Is It Just a Guessing Game? The Application of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) to Predict Burglary (original) (raw)
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Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) began to develop in the early 1970s as a response to an increase in crime and fear in urban areas. Advancing research in CPTED requires clarifying the theoretical conceptualizations and validating an integrated CPTED model. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a hierarchical CPTED model for urban neighborhoods. Conceptually, this study extends theory by reframing CPTED as a reflective, hierarchical construct and modelling its impact on burglary victimization. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that CPTED is a third-order, reflective construct model with four main dimensions, namely, surveillance, access control, territoriality and maintenance. The results of the structural model support the theoretical findings in the literature that associate high CPTED with low victimization. The scale can be applied for a wide range of landed residential properties. Crime prevention practitioners should take these factors into consideration to make informed decisions for future developments.
Security Journal
Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) represents a multi-faceted approach to crime reduction that draws upon theories from urban design, psychology and criminology. Yet there remains a lack of clarity regarding CPTED's definition and scope. CPTED has been defined by, amongst others Crowe (2000), Ekblom (2011) and Armitage (2013), and the principles upon which it is based have seen even greater discrepancy. Conscious that these principles have primarily been defined by academics and policy-makers, this research aims to rectify this imbalance. A sample of twenty-two incarcerated prolific burglars from three prisons (England), were asked to describe their response to sixteen images of residential housing. The results confirm that the design of residential housing influences burglar decision making, but that the principles of CPTED should be reexamined , with surveillance, and physical security a clear deterrent, yet management and maintenance and defensible space not considered as important in offender decision making.
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to critically review the core findings from recently published place-based crime prevention research. The paper aims to critically evaluate the available evidence on the contribution of crime prevention through environmental design as a crime prevention strategy. Design/methodology/approach-Large-scale evaluations of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) are reviewed with a view to clarifying current knowledge on the evidence of crime prevention through environmental design. Findings-The review concludes that there is a growing body of research that supports the assertion that crime prevention through environmental design is effective in reducing both crime and fear of crime in the community. Research limitations/implications-Although the paper may not review all the evaluations of CPTED, it nonetheless provides a detailed compilation and overview of the most significant research in the area, including an extensive and modern bibliography on the subject. Research implications will be the subject of a forthcoming paper. Practical implications-CPTED is an increasingly fashionable approach and is being implemented on a global scale. Additionally, individual components such as territoriality, surveillance, maintenance, access control, activity support and target-hardening are being widely deployed. However, the evidence currently available is inconclusive and much criticised, which effectively prevents widespread intervention and investment by central government. The paper details the difficulties associated with demonstrating the effectiveness of CPTED. Originality/value-The paper concludes that although empirical proof has not been definitively demonstrated, there is a large and growing body of research, which supports the assertion that crime prevention through environmental design is a pragmatic and effective crime prevention tool. This review provides an extensive bibliography of contemporary crime prevention through environmental design and a follow-up paper will discuss the future research priorities for it.
Crime prevention in urban spaces through environmental design: A critical UK perspective
Cities, 2019
Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) and the Defensible Space Theory have been adopted to enable the effective use of the built environment to reduce crime. The occurrence of crime is widely accepted to be context-specific. Some explanatory theories have focused on social disorder, alluding to the notion that if such disorders are eliminated from society then serious crime would be eradicated. Numerous approaches have considered the use of environmental design and spatial configuration as a possible solution to reduce crime. The main aim of this study is to gain further understanding of stakeholders' perceptions of Brixton Town Centre (BTC) in London and thus advance the discourse of CPTED. Using a mixed methodology approach, a visual audit of CPTED, a critical analysis of police crime data, questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews were carried out to gauge the effectiveness of key CPTED intervention principles identified in BTC. It was revealed that since the interventionary measures began in BTC in 2011, there has been an increase in the crime rates for other parts of England and Wales whilst BTC in particular has experienced a decline. A positive correlation was found between length of residency in the area and fear of crime. Lighting was critical to people's perception of feeling secure. Finally, the research findings revealed that although crime rates had fallen in BTC, stakeholders agree that further improvement was required. This research concludes with a proposal of further study that will theorize the phenomenon occurring at BTC.
Integrating crime prevention into urban design and planning
Journal of Place Management and Development, 2016
PurposeThis paper aims to understand the delivery of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) across Europe – from European-wide procedures through national schemes to effective local strategies.Design/methodology/approachThe findings come from a review of published literature and reports, case studies and site visits conducted primarily during COST Action TU1203 (2013-2016).FindingsInnovative approaches and methods to integrate crime prevention into urban design, planning and management have been generated by multi-agency partnerships and collaborations at European, national and city levels. Methods and procedures developed by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) Working Group on “Crime Prevention through Urban Planning and Building Design” are pioneering. However, findings show that implementation is best achieved at a local level using methods and procedures tailored to the specific context.Research limitations/implicationsIn-depth research is required to...
Impact of Housing Design on Crime
Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research, 2014
The article provides a brief outline to the field of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) and explains how the application of CPTED to housing design can contribution to reductions in crime and consequent benefits to residents' quality of life. Christmann and Rogerson (2004), following a secondary analysis of a household survey data, concluded that measures to reduce crime in a neighbourhood can make an important contribution to enhanced quality of life. The following discussion describes measures to prevent crime through the manipulation of the physical environment in and around residential neighbourhoods.It should be noted that the principles can be extended to cover the prevention of crime and enhancement of quality of life across other realms of life including the work place, across public transport networks and in leisure time (Crowe, 2001).
Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED): a review and modern bibliography
Property Management, 2005
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to critically review the core findings from recently published place-based crime prevention research. The paper aims to critically evaluate the available evidence on the contribution of crime prevention through environmental design as a crime prevention strategy. Design/methodology/approach -Large-scale evaluations of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) are reviewed with a view to clarifying current knowledge on the evidence of crime prevention through environmental design. Findings -The review concludes that there is a growing body of research that supports the assertion that crime prevention through environmental design is effective in reducing both crime and fear of crime in the community. Research limitations/implications -Although the paper may not review all the evaluations of CPTED, it nonetheless provides a detailed compilation and overview of the most significant research in the area, including an extensive and modern bibliography on the subject. Research implications will be the subject of a forthcoming paper. Practical implications -CPTED is an increasingly fashionable approach and is being implemented on a global scale. Additionally, individual components such as territoriality, surveillance, maintenance, access control, activity support and target-hardening are being widely deployed. However, the evidence currently available is inconclusive and much criticised, which effectively prevents widespread intervention and investment by central government. The paper details the difficulties associated with demonstrating the effectiveness of CPTED. Originality/value -The paper concludes that although empirical proof has not been definitively demonstrated, there is a large and growing body of research, which supports the assertion that crime prevention through environmental design is a pragmatic and effective crime prevention tool. This review provides an extensive bibliography of contemporary crime prevention through environmental design and a follow-up paper will discuss the future research priorities for it.
Environmental Design and Crime Events
This article presents an overview of theoretical perspectives that explain the relationship between crime and environmental design. It describes how crime event research has been influenced significantly by developments in our understanding of how environmental design influences both offender decision making and crime preventive action by citizens. Key crime prevention techniques that involve the manipulation of environmental design will be explained and their empirical standing will be considered. Through a discussion of the practical applications of design theory and concepts, some fundamental limitations and gaps in criminological knowledge about the crime-design link will be highlighted. In conclusion, this article will emphasize the need for better integration of the role and function of crime controllers to continue the advancement of the crime-design framework.