Safety in public spaces

Our public spaces and buildings should be designed to enhance our lifestyles by meeting the physical, social and economic needs of the local community as well as providing a safe and secure place to live, work and play.

This can be achieved by adopting the principles that underpin Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED).

In 2021, the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Guidelines for Queensland (the guidelines) were updated to ensure they address the changing needs of Queensland communities and are relevant to the contemporary work of councils, professions and the development industry. The guidelines provide practical CPTED solutions applicable to the unique needs of communities across Queensland.

The guidelines are designed for local councils, urban planners and designers, businesses, police, community groups and others interested in the sustainability and prosperity of Queensland towns and cities as the basis for a continuing partnership. Together, through collaboration and the use of best practice urban design and planning techniques, a safer community can be built for the benefit of all Queenslanders.

What is CPTED?

The fundamental theory of CPTED is that it is possible to use knowledge and creativity to design built environments in ways that lessen or prevent the incidence of crime.

In response to preventing crime, particularly personal violence and property offences, buildings could be made impregnable with everything and everyone locked away behind security options including fences, security cameras and guards. While this may afford some protection, it will not keep people safe when in, or moving to, public places.

At what cost would this be and how would it change the character of our community? While there may be circumstances where this could be necessary, surely with better planning there are alternatives.

So how do we improve our safety in public areas? Our built environments should, by design, support the community's treasured lifestyle (especially outdoors) while contributing to greater social, economic and physical sustainability.

The built environment should provide safe, secure, vital and attractive places in which to live, work, meet, celebrate, reflect, shop, play and educate without having to resort to extensive technological hardware or security guards.

The application of CPTED principles to the built environment and public spaces will greatly enhance the safety and security of our community.

Concepts behind CPTED

Three important concepts support the implementation of CPTED. 

1. Crime against people and property is less likely to occur when people are around.
2. People in adjoining buildings, homes and spaces can play a part in seeing what is happening.
3. Providing safe choices about where to be and how to anticipate and respond to problems.

Additional considerations in delivering liveable, well-designed and sustainable communities are available through QDesign, the Queensland Government’s guiding urban design document that supports the delivery of quality spaces across Queensland’s towns and cities.

All three concepts should influence the design of our towns and cities.  Adopting CPTED principles allows us to design and manage built environments that:

• encourage the legitimate use of public areas by more community members
• support passive surveillance in and around public places and provide ‘open’ spaces that make people feel safe
• encourage those observing unsafe behaviours to care and to act.

Objectives of CPTED

The objective of CPTED is straightforward. Its purpose is to reduce or prevent crime through improving the decisions we make in planning, designing and maintaining our built environments.

CPTED principles are similarly simple and have been adopted within legislation or as best practice by many urban planners.

However, complexity arises when assessing all the factors that can impact upon a CPTED decision. For any given design challenge, there may be community, environmental, cultural or economic issues to be considered.

The successful implementation of CPTED may also require input from professionals from a range of disciplines such as town planners or engineers. Further complexity will arise if a balanced solution between competing interests or ideas is sought.

The strength of CPTED decisions rests in its flexibility and adaptability. These decisions are scalable, allowing them to apply from small areas through to large precincts. Further, good CPTED outcomes are the result of appreciating the environment surrounding a design issue and applying appropriate solutions that are tailored to the circumstances.

The Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Guidelines for Queensland aid CPTED practitioners by outlining CPTED principles and raising a range of factors to be considered when determining the best outcome for any design challenge.

Ultimately, every individual benefits from a safer community. Applying CPTED to decisions about the planning, design and management of our built environment will assist in achieving a safer Queensland.

Applying CPTED in the home or business

While CPTED can be applied to large-scale applications such as new suburbs, shopping precincts, parklands and buildings, it can be equally effectively when applied to the home or business. 

The Queensland Police Service Layered Security Assessment approach is embedded with CPTED principles and can assist residents and business owners to reduce the likelihood of offending. 

To understand how you can apply the Layered Security Assessment approach to your home or business, use the links at right.