Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED): Key Principles and Practical Applications
Video Summary
In the video Person Attempts to Steal Car from Brampton Driveway with Baby Inside, a man tries to steal a vehicle with a baby inside from a parking area in Brampton, Ontario. The car’s closed doors prevent the thief from opening the vehicle’s doors. The intruder then tries to shatter the vehicle window with a tool, but the owner steps outside and approaches the criminal, discouraging him (CityNews, 2022). The robber then exits the scene without harming the youngster.
This video depicts a typical example of an opportunity-based crime and highlights the significance of constructing physical boundaries to avoid such acts. The film is a potent reflection of the significance of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), which strives to create physical surroundings that hinder crime and promote the safety of both individuals and their assets.
Theory Description
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is a crime prevention approach that minimizes crime by emphasizing tactical planning and efficiently utilizing the constructed environment. CPTED is based on four fundamental principles: natural surveillance, access control, territory reinforcement, and space management (Gouveia et al., 2021). The notion of natural surveillance is constructing buildings and areas such that openness is maximized and people may see and be observed.
Cultivating a feeling of belonging and territoriality in a particular area is the objective of territorial reinforcement. This may be accomplished using physical barriers, including walls, perimeters, and landscaping. Access control entails restricting a space’s entry to authorized individuals. The last component of CPTED is maintenance, which entails maintaining buildings and surroundings that are clean and well-maintained.
Theoretical Video Analysis
Territory Reinforcement and Access Control
The video emphasizes the basic ideas of CPTED from a conceptual perspective. The construction of territoriality, which entails building a feeling of ownership and authority over an area, is one of the core ideas of CPTED. This notion is shown in the film in which, upon witnessing the crime, the car’s owner dashed towards the vehicle and yelled, indicating that he was in charge of the vehicle and the infant inside. Hence, claiming ownership and exercising control over the region might dissuade thieves and criminals from trying to steal (Clarke, 1980). The notion of access restriction is also essential for preventing crime. In the film, access control might have been set by securing the automobile doors and shutting the windows, thus rendering it harder for the criminal to take the vehicle.
Natural Surveillance
Another CPTED concept is the development of natural surveillance, which entails creating environments with clear sight ranges and simple monitoring. The footage reveals that the vehicle was parked in an open driveway, leaving it susceptible to theft. To protect one’s possessions, one should be able to see any criminal activity (Clarke, 1980). This issue may have been avoided if the parking area had been planned with natural monitoring in mind, such as by constructing a fence to prevent unlawful entrance.
Theory Application to Resolve the Issue
Implementing CPTED concepts in residential and public places would be a proposal for addressing the problem of vehicle theft and child safety. CPTED is a method that emphasizes structuring the built surroundings to deter criminal activity and increase security (Clarke, 1980). For instance, residents may add surveillance cameras and motion-sensor lights to dissuade criminals from targeting their possessions. In addition to constructing well-lit parking spots, eliminating visual obstacles that may conceal criminal activities, and boosting security patrols in high-risk locations, neighborhoods should employ initiatives such as these.
CPTED is often seen as a cost-effective technique for crime prevention since it entails making essential modifications to the surroundings, such as installing lights or pruning back vegetation, which may significantly influence lowering crime. Additionally, the paradigm promotes community participation in crime prevention. A possible weakness of CPTED is that it may shift criminal activity to other locations. Criminals may easily relocate their operations to places where CPTED methods do not apply.
References
CityNews. (2022). Person attempts to steal car from Brampton driveway with baby inside [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. Web.
Clarke, R. V. G. (1980). “Situational” crime prevention: Theory and practice. The British Journal of Criminology, 20(2), 136–147. Web.
Gouveia, F., Sani, A., Guerreiro, M., Azevedo, V., Santos, H., & Nunes, L. M. (2021). Mapping CPTED parameters with the LookCrim application. Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 23(3), 252–263. Web.