nd Generation

Source: Taylor, R. B and A. Harrell (1996) “Physical Environment and Crime.” NIJ

CRIME PREVENTION THROUGH ENVIRNOMENTAL DESIGN

TECHNIQUES TO REDUCE OPPORTUNITES FOR CRIME

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

• CPTED (sep ted) – ′∙ direct controls over environmental conditions to preclude the occurrence of crime

• Closely related to Newman’s “defensible space” but more diverse and less ‘territorial’

• Three interrelated strategies– Access control / target hardening: limit opportunity

• Organized; mechanical; natural – Surveillance: observational monitoring– Territorial reinforcement: sense of ownership

C. Ray Jeffery(1921-2007)

CPTED in Practice

• Popular in variety of settings (schools, parking lots, parks, etc.)

• Modifiable / scalable to existing conditions

• Police review of blueprints for building permits

• Meshes with community policing strategies

Moffat, R. (1983), “Crime prevention through environmental design – a management perspective”, Canadian Journal of Criminology 25(4): 19-31.

CPTED Guidebook

CPTED Projects• Charlotte, Genesis Park (1997) – Bought vacant properties, renovated and helped

refinance– Installed traffic barriers

• Fresno, Child Custody Program(2000)– Separate entrances, security guards, and security

cameras, to reduce parental conflict in custody transfers

• Vancouver intersection – Grandview Woodland – Banks worked with police to eliminate QOL

problems– Click here to see modifications to Royal Bank

SITUATIONAL CRIME PREVENTIONTECHNIQUES TO REDUCE OPPORTUNITES FOR CRIME

Situational Crime Prevention

1. Precautionary measures directed at highly specific forms of crime

2. That involve management, design, or manipulation of the immediate environment in a systematic and permanent way

3. To reduce the opportunities for crime and increase the risks of being detected (or reduce the rewards of crime)

Clarke, R. V. (1983) “Situational Crime Prevention: Its Theoretical Basis and Practical Scope. “ In M. Tonry and D. Farrington (eds.) Building a Safer Society: Strategic Approaches to Crime Prevention (pp. 91-150). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

10 Principles of Crime Opportunity• Plays a role in all crimes• Highly specific in form• Concentrated in space & time• Depend on everyday movements of activity• One crime creates opportunities for others• Some more tempting than others– VIVA (value, inertia, visibility, access)

• Enhanced by social/technological innovation• Can be manipulated to prevent crime• Reduction does not usually displace crime• Focused reduction can produce wider declines

POP Center: Situational Crime Prevention

Situational Prevention of Suicide

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All Suicides Suicide by gas

Clarke R.V. and P. Mayhew (1988) "Suicides in Britain: The British Gas Suicide Story and Its Criminological Implications“ Crime and Justice, vol. 10. Univ. of Chicago Press, pp. 79-116

Detoxification of natural gas

From Clarke’s Theory of

Situational Crime

PreventionRonald V. Clarke

“The opportunity structure is not simply a physical entity, defined at any one point in time by the nature of the physical environ-ment and the routine activities of the popu-lation. Rather, a complex interplay between potential offenders and the supply of victims, targets and facilitators determines the scale and nature of opportunities for crime. Potential offenders learn about criminal op-portunities from their peers, the media and their own observation, but they are differ-entially sensitized to this information as well as being differentially motivated to seek out and create opportunities. Thus, offender per-ceptions and judgments about risks, effort and rewards play an important part in defining the opportunity structure. These judgments also play a determining role at the subsequent stage of crime commission…” [emphasis added]

Clarke, R. V., ed., (1997) “Introduction.” In Situational Crime Prevention: Successful Case Studies, 2nd Ed. Guilderland, NY: Harrow & Heston.

25 Techniques of Situational Crime Prevention

Twenty Five Techniques of Situational Prevention

Increase the Effort

1. Harden Targets – physical barriers2. Control Access to Facilities – stop people from

entering places where they have no right to be3. Screen Exits – ensure people leaving have paid and

not stolen anything4. Deflect Offenders – provide alternative venues for

arrival and departure5. Control Tools and Weapons – Caller-ID, plastic mugs

in pubs, improved identification procedures

Increase the Risks

6. Extend Guardianship – walk in groups at night, ‘cocoon’ neighborhood watch

7. Assist Natural Surveillance – improved lighting, trim bushes, other CPTED techniques

8. Reduce Anonymity – decals, IDs, uniforms9. Utilize Place Managers – train clerks, doormen,

attendants, install/monitor CCTV10.Strengthen Formal Surveillance – Burglar alarms,

security guards, red-light cameras

Reduce the Rewards

11.Conceal Targets – off-street parking, hide jewelry/valuables

12.Remove Targets – exact-fare systems, hotel safes13.Identify Property – VIN etching, ID property14.Disrupt Markets – ‘sting’ operations, monitor

pawn shops15.Deny Benefits – Security-coded communication

devices (smart phones)

Reduce Provocations

16.Reduce Frustrations/Stress – Efficient waits, polite service, smooth ambient music/lighting

17.Avoid Disputes – fixed fares, segregated fans18.Reduce Emotional Arousal – control inflammatory

language, public crowding 19.Neutralize Peer Pressure – positive publicity

campaigns20.Discourage Imitation – V-Chip, limit ‘copycats’ by

repairing vandalism and erasing graffiti

Remove Excuses

21.Set Rules – Precise expectations eliminates rationalizations

22.Post Instructions – Public warning signage; common

23.Alert Conscience – best at highly limited settings24.Assist Compliance – free cab rides on New

Year’s Ever; crowd control/mgmt techniques25.Control Alcohol/Drugs – promote responsibility

How Does Situational Prevention Work?

“Successful applications of situational crime prevention techniques begin with a careful analysis of the specific crime problem…. What is happening? Where is it happening? When? How? Why? What situation seems to be giving rise to the problem? Once full understanding of the situation surrounding the criminal event is reached, one can move on to consider various methods of limiting opportunities for the crime to occur. Once a technique has been implemented, the impact of the change(s) must be carefully monitored. If the technique has demonstrated success, the strategy may be tried in similar situations.” (Lersch, p. 184; emphasis added)

Situational Prevention and Displacement

Types of Displacement• Temporal – different time of day / day of week• Target – more vulnerable target selected• Spatial – less safe places targeted• Tactical – offenders change methods• Perpetrator – offender replacement• Crime Type –different kind of offending

Critique of Situational Prevention• Fortress Society mentality – Gated communities– Further disenfranchisement of the poor

• Big Brother tactics– Infringement on individual freedoms in public places

• Concerned more with effects than causes of crime• Lacks natural or professional constituency– Seen as ‘soft on crime’ & ‘blaming the victim’– Strategies imply fewer police, security guards, etc.