Strategies for Securing Student and Staff Safety: An Overview of CPTED
In an effort to create safer learning environments, schools across the globe are increasingly turning to Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) strategies. These strategies, when combined with traditional security measures like video surveillance and secured entries, have the potential to prevent crimes by anyone with malicious intent.
The Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) has taken the lead in promoting these strategies, offering guidelines and a safety and security checklist to help school districts assess and increase school safety. The checklist focuses on measures that detect, deter, and delay criminal activity, incorporating CPTED strategies and traditional security concepts.
At the heart of CPTED are five core principles: Natural Access Control, Natural Surveillance, Territorial Reinforcement, Maintenance, and Activity Support.
Natural Access Control involves designing the campus to limit and control entry points, making it harder for unauthorized individuals to enter. This is achieved through strategic placement of entrances, exits, fences, and landscaping to guide visitors and reduce opportunities for criminal access.
Natural Surveillance ensures that areas are visible and open to observation by students, staff, and passersby. This can be achieved through building orientation, use of windows, lighting, and landscape design that avoid creating hiding places, thereby increasing the perceived risk for offenders.
Territorial Reinforcement creates a sense of ownership and clearly defines the boundaries of the school property using signs, landscaping, and fencing. This encourages responsible behavior and deters trespassing by signaling that the space is monitored and cared for.
Maintenance keeps the campus well-maintained to demonstrate active ownership and discourage vandalism or neglect, which can invite further crime. Regular upkeep supports all other CPTED strategies by maintaining clear sightlines and intact barriers.
Activity Support leverages the presence of staff and students to discourage crime, supporting both natural access control and surveillance strategies. Encouraging legitimate use of spaces through organized activities and positive social interaction naturally deters criminal behavior.
In practical terms, schools can implement CPTED by designing buildings with limited points of entry, using landscaping strategically to protect perimeters and create natural barriers, enhancing lighting throughout campus grounds, employing signage and clear demarcations to reinforce territorial boundaries, and leveraging technology and data to focus security efforts precisely where they are most needed.
Studies suggest that well-implemented CPTED strategies can reduce crime on school campuses by 30% to 80%, contributing significantly to safer environments, fostering community belonging, and reducing fear of crime among students and staff. Furthermore, these strategies have been found to help deter crime and create a welcoming environment for students and staff, potentially lowering school absenteeism due to safety concerns.
In conclusion, applying CPTED involves a multi-disciplinary approach combining design, regulation, maintenance, and community engagement to create a secure, welcoming, and crime-resistant school environment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a study by the National Institutes of Health have endorsed these strategies, recognising their potential to enhance school safety and promote a positive learning environment.
Education and self-development combine with personal growth by incorporating elements of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) in the learning environment. Schools following CPTED strategies, such as Natural Access Control, Natural Surveillance, Territorial Reinforcement, Maintenance, and Activity Support, aim to create safer, more welcoming environments that support learning, foster community belonging, and potentially reduce fear of crime.
