Crime and design

The study examined the matter of multi-disciplinary issues which span inter-departmental boundaries, but with which planning has a particular interest. The problem of crime was considered in this context, and as a phenomenon which affects everyone, directly or otherwise. The body of largely conflicting theory was critically reviewed in terms of the various approaches to crime prevention, but in particular, the environmental design approach. The state of crime was examined and the Government's response thereto, focusing on the initiatives set up by the Home Office and Police service, as well as official guidance and statutory instruments. The response of the development world was considered with regard to the efforts of local planning authorities in particular, and other agencies involved in the production of the built environment. Two case studies take an in-depth look at the problem of crime and the factors which come together to 'create' it. The study found that the issue of crime was the product of many factors. The implication for crime prevention is that an effective and well co-ordinated inter-disciplinary approach is the answer. The current situation was found to fall well short of this aim in the following ways: There is a lack of importance attached to the issue of crime prevention at the most crucial, formative stages of development. There is a lack of any co-ordinated approach to designing against crime at the local level. Agencies involved in the development process adhere to a narrow school of thought, ie. Alice Coleman and Oscar Newman