CPTED for California properties: designing the crime out before the guard arrives
The cheapest deterrent is a property that is hard to victimize in the first place. Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is the framework we walk every new California client through before we quote patrol hours.
Natural surveillance
Trim landscaping below 3 ft and above 7 ft so residents, tenants, and passing patrols can see across the site. Wattage at building entries: 5 fc minimum measured at grade (IESNA G-1).
Natural access control
Direct legitimate users to defined entries with signage, fencing, gate hardware, and paving cues. Every unintended path is an attack path.
Territorial reinforcement
Address blocks, unit numbers, borders, and posted rules signal that someone owns and observes the space. Anonymous properties absorb the region's crime.
Maintenance ('broken windows')
Graffiti removed within 48 hours, burned-out lamps replaced within 72 hours, trash and encampments cleared per Martin v. Boise protocol. Neglect is the loudest invitation.
Activity support
Programmed use of common space (mail hours, pool schedule, community events) crowds out illicit use. Empty amenity areas become the incident map.
Where guards fit
CPTED reduces the demand for patrol hours; it does not replace them. Randomized marked-SUV tours cover what design cannot — behavioral deterrence for offenders already scoping the site.
Sources
- International CPTED Association — Primer
- US DOJ — Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in Parking Facilities
- IESNA G-1 Guideline for Security Lighting
- Kelling & Wilson, 'Broken Windows' (Atlantic Monthly, 1982)
FAQ — CPTED — Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
Trim landscaping below 3 ft and above 7 ft so residents, tenants, and passing patrols can see across the site. Wattage at building entries: 5 fc minimum measured at grade (IESNA G-1).
Direct legitimate users to defined entries with signage, fencing, gate hardware, and paving cues. Every unintended path is an attack path.
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