Lighting Can Cut Crime

Did you know that there are 2 special officers in the O.P.D. who are CPTED certified AND I got to chat with one of them today? CPTED stands for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, and what a great training to have! He mentioned some tips to me that might keep your own front yards safer. He said bushes should be shorter than 2 feet so people can’t hide in them and tree branches should be higher than 6 feet so it’s not as easy for people to jump up in them. He explained that smaller tables and single slides are good, but anything wider is usually a place people will try to camp out. He also mentioned that lighting is a great asset to have in parks and can lower crime by 40%.

It was pretty cool to do some of my own research today and find this study supporting what he’d mentioned. He also said that the more people that are at a park, the more “natural surveillance” there is. He was candid and said the reason needles and other paraphernalia are found in parks is because people often leave in a hurry when they see others coming, so let’s keep the park busy – too busy for criminal activity! The officer was very supportive of our efforts and expressed his own frustration with the current situation. He and his partner will be looking at the playground designs to see if there’s any feedback they can give in regards to making sure the structures will deter (and not invite) crime. Also, the link to the referenced article is in here!