We live with crime every day.  It has become, unfortunately, a fact of life.  Discussions on the subject have traditionally focused much less on crime prevention than on arrest and punishment; measures that cannot be taken until after a crime has been committed.  Only in the last 20 years have designers and architects begun to see the need to plan and build with more in mind than just the traditional threats of nature: fire, earthquakes, and hurricanes.  They must now consider the threat of crime.

 

Enter a new approach to crime prevention- Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design – or CPTED.  Much more far-reaching than dead bolts on doors and locks on windows, CPTED crime prevention principles can be applied easily and inexpensively to building or remodeling, and have been implemented in communities across the nation.  The results have been impressive; in some CPTED communities, criminal activity has decreased by as much as forty percent.  What is the secret to CPTED crime prevention?  Design that eliminates or reduces criminal behavior and at the same time encourages people to “keep an eye out” for each other.  These are just a few ingredients that go into creating an effective CPTED crime prevention environment; that is, a safer more livable community.

 

The Four Strategies of CPTED

 

1. Natural Surveillance – A design concept directed primarily at keeping intruders easily observable.  Promoted by features that maximize visibility of people, parking areas and building entrances: doors and windows that look out on the streets and parking areas; pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and streets; front porches; adequate nighttime lighting.

 

2. Territorial Reinforcement – Physical design can create or extend a sphere of influence.  Users then develop a sense of territorial control while potential offenders, perceiving this control, are discouraged.  Promoted by features that define property lines and distinguish private spaces from public spaces using landscape plantings, pavement designs, gateway treatments, and “CPTED” fences.

 

3. Natural Access Control – A design concept directed primarily at decreasing crime opportunity by denying access to crime targets and creating in offenders a perception of risk.  Gained by designing streets, sidewalks, building entrances and neighborhood gateways to clearly indicate public routes and discouraging access to private areas with structural elements.

 

4. Target Hardening – Accomplished by features that prohibit entry of access: window locks, dead bolts for doors, interior door hinges.

 

 

Examples of each are as follows:

 

Natural Surveillance

 

·        All doorways that open to the outside should be well lit.

·        The front door should be at least partially visible from the street.

·        Windows on all side of the house/building provide full visibility of the property.

·        Sidewalks and all areas of the yard should be well lit.

·        The driveway should be visible from either the front or back door and at least one window.

·        The front door should be clearly visible from the driveway.

·        Properly maintained landscaping provides maximum viewing to and, from the house/building.

 

Territorial Reinforcement

 

·        Front porches or stoops create a transitional area between the street, and the home/building.

·        Property lines and private areas should be defined with plantings, pavement treatments or fences.

·        The street address should be clearly visible from the street with numbers a minimum of five inches high that are made of non-reflective material.

 

Natural Access Control

 

·        Walkways and landscaping direct visitors to the proper entrance and away from private areas.

 

Target Hardening

 

·        Interior doors that connect a garage to a building should have a single cylinder dead bolt lock.

·        Door locks should be located a minimum of forty inches from adjacent windows.

·        Exterior doors should be hinged on the inside and should have a single cylinder dead bolt lock with a minimum one-inch throw.

·        New houses/buildings should not have jalousie, casement or awning style windows.

·        All windows should have locks.

·        Sliding glass doors should have one permanent door on the outside; the inside moving door should have a locking device and pin.

 

The police department would like to work with local builders to see that these practices are being accomplished here in Warwick Township.  Our Crime Prevention Officer is trained in these practices and can assist builders in these endeavors.

 

Private Home owners can call the police department to have their home assessed by a Crime prevention Officer for free, anytime.  We want our community to be safe.....all the time.

 

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Warwick Township Police Department Phone: (717) 626-3162

Lititz Borough Police Department Phone: (717) 626-2044 E-mail (LB)