CPTED and security consulting working hand-in-hand for better outcomes
The planning of a new commercial or public building is an exciting but challenging process. An important consideration is the safety of the occupants, people who transit through, and the risk of damage to the building and surrounds.
We work with building planners, architects and councils to ensure that the safety of people and risk of damage to property are factored into the design.
The Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principle is widely used as a proven tool for crime prevention. Our job is to use CPTED combined with our security consulting expertise to advise clients on security gaps that need to be addressed before seeking design approval.
Take Sunshine Coast Council as an example.
We conducted a CPTED review and security risk assessment of the proposed Sunshine Coast City Hall. The review process for any client is always extensive, and covers:
- Local environment, including crime rates, neighbouring properties and high-risk or high-profile businesses in the immediate area.
- Incident history, to evaluate the level of incidents the building may have been exposed to in the past and the types of risks it may be exposed to in the future.
- Documented work practices, such as site specific open and close procedures for the proposed building.
- Local environment and both vehicle and pedestrian traffic levels.
- Lighting, pathways and local amenities.
The building had been appropriately designed with natural surveillance in mind – one of the four elements of CPTED. This was evidenced by the building being set back, the extensive use of glass and the mixed use of ground floor tenancies within the property.
Given our 30+ years of security consulting, we combine this with our CPTED experience, bringing a logical and holistic approach when undertaking reviews for our clients.
For the Sunshine Coast Council, the use of the City Hall was likely to be the biggest contributing factor in terms of risk to people who the visit the precinct. As a council asset, it is a public space, attracting a wide variety of community members. Some are likely to have grievances with Council leading to risks of confrontation. These risks were addressed from an operational security perspective, not design.
CPTED principles and security risk consulting working hand-in-hand for a better outcome.