Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

CPTED Professionals in Newcastle, Sydney & Western NSW

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is a crime prevention strategy which explores the relationship between crime and architecture, human behaviour and how public and private built environments interact. CPTED principles guide the planning and design of our neighbourhoods and cities to reduce victimisation, deter offender decisions that precede criminal acts, and create urban spaces and facilities that have a sense of community, are usable, sustainable and less likely to support criminality. CPTED can create a heightened perception of risk for offenders, increase the effort required to commit a crime, reduce the risk to reward and remove conditions that rationalise or excuse criminal behaviour. CPTED reduces the likelihood of essential crime ingredients from intersecting in time and space and the opportunity for crime and fear of crime is removed. This is achieved by creating environmental and social conditions that:

• Maximise risk to offenders (increasing the likelihood of detection, challenge and apprehension).
• Maximise the effort required to commit crime (increasing the time, energy and resources required).
• Minimise actual and perceived benefits of crime (removing, minimising or concealing crime attractors and rewards).
• Minimise excuse making opportunities (removing conditions that encourage/facilitate rationalisation of inappropriate behaviour).

Crime Risk Assessment aims to analyse the types of crime that may be prevalent in the area and to which the development may be susceptible; provide information as to how the design was informed by the CPTED principles; and inform the design, construction or future management practices of the development.

Our team has extensive experience in the preparation of crime risk assessments, providing design advice and guidance for Councils, local and State agencies and developers. Recent projects include educational facilities, medical centres, seniors housing, licensed premises, mixed use development, and open space, community and recreational development. Importantly, our town planners are suitably qualified, having completed both the NSW Police Safer by Design and Local Government CPTED programs.

de Witt Consulting can prepare Crime Risk Assessments for a range of development types and provide design advice and guidance on the implementation of CPTED principles for projects to reduce the likelihood of crime and create actual and perceived safe spaces.