Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design - Parnaby (2006)

Parnaby (2006)

A Canadian study of CPTED, where 25 individuals where interviewed considered to be professional practitioners and supporters of the CPTED model. Many of those who receive CPTED accreditation are ex-police officers or employed in the private security sector. The analysis by Parnaby questions the guiding principles of CPTED, implying that the assumptions are somewhat simplistic. Parnaby’s research uncovered that CPTED professionals were constantly influenced by the notion of ‘foreseeable danger’, suggesting that if an area had an unsafe environment or identifiable flaws that went unfixed, the result would inevitably lead to some form of criminal activity.

• Firstly, CPTED professionals see the causes of crime one-dimensional because of the use of language such as certainty as opposed to probability when predicting crime, which results in crime being caused by poorly designed environments. Such methods could lead to other programs being overlooked.
• Secondly, thinking this way separates people into two groups: responsible citizens and criminals. The separation of ‘good’ people and ‘bad’ people, according to Parnaby, is probably established on social stereotypes based on what people think about race, socioeconomic status, and gender, not accurately defining who or what is the legitimate threat. As a result, it becomes an exclusion of certain types of people from certain neighborhoods.
• Finally, Parnaby addresses the ways in which CPTED professionals rope their clients in to becoming willing participants. They made is seem that risk management was an individual’s moral, ethical, and civic responsibility. The problem here is that it became the view that governments did not have the resources available to manage risk of crime completely, claiming that personal safety is also an individual’s responsibility. Therefore, this approach can lead to vigilantism.