DOC-Gram Newsletter

For Designing Out Crime, CPTED and Community Safety News

Dear ,

Welcome to our new design for the free DOC-Gram Newsletter.

DOC-Gram contains the best of new information and intelligence on CPTED, Community Safety, Design Out Crime and cyber-CPTED (the emerging combination of CPTED and cyber-security).

Today's DOC-Gram Newsletter describes:

1.  8 Keys to using Natural Surveillance to reduce crime

2. The new Amazon Ring door camera and fear of crime

3. Western Australia's new Graffiti Vandalism Strategy 2019-2021

8 Keys to use Natural Surveillance to reduce crime

We recently published an article on why and how it is important to go beyond 'eyes  on the street'  using Natural Surveillance to reduce crime.

The article contians examples and practical advice on 8 key aspects of natural surveillance that need to be addressed  to effectively reduce crime.

Download a pdf of the article here.

Take Aways

1. Natural surveillance is much more than 'eyes on the street'

2. There are 8 aspects of natural surveillance to consider in effective CPTED

New Amazon Ring increases fear of crime

 Evidence indicates fear of crime is almost completely driven by exposure to media news stories and gossip and is almost completely unrelated to actual crime risks.

The more crime stories are repeated, the higher the levels of fear of crime - even when risk of crime is minimal.

The process is similar to the fear people had after watching the movie Jaws, that a shark might leap out of any rain puddle.

Amazon’s Ring doorbell-security camera sends alerts to user's phones, the cloud, to Amazon and the local police department when the camera detects motion or someone rings the doorbell.

This can give residents the false picture that the house is under continuous siege and crime risk.

The result is a false increase in fear of crime - and of course, social pressure for increased purchases of Amazon Ring.

Early evidence also shows increased concerns about privacy-related issues and of the Amazon Ring generating tensions in communities and increasing suspicion on minority groups. This damages the community efficacy on which much crime prevention depends.

The Amazon Ring (and similar cameras) raise 3 CPTED challenges:

1. How to gain any potential benefits without the increased fear of crime and destroying community efficacy.

2. The increased fear of crime is generated falsely and not reduced by CPTED, security and policing.

3. Professional criminals who will develop new ways of conducting crime. In the case of the Amazon Ring (as for security cameras) the methods will likely be a mix of physical and electronic.

Resources

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/05/amazon-owned-ring-wants-report-crime-news/588394/

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/08/amazons-ring-perfect-storm-privacy-threats

https://fortune.com/2019/07/19/amazon-ring-police/ 

Take Aways

1. Use of the Amazon Ring is falsely increasing fear of crime by giving an illusion of crime risks.

2. The Amazon Ring is apparently intended to increase fear of crime for commercial purposes.

3. Such false increased fear of crime (like media driven fear of crime)  is not reduced by CPTED, security or policing.

4. In practical crime prevention terms, the Amazon Ring will result in new  methods from crime professionals.

5. There are indications of the potential for increases in crime due to the Amazon Ring creating tensions in communities, especially against minority groups.

Western Australia's new Graffiti Vandalism Strategy 2019-2021

Western Australia's new Graffiti Vandalism Strategy 2019-2021 describes an  approach that has resulted in the almost complete elimination of graffiti in urban and suburban WA.

A pdf of the WA Graffiti Vandalism Strategy is available here.

More information is available here.

Take Aways

1. Graffiti vandalism can be significatly reduced as a problem in urban and suburban situaions.

2. The WA Graffiti Vandalism Strategy 2019-2021 describes an approach that has proven effective in Western Australia.

CPTED Training, CPTED site reviews, CPTED advice, and cyber-CPTED

Contact us at admin@designoutcrime.org for CPTED training; for up to the minute information, intelligence and advice on CPTED and  Design Out Crime; for CPTED site audits and cyber-CPTED analyses.

For more free CPTED resources go to https://www.designoutcrime.org

Regards,

Terence

Dr Terence Love
CEO
Design Out Crime and CPTED Centre

Perth, Western Australia

https://www.designoutcrime.org

t.love@designoutcrime.org
+61 (0)434975848