Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED)

Crime is defined as “a violation of a criminal law without acceptable legal justification” (Schmalleger, 2009, p. 77) with deviant behavior considered as a social norms violation. Crime Prevention is a mythological approach to solving many social and community involved criminal issues. Crime and criminality have become comprehensively intertwined into the very fabric of human existence with contributions deriving from social disorder and environmental influences. According to the United State Department of Justice “problem oriented policing can reduce the harm caused specifically by crime and social problems” (Zahm, 2007, p. i). Environmental conditions that directly contribute to such problematic issues include physical environment, residential communities as well as populated surrounding that are situated near and/or around business districts such as cities and private organization. At the heart is this concept is the fundamental practice of Community Oriented Policing allowing the visibility and deterrence of law enforcement presences. Criminality has distinguished itself as a formidable opponent and warrants the attention of law enforcement’s resources for minimizing crime related to environment designs. Mitigation and prevention methods such as CPTED are but one of many combative measures that have been deployed by many federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies as an effective countermeasure to criminal behavior.

Focusing on repetitive crimes and continued victimization, criminologist concocted and devised solutions through the use of historical theories. These programs were designed to reduce such deviant acts and violations of social disorder. In addition to the reduction of criminal behavior due to environmental i...

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...). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Schmalleger, F. (2009). Crime In America. In F. Schmalleger, Crimnal Justice Today: An IntroductionText for the 21st Century (p. XXViV). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Schmalleger, F. (2009). Introduction. In F. Schmalleger, Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century (p. 77). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Service, N. C. (2000). Designing Crime Free Environments: Broadening the Crime Prevention Repertoire. Rockville, MD: NCJRS.

Zahm, D. (2007). About the Problem-Solving Tools Series. In D. Zahm, Using Crime Prevtion Through Environmental Design in Problem Solving (p. i). Washington, DC: Department of Justice.

Zahm, D. (2007). Using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in Problem Solving. Retrieved from Center for Problem-Oriented Policing: http://www.popcenter.org/tools/cpted/