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Safe Cities Conference 2015
book of proceedings
ISBN: 9
Pullman Melbourne on the Park
8th July 2015
www.safecities.net.au
Safe Cities
Conference
2015
Pullman Melbourne on the Park
Melbourne
Conference Proceedings
Publisher Details
Publisher
Contact
Address
Telephone
Fax
Email:
Association for Sustainability in Business Inc.
Isabel Venables
PO Box 29, Nerang QLD 4211
+61 7 5502 2068
+61 7 5527 3298
[email protected]
Table of Contents
Gray, F. and Novacevski, M
Unlawful acts, unkind architecture and unhelpful perceptions:
A case study of Market Square Mall, Geelong
4
Quintana Vigiola, G
Cultural and Community Programs to Prevent the Increase of Criminality
in Caracas' Barrios
19
Soebarto, V et al.
Investigation of the relationship between CPTED principles and people’s
feeling of safety: A Pilot study in the City of Adelaide
42
Davis, D.
Pro-Feminist Urban Design
60
Knight, F
Real Contexts for Real Learning: The impact of integrating CPTED into the
teaching of the New Zealand Curriculum
79
Ollencio, RJ and D’Souza,
BE
PSIM – Physical Security Information Management
103
Dr Fiona Gray
School of Architecture and Built Environment
Deakin University,
Geelong, Australia
Matt Novacevski
School of Architecture and Built Environment
Deakin University,
Geelong Australia
Paper presented at the
2015 Safe Cities Conference
Melbourne (VIC) 8 July 2015
ABSTRACT: On a quiet Sunday afternoon in January 2015, a 12 year old girl was assaulted
in Geelong’s Market Square mall. The attack sparked a media furore over what should be
done to address the ongoing safety and amenity issues of this intractable public space. The
city’s mayor, Cr Darryn Lyons, responded to the situation by declaring the mall a ‘haunt for
bogans and scumbags’ and renewed calls for its demolition. Such rhetoric highlights the
exclusionary mindset that casts certain types of people as undesirable inhabitants of public
spaces. It also bolsters negative public perceptions of the mall. Once formed, such attitudes
are difficult to shift, despite an overall improvement in the area’s crime rates over recent
years.
Poor perceptions are further reinforced by the soulless nature of the mall’s built fabric and
weak urban interfaces. Its formal language is one of hostility, not only towards would-be
delinquents, but to all people. The space is furnished with cold stainless steel seats, CCTV
cameras and limp, pavement water spouts, while its inactive edges consist of loading bays,
security grilles and neglected facades. This paper considers how a more inclusive
architecture might be utilised to create a kinder, more generous physical environment that
reflects the public nature of the space. While not a quick fix, fostering an architecture that
encourages a more equitable use of the mall may diminish the sense of fear, anxiety and
suspicion that the space currently elicits, tackling the problem at both a structural and social
level.
Keywords: Market Square Mall Geelong, Perceptions of safety, Public space, Urban design,
Environmental psychology.
Introduction
This analysis looks at Market Square Mall as a physical and social construct to help
understand the formation of public perception of the area, the impact of the space’s design
and provide some insights into the causes of aggressive and anti-social behaviour in the area.
Market Square Mall is an area of public space in Geelong’s Central Business District that has
had a troubled history since its establishment in the 1850s. Following the building of a large
introverted multi-story shopping centre in 1986 on a large portion of the space, what remains
today is a long rectangular rump at the southern edge of the original square. While
acknowledging this vexed long term history, this paper deals substantially with the form,
function and nature of the space over the last 30 years.
Figure 1: The Market Square Mall pre 2001. Photo: Courtesy of City of Greater Geelong
As with many dysfunctional public spaces, the histories of Market Square and today’s
Market Square Mall are littered with a host of proposed solutions. While this paper does not
seek to add yet another silver bullet, it does approach the questions of public safety and urban
design from a holistic perspective by adopting a methodology that fuses cultural studies,
urban design and environmental psychology to understand how perceptions of place influence
safety. This paper proposes a view of safety that encompasses perceived feelings of safety,
representations of safety within a place and the likelihood of criminal activity in that place.
This paper argues that the most effective way to make places safer and promote innate
feelings of safety is through a kinder approach to architecture and design that seeks to attract
people to the place, rather than a defensive approach aimed at deterring particular people or
groups from using the space. This approach must be integrated with a communications
strategy that promotes constructive engagement with the space and draws on positive
interventions to promote a credible sense of hope among its users – current and prospective.
Unlawful acts
Like many urban spaces, Market Square Mall in Geelong has a documented history of
unlawful acts – from the anti-social to more serious physical violence. A 2012 report on the
mall noted a range of anti-social behaviours including the use of offensive and abusive
language, street fights, retail theft, and the trading and consumption of drugs and alcohol (St
Laurence, 2013, p.8). Observations from a security guard at the Market Square Shopping
Centre also noted the presence of groups of up to 30 youths who generally tend to arrive in
the mall around 11am and loiter until 5pm (St Laurence, 2013, p.8). However, recently
released statistics suggest a downturn in crime in the mall with 36 criminal offences reported
in 2014 as opposed to 50 in 2010 (DTPLI, 2015). According to Victoria Police call data, calls
for assistance in the mall and surrounds have reduced in recent years from 2.44% of
Geelong’s total calls in 2010 to 0.65% in 2014 (DTPLI, 2015). Despite these statistics
perceptions of the mall as an unsafe area and an undesirable place to be remain alive and well.
Analysing the nature of these incidents is difficult given the lack of access to more
comprehensive information. However, there is evidence in media reportage that some
incidents that have gained a high public profile involved perpetrators who knew the victims.
These include the assault of a 12-year-old-girl by a 14-year-old girl in January 2015 (Pearson
et al, 2015) and a court case involving the stabbing of a girl by a group that included her
former female partner (Antoniou, 2005). These reports suggest that in some instances Market
Square Mall becomes a staging ground for criminal acts sparked by longer running disputes
between individuals that have origins outside the space. Several incidents have occurred
during daylight, including an unprovoked attack where a 17-year-old woman was hit with a
bottle at around 3:30pm on a Friday in 2015 (Pearson, 2015). The highly public nature of
these incidents, and in some cases the subsequent court hearings, mean they become
particularly newsworthy over an extended period of time, increasing their profile and negative
reportage of the space. Public outcry over incidents in 2015 prompted renewed commitments
for an increased police presence in the mall. This has resulted in an operational response unit
being sent to Geelong for a 12-week blitz on the area. This marked increase in police on the
beat has resulted in local traders reporting that they ‘feel safer’ yet they fear that the old status
quo will be restored when the blitz is over (Crane, 2015a).
Unhelpful perceptions
Understanding how perceptions of public spaces are formed is important in developing
strategies to improve perceived and actual safety. The truths that form these perceptions are
not necessarily rigid: German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche defined truth, for example, as
‘a sum of human relations that have been poetically and rhetorically heightened, transposed
and embellished, and which seem to a people after a long usage, fixed, canonical and binding’
(Nietzsche, 1873, p.250). Likewise, French philosopher Michel Foucault (1980) talked of
‘regimes of truth’ created through ‘a circular relation with systems of power which produce
and sustain it’ (p.133). “Truth” is thus formed through power relationships and a process of
repetition and constant communication or re-iteration until it becomes accepted as fact.
