NCJ Number
53723
Date Published
1977
Length
6 pages
Annotation
CURRENT ASSUMPTIONS ON WHICH CRIME PREVENTION THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN (CPTED) PROGRAMS ARE BASED ARE CRITICIZED, AND SUGGESTIONS ARE MADE FOR RESEARCH BASED ON GREATER NUMBER OF HUMAN FACTORS.
Abstract
CPTED PROGRAMS GENERALLY ASSUME THAT USERS OF ENVIRONMENTS, WHEN GIVEN OPTIONS WHICH WILL REDUCE THEIR RISK OF VICTIMIZATION, WILL RECOGNIZE THESE OPTIONS AND WILL MAKE RATIONAL DECISIONS. CPTED PROGRAMS ALSO ASSUME THAT PEOPLE WILL WILLINGLY SURVEY ENVIRONMENTS AND, IF THEY SEE A CRIME OR SUSPICIOUS EVENT, WILL SUMMON POLICE. ACTUAL EVENTS HAVE SHOWN THAT SUCH ASSUMPTIONS ARE NOT NECESSARILY TRUE. CPTED PROGRAMS ALSO ASSUME THAT SAFETY WILL BE INCREASED IF THE NUMBER OF INTERACTING HUMANS FALLS WITHIN SOME OPTIMUM RANGE AND THEY MAKE USE OF THE CONCEPT OF TERRITORIALITY. FIELD RESEARCH HAS NOT ESTABLISHED WHAT SUCH AN OPTIMUM NUMBER IS, AND ETHOLOGICAL LITERATURE INDICATES THAT A COMPLEX INTERPLAY OF ENVIRONMENT, TRADITION, GROUP DYNAMICS, AND ROLE THEORY ALL AFFECT TERRITORIALITY. CPTED THEORY ALSO DEALS WITH LAND-USE MIXTURES, BUT FEW OF THESE MIXTURES HAVE BEEN EXAMINED EMPIRICALLY. WHAT EVIDENCE EXISTS INDICATES THAT THERE MAY BE MORE THAN ONE LAND USE MIXTURE TO ACHIEVE A DESIRED END. SOME AREAS CPTED HAS NOT ADDRESSED SPECIFICALLY AND WHICH SHOULD BE RESEARCHED INCLUDE THE EFFECTS ON CRIME OF BOTH ROOM-SIZE ENVIRONMENTS AND TOTAL METROPOLITAN ENVIRONMENTS, HOW OFFENDERS ACTUALLY RESPOND TO DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS, HOW POLICE RESPOND TO DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS, AND THE EFFECTS OF CHANGING NEIGHBORHOOD CONDITIONS ON CRIME. SOURCES OF DATA FOR SUCH STUDIES ARE SUGGESTED. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS APPENDED. (GLR)