Surrey Police Service offers free home and business security assessments based on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles to help reduce the risk of crime.

Features such as lighting, landscaping, sightlines, and access control can significantly influence how attractive a property is to potential offenders. Through a CPTED assessment, trained staff will review your property and provide practical, tailored recommendations to improve safety and security.

Whether you own a home or operate a business, a free security assessment can help you identify opportunities to deter theft, vandalism, and other crimes—before they occur.

What is Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design? 

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is the theory that proper design and effective use of the environment can lead to a reduction in incidents of crime and ultimately improve your quality of life. CPTED is guided by principles of design that help reinforce safety and limit crime and loss for homes and businesses. The following principles guide CPTED: 

Natural Surveillance 

Natural surveillance is a design strategy that is directed at keeping intruders under observation, and is based on the premise that a person inclined to commit crime will be less likely to act on their impulse if he or she can be seen. Successful natural surveillance applications include: 

• orienting driveways and paths towards natural forms of  surveillance such as building entrances and windows
• increasing visual of vulnerable areas such as building entrances, stairwells, playgrounds
• trimming back overgrown landscaping
• strategically lighting pathways and other potentially problematic areas 

Natural Control Access

Natural access control is a concept  used to decrease crime opportunity.  It is based on the premise that a person who is confronted with a clearly defined boundary, will show it some deference.  Successful natural access control applications include:

• ​limiting uncontrolled and/or unobserved access onto properties, buildings and private space
• ​adding dense or thorny landscaping as a natural barrier to reinforce fences
• using space to provide natural barriers

Territorial Reinforcement

Territorial Reinforcement is a design concept that realizes that physical design can extend protection that is noticeable to a potential offender. Successful territorial reinforcement applications include:

• ​providing amenities in communal area that encourages activity and use
• ​developing visitor reporting procedures for larger scale entities that regularly receive people
• ​avoiding the creation of no-man’s land by ensuring that all space is assigned a clear, and preferably, active purpose

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