Thus, experience alone does not generate perceptions that inform the truths of public
space. French philosopher Henri Lefebvre found three dimensions to the social production of
space: one of which, spatial practice dealt with social activity and interaction—what happens
in daily life. The other two dimensions are of particular interest in this analysis:


The representation of space through descriptions and theories but also through maps,
pictures and other information – in this case, public discourse and media reportage is
particularly prominent.
Spaces of representation, where spaces signify elements and thus become
communication symbols in their own right. (Schmid, 2008, pp.36-37)
Representations of space
Considering Nietzsche’s insights into how truth is formed and Lefebvre’s insights into how
space is perceived, it can be observed that the perception of Market Square has been formed
and re-iterated over many decades, predating the development of the large, introverted Market
Square shopping centre in 1986. Historian Walter Brownhill wrote in 1955 of Market Square
that ‘no quarter of Geelong has been the subject of so much controversy, so much muddling
and so much studied vandalism’ (p.126).
Over the last 15 years in particular, representations of Market Square Mall in the mass
media have arguably been the most significant catalyst in forming and re-forming perceptions
and social truths about the space. Comments from Mayor, Cr Darryn Lyons deriding the space
as ‘a haunt for bogans and scumbags’ (Pearson and Cannon, 2015) are thus a notable part of a
continuing media and public narrative. This is partly due to incidents happening at the mall,
but also to Geelong’s media climate which is unusual in that although it is a city of more than
200,000 people, it has one major daily newspaper, no regional television network and local
FM radio stations that generally limit news coverage to hourly bulletins. While there are
weekly newspapers in Geelong, this reduced media diversity has endured, partly as a product
of the city’s proximity to Melbourne, some 74km away. The media, as Martin (2000) writes,
has two roles in forming and broadcasting hegemonic discourses: providing a series of
(privileged, middle class) perspectives and working in a system of structured realities where
reporters draw opinions from society and reflect them, often putting forward hegemonic
voices (p.382).
This lens has affected representations of the mall. For example, a desktop perception
study looking at representations of the mall from 2006 to 2010 found 27 negative media
articles with four positive articles and four neutral articles, while in 2015 alone the mall has
been the subject of ten negative articles, with two neutral articles relating to planning and
design initiatives pertaining to the city’s future.
While crime was a prominent theme in negative articles, others related to policy
responses or initiatives from authorities that were expressed in defensive terms: for example,
the use of ‘elevator music to help keep young people on the move’ (Geelong Advertiser,
2006). Others referred to congregations of ‘mall rats’ (a term quoted here as it has become
public lexicon reflected in media reportage – including the front page of the Geelong
Advertiser on 9 November 2010) at the mall. This use of defensive and exclusive language to
describe actual and desired policy interventions punctuates commentary and analysis of the
space. Here is the Nietzschean process of ‘heightened, transposed and embellished’ truth – a
self-perpetuating cycle that promotes and engrains a perception over a number of years.
It is instructive at this point to look at why the mall itself is a newsworthy story. As
Fowler (1991) states, news is not simply something that happens – it is both a social construct
and something that can be regarded and presented as newsworthy (p.13). Galtung and Ruge
(1973) propose a set of 12 criteria to define newsworthiness:












Frequency
Threshold (the size or volume of an event)
Unambiguity
Meaningfulness (cultural proximity and relevance)
Consonance (whether an event is something people expect or want to happen)
Unexpectedness
Continuity (events remaining in the news cycle after they have initially become news
stories)
Composition
Reference to elite nations
Reference to elite people
Reference to people
Reference to something negative (pp. 62-72).
Reportage of the Market Square Mall consistently satisfies many of these criteria.
Analysing reports of crimes through this lens, for example, shows that they become
newsworthy because they might be unexpected, they involve people, they have a level of
meaningfulness to the audience and they refer to something negative. Follow-up stories on
crimes happen because they carry a sense of continuity, as does the ongoing narrative around
safety in the mall. Indeed, the elements of continuity and negativity mean discussions of
defensive policy responses receive prominent coverage that further darkens perceptions of the
space, as exemplified by Opposition Leader Matthew Guy’s suggestion that Protective
Services Officers being deployed in the Mall would be ‘the first step toward fixing Little
Malop Street Mall’ (Lannen, 2015). The established narrative of Market Square Mall as an
unsafe place means there is a level of consonance about such reporting in that it meets with
people’s expectations.
By contrast, Galtung & Ruge’s analysis suggests that positive initiatives, positive ideas
and events happening even in a derided public space like Market Square Mall can gain
traction: if well-timed, these stories around the mall can prove meaningful and provide
examples of events people want to happen.
While this paper does not propose to debate news values, it is clear that media
representations can influence perceptions of safety and place by representing a hegemonic and
widely broadcast view that, while not uncontested, forms complex views of places that link
with emotions of despair and hope (Martin, 2000, p.383 – italicization added by authors).
Drawing on a sense of hope and an understanding of the idea of newsworthiness becomes a
foundation for communication strategies that need to be integrated with spatial strategies to
promote urban renewal and improved safety.
Bad signs – Spaces of representation
Aside from communication about the space, the Market Square Mall itself functions as a
piece of communication in a way that shapes perceptions. According to Italian semiotician
and philosopher Umberto Eco (1997), architectural objects function as signs that
communicate, among other things, a function to be fulfilled (p.183). This has obvious
implications for the design of truly public spaces: the whole place must be designed so as to
communicate that function, and objects within the place must act as ‘sign vehicles’ that
perpetuate that message. One might thus look at the functions of objects within Market
Square and expect that they contribute to the space’s broader narrative as public space.
However, an overview of the area near the Moorabool Street bus interchange at the western
end of the mall, shows it includes large utility infrastructure in wire cages and a prominent
loading zone servicing the shopping centre (Figures 2 and 3).
Figure 2: Site plan of the mall and surrounding area
Figure 3: Caged utilities in the mall. Photo: Author.
These objects are among the items that do not function as sign vehicles that define a space as
public. Ensuring the areas between buildings and the architectural objects contribute to
building a welcoming public space is a vital step.
The Market Square Mall fails as a people orientated public space not for want of trying.
The area includes around 50m of seating and benefits from a year-round program of activities.
The quality of the seating however is exceptionally poor. All of it is in the form of 4 metre
and 6 metre long buttock-numbing stainless steel benches, more than half of which are
backless (Figures 4 and 5).
Figures 4 and 5: Fixed stainless steel bench seating in mall. Photos: Author
As American urbanist William Whyte noted in his seminal text The Social Life of Small
Urban Spaces (1980) ‘benches are artefacts the purpose of which is punctuate architectural
photographs, they are not good for sitting’ (p.28). While young people place relatively modest
demands on the type of seat they will use, for many older people the comfort of the seat is an
important determinant in whether they choose to sit, and if so, for how long. Danish Architect
Jan Gehl has also described the tendency of designers to come up with ‘ingenious bench
arrangements’ that ‘float freely in public space’ and ‘disregard elementary psychological
considerations’ (2011, p.157). Gehl’s studies have shown that people prefer to sit in areas
with defined spatial boundaries where one’s back is protected and views of the space and
other people are possible. The random layout of benches scattered throughout the middle of
the mall clearly ignores such preferences. Their fixed linear arrangement also prohibits
opportunities for altering their configuration to accommodate different social circumstances
such as conversations in groups or between individuals.
