1999 to 2009: Re-evaluating Secured by Design Ten Years On

Secured by Design (SBD) is an award scheme which aims to encourage housing developers to design out crime at the planning stage. The scheme is managed by the Association of Chief Police Officers Crime Reduction Initiatives Limited (ACPO CPI Ltd.) whilst the day-to-day delivery of the scheme is conducted by Architectural Liaison Officers (ALOs) or Crime Prevention Design Advisors (CPDAs) working for individual police forces throughout the United Kingdom. The scheme sets standards for compliance which developments must meet to be awarded SBD status. This paper presents the findings of research conducted over a ten-year period (1999 to 2009) into the effectiveness of the SBD scheme as a crime reduction measure. Utilising a variety of methods, the research aims to establish whether residents living within SBD developments experience less crime and fear of crime than their non-SBD counterparts. Whether SBD developments show less visual signs of crime and disorder than their non-SBD counterparts, and finally, whether properties built to the SBD standard are able to sustain any crime reduction benefits over a ten-year period.