Users of design techniques to cut crime at the London Olympics and in the earthquake-shattered New Zealand city of Christchurch, are among contributors to a special issue of Safer Communities. The issue aims to enable people working at the sharp end of crime prevention to share their knowledge and experiences.
“Designing out Crime – Voices from the Fields” makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the importance of designing out crime and its implementation on the ground, giving a voice to practitioners and allowing them to share their experiences and insights. It is free to read until 7 December 2013 by visiting www.emeraldinsight.com/tk/design and using the following details to log in: username: safercommunities password: emerald2013
Guest edited by Leanne Monchuk, from the University of Huddersfield’s Applied Criminology Centre (ACC), and Garner Clancey, Deputy Director of the Sydney Institute of Criminology, the issue features five articles ranging over Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) from England, Australia and New Zealand. All of the authors are people working in the field, using techniques, such as CPTED, which try to ensure that new buildings and developments are designed in ways that minimize the likelihood and possibility of crime.
Contributors include Nick Goldby, Senior Security Consultant for construction firm Arup, and Ian Heward, Crime Prevention Design Advisor for the Metropolitan Police, who describe how designing out crime was part of the process for the development of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.
Other contributors include Sue Ramsey, Crime Prevention Team Leader for Christchurch City Council in New Zealand, who writes about the extensive use of CPTED in the post-earthquake rebuilding of the city, and Jonathan Knapp, Director of SJB Urban, who provides context to the challenges of integrating CPTED into design and architectural practice.
Both of the guest editors of the special issue of Safer Communities stress the benefits of the publication and its practical emphasis. Leanne Monchuk comments: “It fills in the gap between research and practice. We can talk about criminological theory and designing out crime, but here we have some excellent case studies of how it has been implemented on the ground”.
In the UK, the journal is especially topical because of fears that relaxations in planning laws could end the requirement to use CPTED, which has been shown to cut crime by more than half.
“Designing out Crime – Voices from the Fields” is published as Volume 12, Issue 4 of Safer Communities whose mission is to promote evidence-based police and practice across all aspects of community safety. More information about the journal can be found by visiting www.emeraldinsight.com/sc.htm
Safer Communities is one of 31 titles in the Health and Social Care collection published by Emerald Group Publishing: www.emeraldinsight.com/products/collections/hsc.htm