Seating constitutes a particular problem that has the potential to undermine other
attempts to activate the space. The Geelong City Council’s Central Geelong Street Activities
Report 2013-2014 (2014) recorded a commendable 370 activities that provided approximately
820 hours of entertainment, with a predominant focus on activating the mall (p.1). A diverse
range of activities was offered including musical performers, visual artists, school holiday
events, sidewalk sales, workshops, food trucks, commercial promotions and information
displays. These events are welcomed but do not solve fundamental design issues—even
during events, there is difficulty finding pleasant places to linger and when the space is not
being formally activated by such events, the area returns to a lifeless void. As Gehl noted in
his book Life Between Buildings (2011), the number of events in a public space does not give
a real indication of the activity level or describe the quality of the public environment (p.129).
He argues that favourable conditions for lingering in the space must also exist, stating that ‘it
is a prime concept that everyday life, ordinary situations, and spaces in which daily life is
lived must form the centre of attention and effort.’ (2011, p.51). Unplanned, spontaneous
activities such as stopping, resting, conversing, eating, reading and people watching, are
largely absent from this space.
Issues identified in this paper at the fine-grain level including the quality and
arrangement of seating and objects in the mall are an important part of the solution. A more
problematic aspect that is more expensive to address is the interface between the public and
private realm, specifically the hard edges that discourage people from lingering in the space.
Gehl claims that:
no single topic has greater impact on the life and attractiveness of city space than
active, open and lively edges. When the rhythms of the city's buildings produce
short units, many doors and carefully designed details at ground floor level, they
support life in the city and near buildings. When the city's edges work, they
reinforce city life. Activities can supplement each other, the wealth of experience
increases, walking becomes safer and distances seem shorter’ (Gehl, 2010, 88).
The Market Square Mall fails dismally in this regard. On its northern side the mall is bounded
by Market Square Shopping Centre which has a bulky, impenetrable character and casts a
shadow that extends more than 20 metres into the space at midday around the autumn equinox
(Figure 6).
Figure 6: Shadow from Market Square Shopping Centre looms large in the mall at midday.
Photo: Author.
The south side of the mall is bordered by old retail shops, many of which are in a poor state of
repair (Figure 7). Of the total 25 shops facing onto the mall, 24% are vacant (Figure 8).
Figure 7: A 20m long unkempt, solid shop façade on the southern edge of the Mall. Photo: Author
Figure 8: One of six vacant tenancies in the mall. Photo: Author
Gehl notes that shops in active, thriving commercial areas all over the world tend to have a
façade length of 5 or 6 meters, meaning that there are 15 to 20 different shops every 100
metres, offering visual interest and difference (2010, p.76). In contrast, the shops facing onto
the Market Square mall are up to 21 meters long, with just 8 shops across a distance of 130
meters on its northern side. This is without taking into account the 65 metres of blank
concrete wall at its eastern end that runs alongside the ramp leading up the Centre’s rooftop
carpark (Figure 9).
Figure 9: Long blank concrete wall on northern boundary at eastern end of the mall. Photo: Author.
Visual access to the mall from inside the shops is almost entirely blocked via long expanses of
decaled windows or solid walls. Doors are limited and in some instances entry is made
physically impossible due to stock piled high from floor to ceiling (Figure 10).
Figure 10: Decals on windows and blocked entrance doors to shops in Market Square Shopping
Centre. Photo: Author.
The pedestrian experience of walking along the northern edge of the mall is interrupted by a
loading bay and utility area that feature dark recesses and closed security grilles (Figure 11).
With little to capture the pedestrian’s interest, the malls edges send a clear message to move
on. They lack what Gehl refers to as ‘staying psychology’ (2010, p.139)
Figure 11: Loading bays and security grilles on the northern edge of the Mall. Photo: Author.
The importance of edges was earlier recognised by Christopher Alexander (1977) who
called for the edge of buildings to be treated as a place or zone that has volume to it, rather
than as a line or interface with no thickness (p.155). He recommended crenelated edges that
invite people to stop. This idea that was intuitively understood by Alexander, now has a
scientific underpinning through the work of architect Ann Sussman, and urban planning
Professor Justin Hollander (2015), who have used recent findings in neuroscience and
evolutionary biology to identify key human traits that influence how we experience our
surroundings. Sussman and Hollander describe the human tendency to avoid open spaces and
seek refuge from the edges of a space as an instinctive behaviour called thigmotaxis. In
layman’s terms they describe the phenomenon as the ‘wall-hugging’ trait (Figure 12.
Figure 12: Thigmotaxis in practice: A group of young people chooses to sit on the ground at the edge
of the space in preference to using the bench seats in the middle of the mall. Photo: Author.
Thigmotaxis has a long evolutionary history which psychologists use to explain the
innate sense of safety we experience when we are protected by an edge. Devoid of soft edges,
the Market Square Mall feels inherently unsafe. As Alexander argues ‘if the edge fails, then
the space never becomes lively’ (p.600). Therefore any number of organised events in the
mall will not redress this fundamental problem. Measures must be taken to improve the
spatial continuity and permeability between the public and private realm, both physically and
psychologically, if the mall is to support the ordinary activities of daily city life.
Aside from the insights it offers on the ‘edge effect’, neuroscience presents other
interesting findings about how we perceive public spaces. Neuroscientists have found that
environmental cues trigger immediate responses in the human brain before we are consciously
aware of them (Montgomery, 2013, p.157). The hippocampus, the part of the brain
responsible for spatial memory and navigation, sends messages to the brain’s fear and reward
centres, while its neighbour, the hypothalamus, pumps out a hormonal response to those
signals even before most of us have decided if a place is safe or dangerous. Places that are
sterile or confusing trigger the release of adrenaline and cortisol, the hormones associated
with fear and anxiety, whereas places that trigger pleasant memories activate the feel-good
hormones of serotonin and oxytocin (Montgomery, 2013, p.158). Constant media and social
reinforcement that the mall is unsafe, coupled with the confused messages delivered by the
built environment itself, feed into a narrative of fear that becomes self-perpetuating.
Memories and associations are formed that are difficult to shift and negative images stick.
This climate of fear encourages people to view other public space users with suspicion.
