THE 10 PRINCIPLES OF CRIME PREVENTION

Whatever you are thinking about securing, whether it be your home, car, garage, farm or business, use these ten principles as a checklist. Think of your survey as peeling through the layers of an onion. Start at the perimeter of the premises and work your way in to the centre of the building, considering all ten principles at each layer.

You can also use this advice to approach improving security in your own home or the homes of vulnerable people in your community.

One - Target hardening

Target hardening means: "Making targets more resistant to attack or more difficult to remove or damage."

A target is anything that an offender would want to steal or damage. It could be an object, property, person or in some cases an animal, such as a valuable pet.

Here are some examples of Target Hardening.

• fitting better doors, windows or shutters
• window or door locks
• alarms
• screens in banks and building societies
• fencing systems
• repairing damaged and derelict property
• fitting a wheel lock to a vehicle.

Two - Target removal

Target Removal is: "Permanent or temporary removal of vulnerable persons or property".

Quite simply this means making sure that any object in which a potential offender might be interested is not visible.

Examples include:

• removing radios from parked cars
• keeping car keys out of sight, in a pocket or draw
• placing valuable items in a secure location
• demolishing derelict property
• removing jewellery from shop windows at night
• moving small vulnerable items nearer to cash tills in shops
• re-housing vulnerable people.

Target Removal can be quite a simple process. Simply putting the car into the garage and locking it up is a good example of target removal.

Three - Remove the means to commit crime

The previous techniques are aimed at reducing the risks directly associated with the target. Removing the Means to Commit Crime looks at the problem from a different point of view.

Removing the means to commit crime means:  "Making sure that material capable of being used to help an offender commit a crime is not accessible."

Remove the means 1

Look at this photograph. What could be changed to reduce the chance of a crime taking place?

The dustbins could provide an easy access to the open window. Removing these dustbins and locking them away in a shed would remove the means to commit crime. Think about how many times you have seen large wheely bins around industrial premises. These can easily be used as mobile platforms. To remove this threat they could be chained or locked up so that they cannot be moved.

Other examples of removing the means to commit crime are:

• locking up tools and gardening equipment
• securing building materials such as scaffolding
• using plastic drinking glasses in venues where there is a history of disorder.

Four - Reduce the payoff

Reduce the payoff means: "Reducing the gain for the criminal if a crime is committed"

Examples of this include:

• using a safe to reduce the amount of cash held in a till
• using a replica in a shop window
• property marking to make items identifiable and therefore less valuable to the criminal.

Bear in mind that even though adequate insurance will not reduce the gain to the criminal, it will reduce the loss to the individual or organisation.

New Postcoding

Five - Access control

Access control means: "Restricting access to sites, buildings or parts of sites and buildings."

There are many forms of Access control. Some of them are quite complex, but some are relatively simple.

Examples include:

• door locks (and making sure doors are shut)
• identity cards
• entry card systems
• entry phones
• baggage screening
• separate entries and exits
• combination locks.

Six - Visibility / Surveillance

This principle is defined as "Making sure that offenders would be visible if they carried out a crime." Unlike any of the other principles, there are three types of surveillance, these are:

• Natural
• Formal
• Informal.

Like all the other principles there is a range of methods and techniques that can be applied.

Natural surveillance

Involves modifying the existing surroundings to increase visibility. It can include:

• pruning or removing shrubbery
• improving or installing lighting
• changing the height of fences
• placing a playground area so that it overlooks nearby homes (and is overlooked by those homes).

Shell Light

Low level dusk to dawn lights will improve natural surveillance.

Formal surveillance

Uses technology or specialist staff who are employed or tasked to deter and identify actual or potential offenders.

Formal surveillance methods include:

• deploying police and security staff
• store detectives
• alarm systems
• caretakers tasked with a security role
• closed circuit television (CCTV) systems.

Some formal surveillance systems can be on a small scale, for example individual shops and premises. On the other hand, there are some large scale systems, such as city centre CCTV systems.

Informal or employee surveillance

This involves residents, employees and the community being encouraged to be vigilant and knowing what to do when they see a potential risk. For example receptionists, counter staff and office staff can be trained to spot potential problems. Procedures should be put in place to tell individuals or staff what to do if they see anything suspicious.

