Why CPTED Still Requires a Mixture of Professional Security Services
You may or may not of heard of the concept CPTED, yet it seems that by complying to a number of environmental factors will aide security, by influencing cognitive processes of a vandal or thief. CPTED is the acronym for ‘Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design’ which was first introduced by criminologist C. Ray Jeffrey which identified the basic elements of the criminals psyche and their behavioural mannerisms. The CPTED elements were confined to specific areas to identify the territorial reinforcement that promotes social control through a variety of measures.
Natural Surveillance
The oldest security service available, the act of the general public being nosy and sighting odd behaviour. A crime is less likely if there are people around to watch. These people act in a similar way to manned guards, as they will be nosey and chances are they could interfere if you become overly suspicious.
Natural Access Control
Restricting potential trespassed by introducing barriers to entry should be a compulsory practise yet, many sites don’t take this into consideration when designing the construction site plan. Ensure that the natural territorial reinforcement such as wall fences, gates, doorways and alleyways are all secure and have some sort of surveillance.
Maintenance
Ensure that the site is in prime condition with no graffiti or broken pains of glass anywhere. If the site is clean then passers by will treat the site with respect, yet, if the site was to be in some sort of mess then vandals may be more likely to cause havoc.
Activity and Support
On the site, make sure that the employees are aware of the surroundings and know how to act when a potential criminal or vandal is on the site.
As a construction site manager the elements of CPTED should be instinctive, yet if not do consider the security aspects of a build, as without consideration a vandal or thief could put back your build time, costing money.