Given that many young people patronise the mall, they consequently become the target of
such suspicion. This tendency is evident in the mall as confirmed by 242 surveys and 100
interviews conducted in 2012, in which 40% of central Geelong respondents identified
concerns with safety issues in the mall and the presence of youth that occupy the area (St
Laurence, 2013, p.7). Professor of criminology, Rob White (1990), argues that the need for
public space is particularly acute for young people since they are often compelled to spend
large amounts of time in such spaces due to an absence of other options (p.141). Their use of
the space is often not transgressive, but simply presents an opportunity to ‘hang out’ with
other young people. Nevertheless, their very presence has them viewed upon by many as
troublesome or undesirable. By regularly frequenting the space, young people also become
disproportionately targeted by the visual surveillance of CCTV cameras. A recent $500,000
upgrade to central Geelong’s CCTV system that resulted in the installation of more cameras
in the mall and increased hours of monitoring (Dundas, 2105), has been seen as coup for the
city. However Norris and Armstrong (1997) warn of the dangers of public space surveillance
on young people’s rights in public, stating that
The gaze of the cameras does not fall equally on all users of the street, but on
those who are stereotypically predefined as potentially deviant, or who, through
appearance and demeanour, are singled out by operators as unrespectable. In this
way youth, particularly those already socially and economically marginal, may be
subject to even greater levels of authoritative intervention and official
stigmatisation, and rather than contributing to the social justice through the
reduction of victimisation, CCTV will merely become a tool of injustice through
the amplification of differential and discriminatory policing (p.8)
Surveillance thereby has the potential to act as a mechanism of exclusion. Indeed 25%
of people interviewed in 2012 indicated they would like to introduce more security to the area
to ‘get rid’ of the youth that spend time in and around the mall (St Laurence, 2013, p.7). Yet it
is widely acknowledged in planning literature that a fundamental requirement of any
democratic, socially sustainable society is inclusive public space (Jacobs, 1961; Mitchell,
2003; Gehl, 2010; Mandanipour, 2010). Sharing public space implies encountering people of
different age, culture, religion or socio-economic backgrounds.
But how can tolerance and co-existence be fostered in the presence of fear or hostility?
Public servants have a leading role to play in supporting inclusivity by making it an explicit
part of their planning and management of public space. The message they communicate
however, must be authentic. Early in 2015 the G21 Regional Justice Reference Group
subcommittee was established to specifically address community concerns about the mall. Its
focus is on addressing 3 key areas: engaging people, the physical environment and crime
control. As part of the engagement strategy the #SoYouKnowGeelong campaign was
launched. The campaign has so far gained limited traction, having received a total of just 9
tweets, 5 of which were posted by those involved in the campaign’s creation, and a total of 18
retweets since its launch in early April. Not all responses to the campaign were positive, with
some social media posts expressing a degree of scepticism about the committee’s top-down,
corporate-like approach to addressing the mall’s problems. The fact that less than a week after
the campaign launch, two long-term businesses in the mall announced their forthcoming
closure and noted that they had not been consulted or made aware of the campaign, suggests
that such criticism may not be without some justification (Naughtin, 2015). In adopting the
same tag line of ‘So You Know’ that has previously been used by the City to highlight the
penalties associated with underage drinking, the authoritarian overtone of the campaign name
is also not likely to be lost on young people, thereby potentially making their engagement in
the campaign unlikely. As this paper has argued, a positive approach to communication may
hold greater potential to promote improvements in perceived and actual safety.
As part of the campaign’s focus on the physical environment a Crime Prevention
Through Environmental Design (CPTED) audit was also commissioned. While this report has
not been made available, its key recommendations were recently published in the Geelong
Advertiser (Crane, 2015b). While it makes some sound recommendations in terms of
reviewing the mall seating, improving street lighting and encouraging building owners to
have clear shopfront windows for improved natural surveillance, it also suggests measures
that have the potential to compound the space’s unfriendly edges and reinforce perceptions
that the mall is unsafe. The 3 dimensional, crenelated edges that Alexander called for in
public spaces are treated in the CPTED audit as dangerous areas that provide opportunities for
entrapment. The report therefore recommends that ‘alcoves should be closed by gates or
permanent grilles for pedestrian safety’ (Crane, 2015b). While acknowledging that potential
blind spots and recesses should be considered and addressed in terms of how they might
present opportunities for crime, the one thing that the mall can surely do without is more
security grilles that contribute to the dominant architectural vocabulary of rejection and
insecurity (Figure 13).
Figure 13: Closed security grilles during normal trading hours. Photo: Author.
Taking what is already not working about the space and adding more of the same seems a
rather peculiar logic. Gehl argues that ‘closeness, trust and mutual consideration’ are the
‘direct opposites of walls, gates and more police on the street’ (2010, p.29), yet the latter is
what has been repeatedly called for in the mall. As a by-product, diversity, curiosity and
richness of experience have also been built out of the space.
The multiple dimensions of this troubled public space inevitably makes it subject to
competing demands and differences of opinion on how best to resolve them. Suggestions for
the mall and the surrounding area from a host of consultants engaged by the city council over
the past 6 years have varied from ideas to develop a children’s playground, an open-air
marketplace, a ‘grunge’ fashion strip, student accommodation, an alfresco dining area, a mall
bus exchange, and conversely, removal of the bus exchange (Planning in Design, 2009;
BMDA, 2011; Deakin University, 2013; Crane, 2015b; Design Urban, 2015). Despite these
multiple proposals, a direct and specific plan of action for the mall is conspicuously missing
from the Council’s blueprint document for revitalising the city centre (Central Geelong
Taskforce 2013). While some efforts are being made to address this problematic public space,
the chronic nature of its malady has resulted in an inertia that seems almost impossible to
surmount. This has been reinforced by the sheer durability of the mall’s uninspiring built
form, as well as the deep-rooted attitudes that have been constructed about the space over
several decades. The range of defensive measures that have been taken to combat crime may
have resulted in some small or temporary wins, but they do not deal with perceptions of
safety, which we argue are intimately entwined with the success of public spaces in fulfilling
their civic functions. A holistic approach that adopts kinder design and a kinder language of
openness and trust could potentially provide environmental cues that foster behaviours to
enhance social ties and in turn offer a more sustainable means of tackling issues of crime and
safety in Geelong’s Market Square Mall.
References
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Cultural and Community Programs to Prevent the Increase of Criminality in Caracas'
Barrios
Gabriela QUINTANA VIGIOLA
Lecturer in Planning
School of Built Environment
Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
University of Technology Sydney
Ultimo, NSW, 2007
Paper Presented at the
Safe Cities 2015 Conference
Melbourne, Victoria (VIC), 8 July 2015
Cultural and community programs to prevent the increase of criminality in Caracas'
barrios
ABSTRACT: Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, is among the five most dangerous cities in
the world. In a city where kidnappings, murders and criminal gangs’ shootouts are a huge
part of people’s everyday life, finding innovative strategies to prevent criminality rates from
rising even further becomes an important matter to address. In this vein, and acknowledging
that broader scope policies to decrease crime are needed and should be developed and
implemented by the government, this paper focused on small-scale actions to tackle this
significant urban problem.
Criminality affects all the different areas of the city; however, a large part of it is generated
in barrios. Most criminal gangs operate from barrios, being their members a small portion of
its population. Moreover, gang members are most often barrio residents and the majority of
gang members are usually teenagers and young adults that are part of the local barrio
community. However, fear has made most community members to isolate these thugs. In
parallel to this, the segregated teens claim community spaces to themselves, preventing
residents to use them.
A qualitative approach was used to understand the participants’ perspectives on the
interaction between religiosity - as a cultural construct - and the barrios’ urban space. From
this, and understanding of an informal, socially constructed crime prevention strategy applied
by the community was identified. The research discovered that gang members highly respect
shared cultural events, such as catholic processions. During these events there are no
criminal activities in the barrio because the gang members are usually involved in the
religious activities. By understanding and acknowledging the impact of such cultural events
and using them to strategically integrate the youth members of the gangs as part of the
community during these events, the urban spaces where these cultural events change from
belonging only to the thugs, at that moment belonging to the whole community. By
understanding the importance of religiosity as one of the most important Venezuelan cultural
constructs, collaborative programs between the Catholic Church, community members, and
local government can developed to reach out to young kids and teenagers to prevent them
joining the criminal gangs.