Seven - Environmental design

Crime prevention using Environmental design is a large topic. It involves: "Changing the environment of a building, a site, an estate or a town to reduce opportunities for committing crime."

The emphasis is on putting a range of preventive measures in place at the planning stage. Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) can be used in existing environments, or in new developments. It can include a whole range of features, such as:

• Visibility/Surveillance
• Target Hardening
• street and pathway layout
• lighting.

Crime prevention can be built into a new housing development at the planning stage.

On this estate there are several features:

Environmental Design

• All doors and windows have good quality locks.
• Planting has been kept to a minimum to increase surveillance.
• The estate has an open design which also increases surveillance.
• There are parking spaces outside each house which deter possible offences by providing more surveillance of the cars.
• Opposite the row of houses there is seating and a park which encourages people to circulate.
• The driveway paving is a different colour and texture to the public spaces. This lets any potential offenders know that they are on private land.
• There is good street lighting and lighting outside each front door.

The whole approach to crime prevention on this estate was considered at the planning stage and crime prevention measures are used in a co-ordinated way.

Eight - Rule setting

Rule setting means: "The introduction of legislation, by-laws and codes of conduct, which set out what is acceptable behaviour."

There are many types of Rule setting, here a just a few:

• Wearing ID badges.
• Internal rules within businesses.
• Local by-laws, such as those limiting consumption of alcohol in public places.
• Signs prohibiting access to buildings or certain areas in buildings.
• Requests to report to reception.
• Laws enacted by Parliament.

Nine - Increase the chance of being caught

"Anything that slows down an offender or increases their risk of being caught."

Preventive methods are more effective if the offender risks being caught. Anything that slows down an offender or increases the chance of detection is an effective method of prevention. This means that good Target Hardening increases the time it takes to enter a building and increases the chances of being spotted. The longer it takes to commit an offence, the more vulnerable the offender feels.

Increasing the chance of an offender being caught can be achieved by:

• proper management of CCTV systems
• lighting that makes offenders more visible
• making sure security equipment works properly
• putting several preventive methods in place, which slows an offender down even further
• alerting offenders to the fact that CCTV systems and alarms are being used
• publicising successes in detecting offenders.

Ten - Deflecting offenders

This is the final principle of crime prevention and means: " Diverting the offenders and potential offenders from committing crime."

This involves agencies working with young people and offenders to influence standards, thinking and attitudes. The aim is to prevent potential offenders turning to crime.

Examples include:

• education programmes & schools programmes
• drug action teams
• youth groups and organisations
• providing training and work experience.

This method of preventing crime is increasing and the introduction of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships has encouraged multi-agency working.

Safety in your home

Make sure that any security measures (such as window locks) don't block your escape route - and that you can get out of the house as quickly as possible. Fit a smoke alarm and test it regularly. Make sure you have an escape plan and that everyone in your household knows it.

13 TIPS ON PREVENT BURGLAR DURING HOLIDAY

Having your home broken into can result in financial cost to repair and replace property, and can have a major impact on how safe you feel at home. However, we can all play a proactive role in making our home and community safer.

Burglar breaking into a home

Here are some tips for making your home safer:

1. make sure your locks on your doors and windows work properly and meet Australian standards
2. always lock doors and windows when you leave the house, or if you are away from entry points, on the phone or in the garden
3. do not leave keys in an easily available location. Leave spare keys with a trusted friend or neighbour
4. consider a safe if you have jewellery or other items of value to you
5. if you like pets, consider getting a dog
6. fit an alarm system that covers all external doors, windows and garages. It should meet Australian alarm standards for domestic purposes
7. keep trees and shrubs trimmed to allow a clear view of your house from the street
8. lock tools in a garden shed or garage
9. consider installing sensor lighting in your yard
10. if you purchase expensive items such as a new TV, cut up the box before recycling. Boxes left on the nature strip can let burglars know what is new in your house
11. back-up computer hard drives and keep these copies in a different location to prevent the loss of information on your computer
12. mark your property using an engraver or ultra-violet markers, with a 'V' (for Victoria) followed by your licence number. These markers are available to buy from various electrical stores. Marked property is much harder for burglars to resell
13. join Neighbourhood Watch and be an active part of crime prevention in your community.

35 WAYS TO PREVENT CRIME

There are many ways you can take control and help prevent crime in your home, in your neighborhood, and at your local schools. It's a matter of communication, commitment, and time.

