Today Tom and Vicki are getting into natural surveillance- one of the four elements of CPTED. What is CPTED? Crime prevention through environmental design. It is essentially uses natural methods to control human behavior to reduce crime.
What is natural surveillance? What does it mean?
Using natural ways -not technology ways -of improving overall situational awareness for human beings on the property. How is this explained?
Natural surveillance is one of the 4 main topics of CPTED, to recap the 4 ways are :
-Maintenance
- Natural Access
-Territorial Reinforcement
- Natural Surveillance
Natural surveillance uses all-natural ways to increase security and can be used hand in hand with technology safety devices. It uses 3 main categories:
-Lighting- Dark is the best time for bad things to occur, and people cannot identify what is going on in a dark space. Is your property well lit? In and outside? Take a look!
-Landscaping- The more you can see the better! To repeat: The more you can see the better! Eliminate solid walls, solid barriers- we need to be able to see what is going on behind them. Don’t hinder the view from the outside in or the inside out.
-Positioning- Turning objects, furniture, ect. in a way that does not cause a visibility blockage and allows for more human eyes to view more.
What’s the gist?
Criminals will look for opportunities where they can easily hide and escape. Some quick ways to incorporate- keeping all areas well lit, moving desks so employees can see outside and keep landscaping up to par.
Some ways to incorporate natural surveillance:
-Keep areas well lit, put in your calendar as a reminder to walk your property!
- eliminate hiding spots: cut down hedges and remove trees and bushes
-6 ft 2 ft rule- no fences over 6 feet and no shrubs over 2 feet
What are things people don’t usually think about?
- Colors play a huge part in natural surveillance. You can change the colors or walls and rooms that can draw attention and can eliminate or deter crime
- Lighting- not all bulbs are created equal! Lighting can alter the color of objects and people.
Does this include CCTV?
- Cameras are directly correlated with natural surveillance. If you spend a lot of money on cameras and you have trees blocking the view, the cameras are ineffective.
Fun fact: some police departments have a community partnership team and part of their job duty is to come out and do a site survey.
How can you find out more about natural surveillance? Listen to the episode! Also check out our website at www.defiantenterprises.com to book a free call to talk about YOUR business! Can’t wait to hear from you!