Keywords: Caracas, Venezuela; criminal violence and gangs; cultural and community
engagement; crime prevention; religiosity and crime
An introduction to Caracas’ criminal violence
Caracas is the capital city of Venezuela, one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
The Government of Australia (2015) advises to “exercise a high degree of caution in
Venezuela because of high levels of serious crime and ongoing political uncertainty” and
when referring to the border with Colombia it advises “do not travel”. Also in other countries
such as the United States of America, Canada and United Kingdom, Venezuela is pondered a
high risk country, considering the high murder rate, and other major crimes as drug dealing
and express kidnapping (Government of United Kingdom, 2015, Government of Canada,
2015, U.S. Department of State, 2014).
Since 2004 neither the National Institute of Statistics1 of Venezuela nor any other
governmental institution release criminality and murder rates to the general public (Moreno,
2011b), which was publicly admitted by the government in 2013 (Lugo and Molina, 2013).
However, calculated from the data released by the National Institute of Statistics, the death
rate in Venezuela in 2012 was 51 deaths per 100,000 habitants; the number of deaths
increases to 85 in Caracas (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, 2013a, Instituto Nacional de
Estadística, 2013b). This data reflects deaths registered at all Civil Registry offices, including
death by natural causes and by homicide. While the government does not release these
statistics, the Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia (2014) [National Observatory of
Violence], a non-governmental organisation established to assess and publish the statistical
data regarding violence and criminality in Venezuela, reports that in 2014 the murder rate was
82 murders per 100,000 habitants, an increase from 79 deaths in 2013 and of 73 deaths in
2012. This placed Venezuela as the country with the second highest murder rate in the world
in 2014.
At the time of this writing, Caracas hosts the highest murder rate in Venezuela. The
Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia (2014) reports that there were 122 murders per
100,000 habitants in Caracas in 2014, making it the second most dangerous city in the world
(Consejo Ciudadano para la Seguridad Publica y Justicia Penal, 2015). Notwithstanding, the
type and frequency of crime varies according to the social economic status of a person and the
place of residence. Crimes such as express kidnapping (whether they lead to murder or not)
most commonly occur in medium-high or high-income suburbs, whereas gang shootouts
occur in barrios.
Barrios are slums that have evolved over time, with solid houses built with bricks and
concrete, but developed without professional guidance. These areas are characterised by
having low quality infrastructure, if any at all. Historically, barrios have been disadvantaged
areas home to the majority of Venezuela’s poor, characterised by being strong, tight-knit
communities with a significant sense of community and place. In addition, related to these
latter psychosocial processes there is also a strong sense of territoriality.
In this context, gangs emerge within the barrios as a results of a variety factors,
including repeat poverty cycles, impunity, a longing by gang members to provide a better life
The National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) is the official governmental organisation
that manages statistical data such as the census.
1
for themselves and their families, a perceived lack of opportunities as a result of a lack of
good quality education and poor employment opportunities (Briceño-León, 2007, BriceñoLeón, 2008, Briceño-León et al., 2008, Cedeño, 2013). However, more powerful than the
abovementioned factors is growing up in an environment of violence, rejection by their
families, lack of motherly protection and care, and other forms of abandonment (Benda and
Toombs, 2000, Moreno, 2011b, Moreno, 2011a). Gangs in Venezuelan barrios were not
initially established as traditionally-organised crime, but as a group of young teenagers
looking to make connections, gathering together and executing minor crimes, such as
mugging and pickpocketing (Moreno, 2009b). However, as these gangs developed and
became more organised, criminality became a well-regarded profession within the barrio
environment because it provided both money and status. The power, acknowledgement and
respect2 is attractive to young kids and teenagers coming from unstable home lives, thus
becoming a growing problem in Venezuela (Moreno, 2011b, Moreno, 2011a).
By understanding a bit of the general context of criminality in barrios, this paper first
presents some of the strategies that have been ineffectively applied to decrease crime in
Venezuela. Thereafter, a brief introduction to the research methods utilised to investigate this
challenge is presented followed by a discussion of an insight into how culture can become an
important part of the development of crime prevention strategies. The paper discusses in
detail the participant’s perspectives on the phenomenon of criminality in barrios and the
cultural-religious activities that promotes the community as a whole, including the gangs’
members. Finally a set of reflections and recommendations for developing inclusive crime
prevention strategies in under-privileged areas is presented.
Crime fighting strategies in Venezuela
In Venezuela there have been several ineffective crime management strategies that range from
major national policies to small-scale interventions, which comprise banning of firearms,
increased police action, and the implementation of sports urban infrastructure.
In 2009 when the murder rate in Venezuela was 52 homicides per 100,000 habitants
the National Government established public safety as one of the National priorities (Iglesias,
2009). By then 11 plans and policies related to public safety had already been launched, but
not really implemented or enforced. In addition, from that date onwards another nine policies
The concept of respect for violent delinquents is related to not being dominated or controlled by others. To
expand refer to Moreno (2009a, 2011c).
2
have been developed without any positive results (Cedeño, 2013, Hidalgo et al., 2014, N.ñe z,
2006).
Among these plans and policies, the most relevant ones are those related to firearm
control, such as the Disarm and Control of Weapons and Ammunition 2014 Act and latest
“Plan Patria Segura” [Safe Country Plan] (2014, Cedeño, 2013, Hidalgo et al., 2014,
Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Interiores Justicia y Paz, 2013). Considering
that criminality rates related to firearms have increased exponentially since the late 90’s
(N.ñe z, 2006, Hidalgo et al., 2014), these plan and act aimed to solve one of Venezuela’s
largest problems: firearm distribution and carriage. However, as a result firearm related
crimes have increased instead of decreasing, because of firearm illegal trafficking, usually led
by policemen and military (Gonzalez, 2009).
Linked to Venezuela’s firearm problem and the aforementioned strong sense of
territoriality gang members have, appears the fast rising matter of gang wars and shootouts,
which take lives of both thugs and ordinary barrio residents (Rosales, 2006). Police forces
have addressed this problem by applying inhumane strategies such as overuse of violence and
executions (Antillano, 2009, Gabaldón, 2008, Moreno, 2011b). Thus, police forces are seen as
part of the problem (Antillano, 2009, Gabaldón, 2008, Human Rights Watch, 2012, Reel,
2006). State and Local governments have tried to address this issue by implementing some
reforms in the legislation and regulations including having other extra police forces (Cedeño,
2013), encouraging police crime prevention techniques (Lea Noticias, 2013), salary increases
and stronger disciplinary measures to policemen (El Universal, 2013), resulting in a slight
improvement in controlling gangs and the criminality rates in barrios.
In addition, the different levels of government have also approached the criminality
problem from urban social infrastructure perspective, such as implementing sports fields and
basketball courts. The rationale behind this is to provide young male teenagers a healthy
space to interact, which according to representatives from the Council of Sucre3 this strategy
has decreased homicides by 45% (El Nacional, 2015), data that reflect a simplistic approach
based on non-founded statistical correlations. Still, by providing just the space is not enough.
