Secured By Design

Carefully designed residential developments, industrial estates and public buildings can significantly reduce crime, anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime.

The national Secured by Design Initiative has been established by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) with the support of the Home Office to provide home builders and commercial developers with free advice that will enable them to build sensible crime prevention measures into their development plans and designs. The approach works best if security aspects of a development are considered at an early stage.

These improvements need not add to the cost of a development but should result in the creation of a safer environment for people to live and work in. They can be used as an additional selling point and add value to a developer’s business reputation.

Specific issues to consider include:

• Security features – doors, windows, locks, alarms
• Sight-lines
• Access and footpaths
• Lighting
• Secure vehicle parking
• Defensible space (this is the concept of subdividing large portions of public spaces and assigning them to individuals and small groups to use and control as their own private areas)
• Landscape design
• Open space and its management

Developments that gain Secured by Design approval benefit from a significant marketing opportunity. They are entitled to use the official Secured by Design logo in their literature and advertising – the award for incorporating design, layout and security measures that promote community safety.

For more information about the initiative please visit: www.securedbydesign.com or contact your divisional Crime Risk Manager on 0300 333 3000.