Picture picked from JustGive.org

1. Work with public agencies and other organizations -- neighborhood-based or community-wide -- on solving common problems.
2. Make sure that all the youth in the neighborhood have positive ways to spend their spare time, through organized recreation, tutoring programs, part-time work, and volunteer opportunities.
3. Set up a Neighborhood Watch or a community patrol, working with police. Make sure your streets and homes are well lighted.
4. Build a partnership with police, focused on solving problems instead of reacting to crises. Make it possible for neighbors to report suspicious activity or crimes without fear of retaliation.
5. Clean up the neighborhood! Involve everyone - teens, children, senior citizens. Litter, abandoned cars, and run-down buildings tell criminals that you don't care about where you live or each other. Call the city public works department and ask for help in cleaning up.
6. Ask local officials to use new ways to get criminals out of your building or neighborhood. These include enforcing anti-noise laws, housing codes, health and fire codes, anti-nuisance laws, and drug-free clauses in rental leases.
7. Work with schools to establish drug-free, gun-free zones; work with recreation officials to do the same for parks.
8. Develop and share a phone list of local organizations that can provide counseling, job training, guidance, and other services that neighbors might need.
9. Report a crime if you witness it or something you suspect might be a crime. Agree to testify if needed.
10. Learn about hotlines, crisis centers, and other help available to victims of crime. Find out how you can help those who are touched by violence to recover as quickly and completely as possible.
11. Recognize that it's already your problem if violence is about to erupt in your neighborhood.
12. Consider an event that lets children turn in weapons, especially those that might be mistaken for real firearms, in exchange for public thank-yous, donated non-violent toys, books, or coupons from local merchants.
13. Start a discussion of neighborhood views on weapons in the home, use of toy weapons by children in play, children and violent entertainment, and how arguments should be settled.
14. Learn your state and local laws on firearms. Insist that these laws be enforced vigorously but fairly. Support police, prosecutors, judges, and other local officials who enforce laws designed to prevent gun violence.
15. Emphasize prevention as the preferred way to deal with violence. Ask what schools, law enforcement agencies, public health agencies, libraries, workplaces, religious institutions, child protective agencies, and others are doing to prevent, not just react to, violence. What policies do they have to prevent weapons-related violence? How can they help the community?
16. Volunteer to mentor young people who need positive support from adults. Programs ranging from Big Brothers and Big Sisters to Adopt-a-School include mentoring as a central ingredient.
17. Talk with children in the neighborhood about what worries or scares them and about where and how they have felt threatened by violence. Interview teachers, school staff, crossing guards, and bus aides.
18. Promote public service advertising that offers anti-violence programs and services. Get several groups to cooperate in this effort. Include programs to help kids headed for trouble.
19. Protect domestic violence victims (and their children) through policies as well as laws that offer them prompt and meaningful response to calls for help and appropriate legal recourse.
20. Organize to help clean and repair the parks and to report suspicious and illegal activity to the police. Well-kept play equipment and organized activities can attract people back to the parks in large enough numbers to discourage illegal activities. Residents should insist that local government maintain parks, immediately repairing vandalism or other damage.
21. Adopt a school. Help students, faculty, and staff to promote a sense of community in the school and with the larger community through involvement in a wide range of programs and activities.
22. Urge adoption of anti-violence courses that help children learn ways to manage anger without using fists or weapons. Second Step, from The Committee for Children, Resolving Conflict Creatively, from Educators for Social Responsibility, and We Can Work It out!, created through Teens, Crime, and the Community, are only three of many such courses.
23. Join with school and law enforcement in creating and sustaining safe corridors for students traveling to and from school. Help with efforts to identify and eliminate neighborhood trouble spots.
24. Help students through such opportunities as job skills development, entrepreneurship opportunities, and internships.
25. Encourage employees to work with students in skills training, youth group leadership, mentoring, coaching, and similar one-to-one and small group activities. Make your facilities available for these activities when possible.
26. Provide anger management, stress relief, and conflict resolution training for your employees. They can help build an anti-violence climate at home, at school, and in the community. You might gain a more productive working environment, too!
27. Speak up in support of funding and effective implementation of programs and other resources that help schools develop an effective set of violence prevention strategies.
28. Offer your professional skills in educating students on costs and effects of violence in the community (including their school). Public health personnel, trauma specialists, defense and prosecuting attorneys, and judges are among those with important messages to deliver.
29. Help employees who are parents to meet with teachers by providing flexible hours or time off; encourage employee involvement in sponsoring or coaching students in school and after-school activities.
30. Develop an anti-violence competition, including speech, dance, painting, drawing, singing, instrumental music, acting, play-writing, and other creative arts. Get youth to help suggest prizes. Make it a community celebration.
31. Report crimes or suspicious activities to police immediately. Encourage employees and families to do the same.
32. Establish business policies that explicitly reject violent behavior by employees or others on the premises.
33. Report any crime immediately to school authorities or police.
34. Help to strengthen links between school services and the network of community services that can help students and families facing problems.
35. Enlist children from elementary grades to senior high in solving the violence problems in the school and community. Encourage them to teach violence prevention to younger children, reach out to educate peers, work with adults on community-wide problems, and identify and tackle community conditions that they are concerned about.

PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE (STREET CRIME)

Do you still remembered, a quite hot topic regarding a mural by Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic which shows a Lego thief armed with a knife and a member of the Malaysian authorities with handcuffs in Johor Bahru on November 2013? Yes, today I would like to touch about this issue in Malaysia. Please read the article below......

Picture from Borneo Post Online

This article is written by Dhya Menet  

Although Malaysia is considered as a safe country to travel and to live in most regards, street crime is a major concern these days with figures of street crime rising steadily in recent years, especially in major cities Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru. 

Stealth methods of Street crime are a norm in large cities like pocket picking, bag slashing, and bag snatching. But recently there have been more reports of muggings and violent robberies. 

However, by being aware of personal safety and the practice of good safety precautions, you can avoid putting yourself in an uncomfortable situation that may lead to these incidents. It is all about being aware of a potential problem before it happens and that is where my tips on how to prevent street crime from happening come in. 

In every street crime incident there are always three aspects which is a victim, an offender and an opportunity for a criminal. The criminal is always on a look out for easy target, if you are showing precaution to put off his intentions, he will move on to someone else. These are few ways how to avoid street crime: 

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1. Be aware of the environment you are in at all times, stay clear of unfamiliar places and  dark alleys, even when you are in a small sized group of 2-3. If you feel insecure of the environment, the best thing is to get out of it at the earliest opportunity. Potential street crime problem is mugging and bag snatching. 

2. Walk against the traffic flow! Same as number 1.Be aware of your surroundings, keep an eye on traffic and the people, especially in tourist areas. Ladies try to walk inside the path beside a man, even if it is a stranger. Potential street crime problem is bag snatching. 

3. Travel light and keep personal items out of sight, especially when having a meal, do not leave your valuables (cell phone, purse, bag, pouch etc) on the dining table or empty chair even if you think you got your attention on it. Criminals are very good in create a diversion and you soon find your things missing. Potential street crime problem is pocket picking, stealing, and bag snatching. 

4. In any crowded place such as a bus, train, market, entrance to a busy place,anywhere where people are packed close together, guard your bag, wallet, camera, jewelry, wrist watch, and anything else of value. Put your hands crossed on your chest with your bag in-between them. Potential street crime problem is pocket picking, bag slashing, and bag snatching. 

5. Keep your backpacks in front of you where you can see it when in crowded area. Bag-slashers will get behind or beside you in a crowded place, slash your bag or pocket with a razor blade and collect your valuables. You don’t see or feel a thing. Potential street crime problem is Pocket picking, bag slashing, and bag snatching. 

These apply to different situation that you probably might find yourself in: 

6. When in bars or clubs, never get too drunk. You might wake up without your wallet. As for ladies, do not leave your drinks out of sight. Potential crime problems is Mugging and rape. 

7. If you are driving, always lock the doors, and never leave your personal belongings unattended when you get off the car. There have been cases where a rider on a motorbike will open the car door and take the items and ride off. 

8. If you plan to visit any mosque, wear some old flip flips (which you should be able to get it cheaply everywhere), as you will be required to remove your shoes before entry, and there have been cases of missing shoes. 

Remember, that the prevention of street crime is the best cure for it from happening. With an increase in individual awareness, potential opportunities will decrease, and this will in turn dissuade offenders from trying. 

You can do a part in making Malaysia a safer place to travel in by being more aware of your own personal safety.