Sports and social programs are required, in conjunction to other crime prevention and law
enforcement strategies (Cameron and MacDougall, 2000, Hartmann, 2001, Palmary and
Moat, 2002). However, it is important to acknowledge that by implementing these strategies
The Council of Sucre hosts Petare, which is the second largest barrio conglomeration in Latin America, and
which hosts several of the most dangerous barrios in Caracas.
3
what is being tackled is not the criminality issue per se, but the target group that originates it
(Hartmann, 2001).
On another hand, the Venezuelan Catholic Church in barrios provides several social
programs that indirectly address the criminality issue. Despite of crime prevention not being
among the main aims of religiosity, there is a close relationship between faith and criminality
(Johnson, 2011, Johnson et al., 2001, Pirutinsky, 2014, Salas-Wright et al., 2013, SalasWright et al., 2014, Topalli et al., 2013). Programs such as the youth ministry, formation and
training centres, and family guidance try to involve and target population ranging from kids to
young adults. Notwithstanding the impact these programs have on young people and
criminality is very limited because the lack of other institutional support, lack of financial
resources and the Church’s lack of vision regarding their potential impact in youth
delinquency. Regarding the latter the Catholic Church in barrios focuses mostly on
evangelising, diminishing and disregarding their role in crime prevention4.
In order for any of the above actions to succeed, other approaches need to be
considered. Taking into account the specific context and its culture may be a way of
complementing and turning around the current ineffective strategies.
A qualitative research approach
Historically, criminality and crime related studies are mostly approached from a quantitative
perspective, diminishing qualitative research and its relevance in the field (Agnew, 2006,
Tewksbury et al., 2010, Travers, 2013, Wright and Bouffard, 2014). Although qualitative
research is by some researchers considered to be alternative, anecdotal and merely descriptive
(Copes, 2010, Miller and Tewksbury, 2010, Travers, 2013), it should be noted that qualitative
research is increasingly acknowledged as a strategy to delve deeper into understanding
concepts, and offering insight into how and why phenomena occur. Through a qualitative
approach we can gain a deeper understanding regarding the culture and the context where
criminal activities take place. In addition we can grasp experiences, understand basis for
decision-making, and most importantly really understand human relationships and bonds
(Bennett and Brookman, 2009, Miller and Tewksbury, 2010, Travers, 2013). Qualitative
methods also enable researchers to access inaccessible communities and cultural settings,
such as barrios (Miller and Tewksbury, 2010).
This information arose from the in-depth interviews to several priests and community leaders, and the field
notes collected during the research. The methodological approach is presented below. Even though some authors
like Moreno and Trigo highlight the relevance of the Catholic Church in barrios and in thugs’ lives, there is no
research in Venezuela regarding youth programs or their link to criminal activities.
4
The research about criminality in barrios and how religiosity as a cultural construct
can help preventing the increase of crime in these areas is part of a larger study that
investigates the construction of place as an interaction between catholic processions –one of
the most important Venezuelan cultural activities- and the barrios’ urban space.
The complexity of the topic, the context and the human relationships, determined the
use of a qualitative approach. An emergent and case study design was selected to enable the
researcher to better understand the psycho-social and urban processes embedded in the
culture-people-space trinity from the participants’ perspectives, who live with this high rate
criminality reality on an everyday basis. Because only barrio residents can give accounts of
their reality an ethnographic approach was adopted. An ethnographic approach enabled the
researcher to interact with both the participants and the urban space during the religious
processions and on other common days. This also enabled building rapport with community
members, thereby enabling the researcher to gain a deeper insight into their thoughts, feelings,
reasoning and understanding of the criminality problem in the barrio and its relationship with
religiosity and processions.
The chosen case studies are three barrios from Caracas: El Nazareno in South Petare,
Julian Blanco in North Petare, and La Dolorita in the eastern side of Petare. The nested four
criteria were: (1) urban morphological features, selecting only the areas with barrio
characteristics as in Image 1; (2) having contact with the community and the Priest of the
area, as this would help ensure personal safety while in the barrio; (3) the number of
processions that took place in the sector, selecting the ones with largest amount of
processions during the Holy Week; and (4) the population, giving priority to those parishes
with the highest number of inhabitants.
Image 1: Barrio morphology (source: G.Quintana Vigiola)
The data collection process spanned a period of four years from 2008 until 2011 and
included a variety of data collection strategies. The pilot was conducted in 2008, which
included participant observation techniques, involving researcher collaboration with the
community to prepare and participate in several catholic processions. During the pilot, indepth interviews with the participants were also conducted to clarify what was observed
during participation in the community events, as well as to gain deeper insight into the
different themes of the research: religiosity and urban space.
From the pilot it emerged that the catholic processions during Holy Week were
considered the most meaningful and significant to the community and most influential in
changing the perceived ownership and safety in the barrio public urban spaces. The barrio
public urban spaces which became the primary focus of the research as a result of the pilot
study included barrio main streets, street intersections and public sports facilities, many of
which are basketball courts commonly occupied by the local gangs.
From 2009 until 2011 the different Holy Week processions were studied in each of the
three case studies aforementioned. As the primary researcher I went each year to a different
barrio, while two research assistants participated in the other barrios’ processions. In this
stage the data collection also included participant observation and field notes, in-depth
interviews (30 in total), in addition to 17 informal interviews during the processions.
Audiovisual surveys were also conducted. The informal interviews enabled the researcher to
gain insight into community members’ observations and experiences, while the audiovisual
surveys enabled the researcher to document specific urban space conditions, e.g. the bullet
holes on the walls surrounding the basketball court in Julian Blanco where one of the Holy
Week processions finished (Image 2).
Image 2: Bullet holes in barrio house external wall – El Parquecito in Julian Blanco (source:
G.Quintana Vigiola)
From the interview transcriptions in conjunction to the field notes and audivisual data
several meaningful categories and themes were coded through qualitative content analysis,
bringing together all the common elements and themes highlighted by the participants from
the different barrios. Emotions, issues and solutions regarding criminality and religiosity were
discussed. The data analysis provided information on how violence and thugs are perceived
by the community, as well as how catholic processions and the urban space mediate these
relationships.
Criminality, urban space and community-thugs relationships in Petare’s barrios
Violence and criminality in barrios are directly related to the different gangs that live and rule
the specific barrios (Moreno, 2009a). Gangs’ internal and territorial organisation determines
not only how they behave and move around, but also how the rest of the community live their
lives in the barrio and how they interact with each other. Within barrios’ gangs there is
usually a well established hierarchy that is based on age and level of involvement in
delinquency: the professionals (ages above 18), the apprentices (ages 14-18) and the
observers (ages 10-14) (Moreno, 2011a). Differently to organised crime, in barrios the
organisation and links between thugs are established by affective relationships, as it is the
Venezuelan culture (Moreno, 2011b, Moreno, 2011a). In gangs there is some kind of
superficial mateship caused by circumstantial relationships and complicity, but there are no
real trust bonds (Moreno, 2011b, Moreno, 2009b). Usually this lack of trust and mateship is
associated to misunderstandings and treason, leading to shootouts. The results in Latin
America are that over 30 % of murders are teens between 10 and 19 years old (Briceño-León,
2007).
In barrios, being limited by the gang’s dynamics the community is impacted on their
everyday lives, modifying the way they relate to their neighbours, the way the go around in
their own barrios, and the way they use their public spaces. What is more, the effect reaches a
psychological level that affects both the individual and the community. People in barrios live
in fear: fear of being mugged, fear of being caught in a shootout, fear of being murdered.
