Safety by Design

The LCSC helps educate property owners, small businesses and community groups on the effectiveness of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design or CPTED (pronounced "SEP-ted"). Some LCSC staff are certified in basic and/or advanced CPTED concepts by the nationally recognized Advanced Crime Prevention Institute. Here are some more safety tips:

CPTED for Residents >>
CPTED for Business Owners >>
CPTED for Community Leaders >>

Some common environmental design issues that can lead to criminal activity include:

• Inadequate or misdirected lighting that creates dark areas
• Solid or excessively high fences that obstruct view lines
• Vacant lots full of weeds or debris, lack of trash cans and litter receptacles
• Inappropriate or poorly maintained vegetation, including too low tree canopies
• Lack of natural surveillance points created by blank exterior walls or bricked-in windows
• Unsecured walkthrough areas between dwellings in attached housing

Most of these problems are easily addressed through proper design and products commonly found at major home improvement stores.

Proper design and effective use of the built environment to reduce crime and fear of crime is the main goal of CPTED. The three components of CPTED are:

Natural Surveillance - keeps people easily observable in public places. It is promoted by design that increases the visibility of people, parking areas and building entrances. It is an essential element in urban safety.

Territorial Reinforcement - uses physical design to create or extend a sphere of influence. It is promoted by features that define property lines and distinguishes private spaces from public spaces using landscape plantings, pavement designs, gateways and fences.

Natural Access Control - decreases crime opportunities by denying access to crime targets and creating a perception of risk for offenders. This includes designing streets, sidewalks, building entrances and neighborhood gateways to clearly indicate public routes and discourage access to private areas.

Here are some visual examples of CPTED at work:

Before: bushes provided a place to hide

After: clear visual access across the entire lot

Thorned bushes help prevent fence climbing:

See-through fencing helps prevent hiding:

Good lighting is one of the most effective deterrents:

"I support the use of video
cameras as an important tool
that law enforcement and residents
can rely upon to enhance
public safety."

Mayor J. Richard Gray

Read more testimonials
from City Leaders >>

"I think it's an excellent idea,
and I feel that I will be more secure."

Jill Olivia Pinkston
Howard Ave. resident

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from residents >>