Secured by Design Principles Copyright 1999 Secured by Design ACPO CPI Ltd Registered Office : 25 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0EX Contact Information: Office Hours Tel: 0207 227 3423 E-mail acpocpi@acpo.pnn.police.uk Website: http://www.securedbydesign.com/ Concept 1 The concept of SBD 1.1 One of the Government s key objectives for the planning of new housing is to secure quality, sustainable places where people choose to live. To achieve this, more emphasis needs to be placed on the design and on the need to encourage higher standards. Designing for community safety is a central part of this. 1.2 Secured by Design (SBD) is a police initiative to encourage the building industry to adopt crime prevention measures in development design to assist in reducing the opportunity for crime and the fear of crime, creating a safer and more secure environment. Secured by Design is endorsed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), and has the backing of the Home Office Crime Reduction Unit. It has been drawn up in consultation with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). SBD and other Design Guidance 1.3 Good design must be the aim of all those involved in the development process and should be encouraged everywhere. The Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions (DETR) good practice companion guide to Design Bulletin 32, Places Streets & Movement, provides advice to local authorities and developers on the main planning considerations to be taken into account in laying out roads and footpaths in residential developments. The companion guide seeks to show in general terms how these considerations can be applied in ways to create sustainable and well designed residential areas. It underlines the importance of natural surveillance and designing routes that are overlooked and busy, so that the design of housing layouts can make a major contribution to both the prevention of crime and reducing the fear of crime. 1.4 The reduction of crime and the fear of crime are key objectives of Secured by Design which are in accord with the aim of the DETR guide to put more emphasis on people and communities. Busy movement routes provide informal control by citizens and a heightened sense of safety, a point highlighted in the DETR publication Personal Security Issues in Pedestrian Journeys. In particular clear and direct routes through an area for all forms of movement are desirable but should not undermine the defensible space of neighbourhoods. For these reasons SBD seeks to avoid the creation of underused and lonely movement routes which can result when too many routes are available. Safe communities are stable communities and if the general guidance provided in the DETR guide is combined with the principles of SBD developers will have provided a catalyst to achieving the Government s goal of sustainable communities. 1.5 Secured by Design aims to achieve a good overall standard of security for the building shell and, in order to deter criminal and anti-social behaviour within the curtilage or grounds of an estate, to introduce appropriate design features that enable natural surveillance and create a sense of ownership and responsibility for every part of the development. These features include secure vehicle parking, adequate lighting of common areas, instilling a sense of ownership of the local environment, control of access to individual and common curtilages, defensible space, and a landscaping scheme that enhances natural surveillance and safety.
2 Marketing Opportunity 2.1 Developers who gain SBD approval are presented with a major marketing opportunity. They are entitled to use the official SBD logo in their literature and advertising - the police award for incorporating sensible security measures. Information about the application process and how the logo may be used are contained within the main Secured By Design Standards document which can be obtained from the local Police Architectural Liaison Officer (ALO)/Crime Prevention Design Advisor (CPDA) or from the Secured By Design Website (www.securedbydesign.com). 3 Why Secured By Design? 3.1 Incorporating sensible security measures during the building of a new development or the refurbishment of buildings and estates has been shown to reduce levels of crime, fear of crime and disorder. The aim of the police service is to assist in the design process to achieve a safe and secure environment for residents, without creating a development suggesting a fortress mentality. Introduction to Designing Out Crime 4 Introduction 4.1 There are two elements within the built environment that influence crime and anti-social behaviour: community interaction - related to defensible space and territoriality - the way that members of communities exercise control over their environment and interact with one another, and crime features - likely to incorporate elements of anonymity, lack of surveillance and a choice of escape routes - the way that the presence of certain buildings, and the general infrastructure of an area tends to encourage criminal and anti-social behaviour. 5 Anonymity 5.1 Crime is always easier to commit where offenders cannot be recognised. Consequently, they will take opportunities to offend where they are likely to benefit from this anonymity. The built environment, including areas of open space, can be so organised that it creates the potential for, and alternatively reduces, the levels of offender anonymity. People expect to see strangers in public space, so there is a natural tendency to ignore them, providing the offender with the anonymity, and thus opportunity, to commit offences. 5.2 This problem tends to be at its worst where fully public space directly abuts private space, with no intermediate buffer zone spaces in between. In public spaces, everyone has a legitimate excuse to be there, and wrongdoers become indistinguishable from legitimate users. Because of this, many people are less inclined or able to recognise problems or, more significantly, to intervene when they occur. 5.3 It is much easier to ignore anti-social behaviour in public areas over which individuals have little control than in more private areas. Here strangers become identifiable. Housing developments with excessive public space can cause the potential for anonymity - features should be included which infer and encourage ownership. 6 Alternative Escape Routes