Ñ: (…) now one of the things that is all over us is fear, that it’s not because of nothing, but yes,
fear is killing us! Because there are moments that you’re just walking and suddenly you’re in
the middle of a shootout and… as it happened to us twice.
As can be interpreted from the previous quote, violence and the fear it creates is a fact
embedded in barrio people’s everyday lives; it is something that can happen at any particular
time and for what you need to be prepared. However, despite residents’ unresting relationship
to violence and fear they interact with thugs on an everyday basis, not only because they live
in the barrio, but because they are part of the community (Moreno, 2009a).
Ñ: (…) there is one of them people call Trapito [literal translation: little cloth], and many like
that who ‘Ñañita, borrow my gun…! I take care of you!’ Those things I’ve had to live! (…) And
you know, if I’m carrying bags then they help me out.
Having this kind of unstable and complex dynamics in the barrios is leading to a
dismantled community with complex and contradictory feelings of fear and belonging. The
community is frightened of the thugs and unconsciously segregates them, but at the same time
the criminals feel they fully belong to the group. They identify with the community where
they grew up as the place and people they have to protect from others.
An initial reflexion that can be highlighted is that in Caracas’ barrios communities are
becoming fragmented because of criminality and the fear it creates. However, there is a latent
opportunity to bring them back together by acknowledging and understanding that thugs see
themselves of part of the community. In the end they are a neighbour’s kid, or a daughter’s
husband or any other type of close relationship. Usually they were born and grew up in that
barrio, having a strong sense of attachment to the place, hence a strong sense of territoriality.
Connected to the prior, gangs have unspoken behavioural rules linked to specific
territorial boundaries, which when broken lead to gang wars and shootouts. Being these latter
very common, the distress thugs create in people undergoes as well a process of territorial
transferral, thus being associated with places. Fear is part of the meaning that people give to
the urban space. This creates both a stigmatisation of the place and its use.
Y: [discussing the difference from one street to the other] Yes, you can feel it! I mean, I… in the
Main Street of El Nazareno I can arrive at 3, 4am. I mean, with a bit of fear, but in the street
down there, I wouldn’t even come at 9 pm! No, because I went through… at that time, I
remember they called the Los Pistoleros (The Gunmen)… it was based on zones! ‘That the ones
from El Campito came, whatever’… I… almost found myself in the middle of a shootout. And
we were save because we went to put away the rubbish, and left the rubbish there in the middle
of the street and went into a house! That’s why I fear that street, I don’t… I mean, after
graduating from 9th grade, that street… to me… le hice la cruz pues!5 I’d rather go through El
Nazareno
Ñ: That Parquecito is like the centre of… ‘let’s release… the bad things we learnt’, because it’s
like that, not the good, but the bad… then, it’s cruel, but that’s how it is. El Parquecito is
already a red zone
Q: El Parquecito for whatever reason, has been a violence place. People, well, they fear it!
As can be identified in the previous quotes, because of this fear transferral and
association, people are prevented to use their community public spaces. El Parquecito is one
of the most significant examples. El Parquecito is a basketball court in Julian Blanco taken
364 days a year by the criminal gang of the area. This evidences that by just providing the
sport facility to the community, specially focused on the male children and teenagers, the
criminality problem is not solved nor improved in barrios. In Venezuela basketball courts
become the nests of delinquency, where gangs meet and plan their activities (Moreno, 2011a,
Trigo, 2008). The other one day a year that El Parquecito is not taken by the gang is on Good
Friday because the Way of the Cross procession ends there.
5
There is no direct translation to this phrase. It means to categorically boycott or avoid.
Culture as an emerging solution – final reflexion
In Venezuela, Catholicism can be considered the major and most important cultural
phenomenon (Trigo, 2008), being more than 98% of Venezuelans catholic (Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 2009). Culture is what brings people together; it is the
conglomerate of shared traditions, ways of living and seeing the world that are transmitted
generationally within a group (Magnusson, 2012, Marzal, 2002, Trigo, 2008). In Caracas’
barrios Catholicism and its different elements and activities, such as processions, are the
events that reunite the community.
JM: (...) a space like this as are the processions! To share! To reunite and…
E: and it must be because of the religious activity that makes people to relate6 more.
When discussing this reunion it does not only refer to the wide community, but also to
the thugs as part of it. Even though people recognise the particularities and roles of every
member the community, during the procession there is no categorisation nor differentiation
between good or bad, common people or thug. In this cultural and physical space everyone is
the same, everyone is a Catholic who is sharing a common cultural and spiritual experience.
L: Look... so far it’s a situation that has been respected, really! There was a particular time,
because there on Holy Wednesday in the area of El Tanque, in St Judas Tadeus, well, one of
those thugs… pays a promise. He came with his hat… purple and he (…) was the one who took
one of the parts of El Nazareno. But he carried!
T: (…) when El Nazareno was opened, the Centre, (…) I say ‘this is one of the things we have
to do, is let’s sing El Nazareno!’ Well, of course that the one who sang best El Nazareno was a
thug. Well, for him it was an honour having sung El Nazareno by Ismael Rivera in front of El
Nazareno!, well, bfffff… That when he looked at us that man stayed but ecstatic! I mean, it was
the time of his life! Can’t you see? Then, this has to be with an usage of the space, it has to be
with human interaction as very strong and very unusual, and it has to be with creating bonds,
no?
This research showed that during processions there is not only a sense of respect for
the community and the shared cultural traditions, but more than that thugs participate in these
activities. In this moment the young teens and men comprising criminal gang are not
segregated by the community, but welcomed to a peaceful and common environment. The
sense of belonging that criminals never felt (Moreno, 2011b), is found in this space.
The original word was “compenetrar” which has no literal translation in English. It means to relate and unite in
a deeper level.
6
How can we deal with the criminal violence problem at a community scale? – final reflexion
Even though in criminal studies culture is usually addressed as one of the causing factors of
criminality (Altheimer, 2013, Burns, 2000, Farrell, 2010, Gilman Srebnick and Lévy, 2005),
the contribution of this research is that culture can and should be seen as an important and
integral part of its solution.
In addition, in a large range of crime related studies the offences discussed are usually
drug dealing, alcohol consumption, terrible carjacking and street robbers (Cameron and
MacDougall, 2000, Hartmann, 2001, Hartmann and Wheelock, 2002, Johnson et al., 2001,
Nivette, 2011, Palmary and Moat, 2002, Pearce and Haynie, 2004, Pirutinsky, 2014, SalasWright et al., 2013, Salas-Wright et al., 2014, Topalli et al., 2013, Trawick and Howsen,
2006, Warner, 2003, Warner and Rountree, 1997), not including other more serious crimes as
murder when developing prevention or solution strategies. In the Venezuelan case where the
most relevant crime is murder, other strategies should be considered rather than just
education, sports and social programs, and law enforcement (Hartmann, 2001, Nichols and
Crow, 2004, Palmary and Moat, 2002). As Cameron and MacDougall (2000) state the crime
prevention programs should be context tailored which in the end involves acknowledging the
local culture.
