Ten Principles of Crime Prevention

The Crime Reduction College provides useful information in terms of the ten principles of crime prevention. The ten principles are:

• Target hardening.
• Target removal.
• Remove the means to commit crime.
• Reduce the payoff.
• Access control.
• Visibility/surveillance.
• Environmental design.
• Rule setting.
• Increase the chance of being caught.

Target Hardening

This is the act of making anything that another person would want to steal or damage, resistant to attack or difficult to remove or damage. This can include objects, property, people or animals. Target hardening measures include:

• Fitting window and/or door locks
• Alarms
• Screens or fencing
• Repairing derelict or damaged property

Target Removal

This means putting out of sight any objects that may be considered valuable or interesting to an offender; and can apply to people as well as objects. It often includes:

• Garaging a car overnight
• Removing from view satellite navigation systems, mobile phones or money from cars
• Demolishing derelict buildings
• Removing jewellery from shop windows at night
• Rehousing vulnerable people

Remove the Means to Commit Crime

This involves removing any material or object capable of being used to help an offender commit a crime, and can include:

• Chaining up dustbins or wheelie bins or locking them in a shed or outbuilding
• Lowering tall fences and cutting back overgrown hedges
• Securing building tools such ladders or scaffolding when not in use
• Clearing away rubble or lose bricks so they cannot be used as missiles
• Using plastic drinking cups, rather than glass.

Reduce the Payoff

The following measures could help to reduce the gain or benefit to an offender through committing crime:

• Not carrying large sums of money with you, e.g. when out shopping or on holiday
• Marking property with UV pens so that they can be identified and traced
• Using a safe to reduce the amount of cash held in a till

Access Control

Access control aims to reduce or restrict access to sites and buildings and can include simple measures such as:

• Window and door locks
• Identity cards
• Door entry systems (such as fobs, cards, phones or codes)
• Baggage screening

Visibilty/Surveillance

This principle aims to make sure that offenders would be visible if they carried out a crime. There are three types of surveillance

• Natural
• Formal
• Informal

Natural surveillance

- includes modifying the existing surroundings to improve visibility and can include:

• Pruning/removing shrubbery
• Installing street lighting or dawn-to-dusk lighting
• Lowering fences
• Ensuing that public open spaces or children's playgrounds can be overlooked by nearby homes

Formal surveillance - involves the use of IT or specialist staff to deter or identify actual or potential offenders. Formal surveillance can be on a small scale involving individual properties or businesses; or can cover a wide area for example when used in City Centre CCTV schemes. Formal methods include:

• Deploying police or security staff
• Store detectives
• Alarm systems
• Caretakers (with a security role)
• Closed circuit television (CCTV) systems

Informal surveillance - involves residents, employees or other community members or groups such as Neighbourhood Watch, being vigilant and knowing what to do when they see a potential risk. Procedures should be put in place to tell individuals or staff what to do if they see anything suspicious.

Environmental Design

Crime prevention using environmental design is a large topic. It involves changing the environment or a building or site, an estate or town to reduce opportunities for committing crime. The emphasis is on putting a range of preventative measures in place at the planning stage. It brings together several principles, such as:

• Target hardening
• Visibility/surveillance
• Environmental design

Rule Setting

This is the introduction of legislation, bylaw and codes of conduct, which set out what is acceptable behaviour. For example:

• Wearing ID badges
• Internal rules within businesses
• Local bylaws prohibiting the consumption of alcohol in public places
• Signs prohibiting access to buildings or areas in buildings
• Requests to report to reception areas
• Laws enacted by Parliament
• Policies and procedures within businesses

Increase the Chance of Being Caught

Preventative methods are move effective if the offender risks being caught. Anything that slows down an offender or increases the chance of detection is an effective method of prevention. This means that good target hardening increases the time taken to enter a building, which in turn increases the chances of being spotted. The longer it takes to commit an offence the more vulnerable the offender feels. Increasing the chance of an offender being caught can be achieved by:

• Proper management of security systems
• Lighting that makes offenders visible
• Putting several preventative measures in place, e.g. alarm system, combined with door and window locks
• Alerting offenders to the fact that preventative measures are being used - e.g. warning signs/stickers
• Publicising when offenders have successfully been detected

Deflecting Offenders

This final principle of crime prevention involves agencies working with offenders and potential offenders, to influence standards, thinking and attitudes. The aim is to prevent potential offenders turning to crime. Examples include:

• Education programmes and school programmes
• Drug action teams
• Youth groups and youth organisations
• Providing training and work experience
• Providing diversionary activities for young people

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