Promoting Design Against Crime (From Designing Out Crime From Products and Systems, P 141-178, 2005, Ronald V. Clarke and Graeme R. Newman, eds. -- See NCJ-211693)

• NCJ Number: 211697
• Author(s): Simon Learmount
• Date Published: 2005
• Length: 38 pages
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Crime Prevention Studies, Volume 18.

Annotation

This chapter summarizes findings from research that examined the current state of crime-resistant design in products and services produced by business and industry in the United Kingdom.

Abstract

The chapter first reviews the concepts of situational crime prevention, of which crime-resistant design is an integral part, which includes a discussion of the benefits and limitations of this strategy. This is followed by an overview of military design and ecodesign, with attention to how product and service design in these fields pertains to crime-resistant design of products and services marketed to the general public. The chapter next examines how crime-resistant concepts are currently incorporated into design education and practice, and approaches are suggested for raising awareness of this issue among design educators and designers. A section then describes the new product/service development process in companies involved in car manufacture, train carriage manufacture, school commissioning, house building, e-commerce, and consumer electronics. This section includes a discussion of how best to persuade industry to give more attention to crime resistance in the design of their products and services. Consumers' awareness and attitudes toward crime-resistant design are addressed in the next section, because these are key factors in influencing businesses to engage in crime-resistant design of their products and services. The final section summarizes the main conclusions of the research and offers recommendations based on the findings. The research found that crime-resistant design of products and services can be an effective complement to other crime-reduction measures and can have a cost-effective impact on targeted crimes relatively quickly. The current state of crime-resistant design in the United Kingdom lacks consistency, uniformity, and proficiency across the full range of products and services. Suggestions are offered for improving the situation. 1 figure, 11 notes, and 21 references