6.1 It is recognised that too many footpaths and through roads in development help to make crime easier to commit. They provide choice of alternative escape routes from the scene of the crime, rather than obliging the offender to return by the way he came. The opportunity to take a different route gives him the anonymity and safety he seeks, as opposed to the dangers of returning the same way, where he may have already been noticed. The more alternative routes there are, the more confident the wrongdoer feels, and the easier it is to commit crime. 7 Lack of Surveillance 7.1 It is clearly easier for offenders to commit crime if they cannot be seen at any stage of the criminal act. Developments where the design denies residents the ability to see what is taking place outside and around them will be more likely to suffer from crime and anti-social behaviour. 8 Crime Features 8.1 These are features within the designed environment which, simply because of what they are and where they are, can influence crime and anti-social behaviour. Consequently care needs to be taken in the way that the design of developments allows them to interact with these features. Examples are: i Movement Generators - Footpaths which link two places together, which help to generate anonymity. ii Out of Scale Facilities - Such as supermarkets intended for the larger, rather than the local community. iii Honeypots - Places such as fast food take-away restaurants that encourage people to congregate and remain longer in an area than they would otherwise do. iv Hotspots - Places where criminal or social misbehaviour becomes concentrated. v Fear Generators - Places which cause a perception of fear and become abandoned to anti-social acts and behaviour. 9 Site Management 9.1 To be successful the management of the scheme needs careful consideration. Otherwise an environment which abets crime may unwittingly be allowed to flourish. 9.2 It is essential that a programmed management system is in place to maintain the physical development and its environment. Regular grass cutting, ground maintenance, litter and graffiti removal are examples of management. Social and service needs of the residents should also be considered, for example, shops, telephone kiosks, bus routes and meeting rooms. Applications for SBD Initial contact must take place between the developer s agent and the Police Architectural Liaison Officer (ALO) / Crime Prevention Design Advisor (CPDA) at the earliest possible opportunity, when the initial sketch plans are under discussion and before planning application is made. Late consultation may result in failure to achieve the SBD certification. It should also be understood that the lack of crime prevention measures may be used as a material consideration in refusing planning permission (D of E Circular 5/94 - Planning Out Crime). Following consultation a formal application should be made and include: Completed SBD application form, together with appropriate check list Location Plan (to a scale not less than 1:2500) Site Layout (to a scale not less than 1:200) Building Elevations House Plan (for each Unit Type) Lighting specification and layout
Landscape and boundary details Schedule of security fittings NB: A second set of documents may be required. When the ALO/CPDA is satisfied that the necessary standard has been agreed, provisional approval can be given at this stage to enable the developer to promote Secured By Design in any marketing strategy. Before an SBD certificate is issued a site inspection will be necessary. This should be as close to the building completion date as practicable to confirm compliance. It is the responsibility of the applicant to arrange for the ALO/CPDA to carry out this inspection. SBD conditions 1 All rights to the term Secured by Design and its advertised logo are the property of the Association of Chief Police Officers Crime Prevention By Design Group (ACPO). The logo signifies Police approval, and unauthorised use may constitute an offence against the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 and other legislation. The logo is in the process of being trademarked. 2 The Police or their nominated representative will require access to developments for inspection purposes. 3 Should any conflict arise between the statutory provisions and the recommended guidelines then the statutory provisions will prevail. There will be occasions when the statutory provisions will depart from the principles of Secured By Design too far to allow any compromise. 4 The issue of the Police Secured by Design certificate is dependent on the development conforming to the agreed specification on final site inspection. If the application fails to meet SBD specification, the certificate will not be issued. 5 Secured by Design is a minimum standard for safety and security. Additional or alternative measures may be required, according to local conditions, as advised by the ALO / CPDA. Acknowledgements The ACPO Crime Prevention By Design Technical Committee wish to thank the numerous advisory and representative bodies for their help in the rewriting of the Secured By Design documentation. These groups include the: Association of British Insurers British Plastics Federation British Board of Agreement Housing Corporation Glass & Glazing Federation National House Building Council Master Locksmiths Association Royal Institute of British Architects British Standards Institute Tai Cumru - Housing for Wales Association of Builders Hardware Manufacturers Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions Building Research Establishment British Woodworking Federation Urban Design Alliance Council for Aluminium in Building Home Office Crime Prevention College Individual representatives from relevant Commercial companies Crime prevention advice is given free without the intention of creating a contract. Neither the Association of Chief Police Officers nor the Home Office Crime Prevention Agency take any legal responsibility for the advice given.