January 27, 2010
The Broken Window Theory - CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design)
SECURITY PROGRAMS SHOULD START WITH THE BASICS & THEN BUILD - What do you think?
Use your imagination and picture two shopping malls across the street from one another, one on the left and one on the right. Or if you prefer, picture two apartment complexes across the street for one another, one on the left and one on the right.
Let’s assume that the property on the left side of the street is not well kept. There are a few broken windows, there is trash blowing about the parking lot some of the exterior lights are burned out. Let’s also assume that the property on the right side of the street is clean, it is well lit and burned out lights and broken windows are immediately repaired. The property is well landscapes and bushes are regularly trimmed.
Which of these properties has higher rates of crime?
If one hospital’s materials management storeroom is disheveled, cartons are half full with contents spilling out while the storeroom of the hospital down the street is orderly with a well run inventory control program, which one is likely to have a serious shrink problem?
Security is not just about guards, CCTV and alarm systems. It is also about behavior modification, security awareness programs and good housekeeping. If a warehouse or property looks unkempt and is poorly maintained, the odds are that crime will increase, both internally and externally. The disheveled storeroom sends the message that: “If you steal something from here it will go undetected.” Good housekeeping as a security device may also be applied to landscaping, lighting and graffiti eradication programs.
At Security Management Services International (SMSI) we often suggest to our clients that these CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) principals should be applied early in the security program enhancement process, in part, because many of these remedies do not come with a big price tag. The application of CPTED principals will positively enhance the deterrent impact of more traditional approaches such as surveillance systems, access control systems and uniform security officers. In fact, in the absence of the techniques, the application of more traditional security methodologies will actually be diminished.
William H. Nesbitt, CPP
President
Security Management Services International, Inc.
Leave a comment