Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, or CPTED (“sep-ted”), is an approach that, when properly applied, supports the intended use of a space by helping establish whom it is for and what counts as appropriate or inappropriate behavior in it. CPTED is an internationally recognized method of signaling nonverbal, environmental cues to reduce opportunities for crime and fear of crime and is a powerful tool for law enforcement, architects, planners, historic preservationists, individual property owners, and community managers.

CPTED's practical, common-sense, and often economical applications offer opportunities for property managers and owners to improve the image, reputation, culture, safety, security, and even profitability for all those that live, work, and visit their respective communities.

That said, property owners and managers run the risk of being held liable if they choose to neglect the impact physical elements have on criminal behavior—especially when a dangerous situation could have been "designed out" from the get-go. Property managers must pay attention to the risks poor design and maintenance can pose to individuals who, in other environments, may not be the target of opportunistic crimes such as burglary, assault, or robbery.

Rather than operating in a vacuum, CPTED is an umbrella approach that is applied alongside other environmental crime reduction and prevention strategies derived from the concepts of Defensible Space, Situational Crime Theory, Problem-Oriented Policing, Routine Activity, Crime Pattern Theory, Rational Choice, the 3-D Approach, and Second and Third Generation CPTED.

In what many now refer to as “First-Generation" CPTED, Crowe introduced the Three-D Approach, which helps us understand there should be no confusion between what and whom a space is for and how it is designed. Any conflicts between a space’s designation, definition, and design indicate a vulnerability that requires an adjustment to the space’s environment or programming.

Tim Crowe provided three overlapping practical strategies for designing and managing space to achieve desired behavior and outcomes: natural surveillance, natural access control, and territorial reinforcement. He identified maintenance as a fourth. CPTED utilizes natural surveillance and natural access control to create an environment where the intended users of a space feel safe enough that they develop a sense of belonging with it. This feeling of stewardship, or territorial reinforcement, along with environmental and social cues that signal what type of behavior is appropriate and what is not, makes lawful users less likely to overlook deviance and makes wrongdoers less confident about intruding.

(Source: CPTED Central)

The University of New Mexico applies CPTED principles in a number of ways to enhance community members' experience on campus. Check out the video below to learn more about specific projects at UNM.