Memorandum from Association of Chief Police Officers Crime Prevention Initiatives (ACPO CPI) (CRED 45)

 

 

ACPO Crime Prevention Initiatives (ACPO CPI) is a not for profit organisation owned by the Association of Chief Police Officers. The organisation manages a number of national police crime reduction projects, the largest and most influential of which is the Secured by Design (SBD) initiative. This is an initiative aimed at encouraging house builders/developers to incorporate a sensible level of security, commensurate with national and local risk, into new and refurbished homes.

 

The SBD initiative has been established for almost 20 years. It is operated by all police forces at nil service cost to local authority planning departments, architects, housing associations or developers, and has had the support of the Home Office throughout its development. The scheme brings together crime analysis, design-against- crime principles and minimum standards of physical security.

 

 

1.1 SBD has been proven to reduce crime, the fear of crime and the subsequent and varied effects of crime. Independent research carried out by Dr. Rachel Armitage of Huddersfield University in 2000 (supplemented by additional research following a request by the Home Office), comparing 25 new housing developments that had achieved SBD against 25 new developments that had not achieved this level of security, showed the SBD developments to have 50% less burglary and 25% less criminal damage and vehicle crime.

 

 

1.2 Early on in its development agreement was reached with the Housing Corporation to require Housing Associations, or agents acting on their behalf, to undertake early liaison with the police Crime Prevention Design Adviser (CPDA) or police Architectural Liaison Officer (ALO) to enable known crime generators/opportunity to be 'designed out' of new housing developments. SBD is a test of compliance in their Scheme Development Standards. More recently the Housing Corporation has required Housing Associations to achieve the 'Code for Sustainable Homes' and critically for the SBD initiative specifically those points allocated for achieving the specifications of section 2 of the SBD New Homes document (see - http://www.securedbydesign.com/pdfs/SBD_New_Homes_2007.pdf).

 

1.3 In 2004 the CLG, then the ODPM, and Home Office published "Safer Places- the Planning System & Crime Prevention" in which SBD and the processes supporting it was identified as a successful model.

 

 

1.4 In 2006 The Association of British Insurers published 'Securing the Nation - the case for safer homes' (see - http://www.abi.org.uk/securingthenation). This report investigated the cost of domestic crime and concluded that "Annually, domestic crime costs the economy £2.9bn and arson a further £2.4b", the report concludes that the application of SBD would generate net savings to the economy and the criminal justice system of £215m per year, £3.2bn over the next 20 years. The authors of the ABI document also reviewed Dr. Armitage's report and other subsequent, reliable research and reached the conclusion that the effectiveness of Secured by Design, in both the reduction of crime and costs to the community, was such that Section 2 of the SBD standard should inform the creation of a new approved document for home security within the Building Regulations.

 

 

1.5 More recently an SBD refurbishment of many hundreds of affordable homes in Glasgow, managed by the Glasgow Housing Association showed a reduction of burglary of 75% (figures from Strathclyde Police) sufficient for them to be in the process of adopting SBD across their housing stock. Similar reductions in crime have been identified at other evaluated SBD sites in England and Wales.

 

 

1.6 ACPO CPI would also like to bring the committee's attention to new research currently being carried out by Professor Ken Pease (a member of the Home Office Design and Technology Alliance), which is considering the positive environmental impact of incorporating SBD within the built environment thereby reducing the carbon footprint produced as a result of criminal activity. Early indications suggest that crime reduction will have a significant and positive impact upon the Government's goal to reduce the UK's carbon footprint.

 

 

1.7 With the above in mind i.e. that the SBD initiative has a proven track record in reducing crime, the fear of crime and the social and personal consequences of criminal behaviour, we would respectfully request that the committee considers the following bullet points when preparing the Governments response to the effect of the "credit Crunch" on its housing policies, especially when considering any relaxation of the requirements for social housing:

 

 

· Against this background of effective crime reduction this organisation urges the Government not to relax the Housing Corporation requirements upon Housing Associations to achieve Secured by Design status on both new and refurbished dwellings

 

· This organisation also urges the same SBD requirement to be placed upon Local Authorities who are in receipt of new social housing grants to build new council owned homes. The Greater London Authority has indicated that such a requirement should be included in the new housing strategy for London.

 

· This organisation is also concerned about the proposal to use additional funding from the Affordable Housing Budget to purchase unsold stock from developers, some of which may not have been built to the design, layout and specification standards of SBD. It is further suggested that such purchases should be made only after the development has been assessed by the police Crime Prevention Design Adviser and practical and realistic measures to reduce crime opportunity have been carried out

 

 

We would obviously support government initiatives to alleviate the current issues affecting the housing market. However, we are concerned that security may be seen as an easy target for authorities and developers to sideline when trimming costs. The current reductions in burglary and property crime have been hard won and reductions in security can have an impact on risk for the lifetime of the home and its many occupants.

 

 

We hope that the above evidence will provide you with enough detail to enable the committee to support the considerable reductions in crime afforded by the SBD initiative and its retention, or its expansion within the Code for Sustainable Homes and other related Government guidance/legislation.

 

 

We have kept this submission as brief as possible, however further information will be supplied should the committee require.

 

November 2008