Crime Prevention through Environmental Design

The Purcellville Police Department offers Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) to all residents and business owners in the Town of Purcellville. CPTED includes principles that are applied to directly modify the environment to take advantage of pre-existing environmental assets or change the design features and condition of particular targets (e.g., store fronts, occupied residence, or abandoned buildings) in an effort to reduce crime. In some instances, CPTED principles are implemented during the beginning phases of a project (e.g., during planning of a new housing development). But, in many instances, the strategies are applied when the need for intervention occurs (e.g., adding security cameras to a store after a robbery).

CPTED principles are often combined with other community-based crime prevention strategies, such as problem-oriented policing, which emphasizes tailoring crime prevention principles to solve specific issues. As with other types of community-based crime prevention programs, CPTED is made up of multiple components and can be used by various stakeholders. CPTED principles address quality of life issues by endeavoring to deter criminal activity, increase overall safety for citizens, and reduce citizen fear of crime.

CPTED principles are evaluated to determine not only whether crime was reduced but also whether citizen perceptions of crime were affected by implementation of the principles. Several key components of CPTED are often directed to impact crime and positively affect public understanding of safety including:

• Territoriality (promotes a sense of ownership and may include the use of signs, fences, or artwork that helps define ownership of a given location);
• Activity Support (encourages legitimate activities in public places to foster opportunities for natural surveillance and may include block parties, neighborhood clean-up days, or the design of mini malls to encourage more social interaction);
• Access Control (restricts access to specific areas and can include the use of street barricades, landscaping, locked doors, changes in pedestrian or vehicular traffic patterns, or the use of security personnel to keep people away from restricted areas);
• Surveillance (increases visibility by natural, formal, and mechanical methods such as through promoting routine surveillance by community residents or through the practice of employing more than one employee at retail stores, police patrols, or Closed Circuit Television also referred to as CCTV);
• Maintenance (insures the routine maintenance or upkeep of the environment such as clean-up programs or repairs and modifications to meet new threats); and
• Target Hardening (adds physical features that will make it more difficult to commit a crime such as through the use of improved lighting or electronic alarms).

If you would like more information about CPTED or want to have a survey completed on your residence or business, please contact our CPTED Certified Officer.