NCJ Number
132884
Date Published
1991
Length
252 pages
Annotation
The Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) program assumes that the proper design and use of the environment can reduce the fear and incidence of crime and improve quality of life. The program has rejuvenated an interest in traditional concepts of environmental psychology.
Abstract
Goals of the book on CPTED are to alter and expand the reader's perception of the immediate physical environment. Altering this perception increases the capacity to understand the direct relationship between the environment and human behavior and crime. An increase in basic understanding should increase the likelihood of individuals' questioning or challenging decisions that affect their immediate environment. Further, an understanding of the direct relationship between environmental design and management and human behavior is a prerequisite to increasing the success of crime prevention efforts. Such understanding is especially key in effective community organization because it gives citizens the power to protect and control the physical environment and associated quality of life. While CPTED is not the total answer to community problems, it provides the community with the means to eliminate or reduce environmental obstacles to social, cultural, or managerial control. Following an introduction to CPTED, the book focuses on crime and loss prevention, CPTED concepts and strategies, historical and behavioral precedents of CPTED, using the environment to affect behavior, issues in CPTED planning (aesthetics, environmental cues, and territorial behavior), and examples of CPTED strategies and applications. Appendixes contain supplemental information on CPTED programs and training. References and figures