Being the Venezuelan context that complex, providing only education, some church
programs and facilities is not enough. In order to truly address the criminality issue we need
to address people, we need to get through to thugs. Based on the research it is evident they
need to feel part of something larger and more important, such as their community. In
addition, the study showed that Catholicism for criminals is as vital as it is for the rest of the
community, thus being the common starting point to really re-integrate these two distinct
groups into one.
However, considering the seriousness of the delinquency problem in barrios and the
hierarchy within gangs, the strategy to be most likely successful would be engaging with the
youngest. According to Salas-Wright et al. (2014) by addressing children and younger teens
through religiosity there is a significant lesser possibility they join gangs or continue their
involvement in criminal activities, in comparison to older members.
In addition Moreno (2011a) expresses kids and teens comprising the observer and
apprentice groups can be addressed through sustained education. However, it does not seem
to be enough. Furthermore, as aforementioned the Catholic Church has implemented with
community support some education and evangelisation programs that could tackle this issue
at its roots: working with kids and youth. Yet, currently they only really capture a small part
of the young population in barrios, not having a real impact in the criminality problem.
Moreover, even though it is acknowledged that including the youth in community
activities and programs increase their sense of community thus decrease criminality (Palmary
and Moat, 2002), we must ask ourselves: how could we do this under the light of this complex
and particular context?
Considering the deep and significant meaning barrio people give to Catholicism and to
their urban space, there is a potentially underlying solution to the criminality increase. The
opportunity is to reach out to these kids through that shared cultural background and to really
integrate them into the community. Targeting these groups that are on the way7 to becoming
professional thugs is a tactic to start preventing criminality from expanding and increasing. A
change in the community and institutional (Church and governmental) approach should be
implemented by understanding that these kids and teens are in the search of the
acknowledgement, recognition and support they did not get from their families and mostly
from their mothers.
Firstly, on an institutional level, the Catholic Church needs to recognise and enact
their fundamental role in crime prevention. Within their current programs the Church could
enhance their scope beyond evangelisation and take an active position in incorporating
segregated young teens and kids into the community. In addition they should also reinforce
the deep sense of belonging existing through Catholicism to promote the involvement of the
rest of the community in the crime prevention matter, starting by encouraging integration and
preventing further segregation. Secondly, the government should provide funding to the
Church to enable them to activate their role in crime prevention. This funding should be
dedicated as well in developing educational and developmental activities where the
community could be actively involved, not only as participants but also as providers.
Finally, the urban public spaces should belong to whole community without
distinction. Regaining community spaces as El Parquecito is a vital part of the solution. This
difficult task can be done through a slow reclaiming process led by the Church. As during the
Holy Week processions, this space can be used for other religious activities, which can bring
together the community on a more frequent basis. Moreover, along with the above proposal
this space could start to be used for those educational and developmental activities,
progressively giving the Church the baton to the community.
The way has a deep meaning among thugs. This is developed further developed by Moreno (2009b, 2011a,
2011b).
7
Moreover, in conjunction to regaining spaces from criminal gangs, other type of
spaces rather than more basketball courts should be developed, new inclusive spaces that
incorporate both genders and other age groups. With this approach it would be easier for the
residents to use theses spaces and to freely gather allowing the wide range of community
members to increase their sense of community and belonging through social interaction, thus
beginning to have an impact on criminal violence.
From a planning perspective it should be essential integrating the community and their
culture into the provision of new spaces and the retrofitting of existing ones when wanting to
tackle important problems as criminality. It becomes an issue of inclusion and prevention of
further segregation. In the Venezuelan case, planning the urban space should also include
enhancing and renewing along with the Catholic Church the religious values and traditions.
In Venezuela, where as highlighted in the introduction the high criminality rates
largely increase on a yearly basis, the proposed cultural and social approach is not a measure
to solve this problem. This paper aimed to provide an insight on how including culture into a
joint strategy with the different stakeholders, being the Catholic Church a significant one, can
help averting crime rates to keep on increasing by preventing future generations to engage in
these criminal activities.
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Investigation of the relationship between CPTED principles and people’s feeling of
safety: A Pilot study in the City of Adelaide
Veronica Soebarto1, Helen Bennetts1, Susan Oakley2, Paul Babie3
1
School of Architecture and Built Environment, 2School of Social Sciences,
3
Adelaide Law School
University of Adelaide, South Australia
2015 Safe Cities Conference
Melbourne, (VIC) 8 July 2015
Investigation of the relationship between CPTED principles and people’s feeling of
safety: A Pilot study in the City of Adelaide
ABSTRACT: While CPTED concepts and principles have been incorporated into urban
design policy from the federal level to that of local council, there is little research in
Australia, or elsewhere, that evaluates and critiques CPTED principles in relation to urban
design and people’s feelings of safety and comfort. This paper presents a pilot research
project that explores the link between CPTED principles and people’s feelings of safety and
comfort in an urban precinct of Adelaide, South Australia. The research combines a microscale analysis of the built environment using GIS mapping and a series of interviews and this
paper will focus on the built environment survey methods and results. The research found that
while many of the CPTED principles were identified in the urban fabric of this precinct, what
makes people feel safe was not necessarily and foremost directly related to the built
environment design. The main factors that contributed positively to people’s feelings about
the area are the presence of activity, familiarity with the surroundings and maintenance of the
area, building, or space. It is expected that the approach and methods implemented to
conduct this pilot research can be adopted in a wider scale research in other parts of the City
and elsewhere.
Keywords: CPTED, urban design, safety, comfort
Introduction
Since 2010 the Property Council of Australia has commissioned an annual survey of people’s
views about the importance of liveability attributes that make Australian cities good places in
which to live. In 2013, as in previous years, topping the list of 17 attributes is “a safe place for
people and their property” (Wyatt 2014). Other attributes included “an affordable place to
have a good standard of living” (ranked 2nd), “clean, well maintained and unpolluted” (ranked
5th), “a good road network and minimal traffic congestion” (ranked 8th), “the natural
environment is attractive” (ranked 12th), and “the look and design of the city is attractive”
(ranked 16th). Feeling safe in the built environment is seen as the most important aspect of the
liveability of cities.
The Australian government’s National Urban Policy reports on this finding and goes on to
say:
The strong connection between social inclusion, urban planning and the safety of communities
is becoming increasingly well understood, along with the relationship to mental and physical
health outcomes. (Australian Government 2011, p. 65)
The concern about liveability is reflected at local government level where much of the
work of translating broad principles into on-the-ground solutions occurs. For example,
creating a ‘liveable city’ is one of six desired outcomes listed in the City of Adelaide Strategic
Plan (Adelaide City Council 2012). The Safer City Policy (Adelaide City Council 2013b)
suggests that “places will be made more welcoming and safe through the application of Crime
Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles in development planning and
place activation”. The Safer City Strategy expands on this:
Council is committed to applying Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)
principles by ensuring public places are inviting, well-lit, open, clean and encourage positive
activity. (Adelaide City Council 2013c)
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is one theory that links urban
design and crime prevention. CPTED is based on the idea that “the proper design and
effective use of the built environment can lead to a reduction in the fear and incidence of
crime, and to an improvement in the quality of life” (Crowe and Fennelly 2013, p. 4). CPTED
principles are reflected, either explicitly or through references to key concepts, in planning
documents at all levels of government.
While CPTED concepts and principles have been incorporated into urban design policy
internationally and in Australia from the federal to local council level, there is little research
that evaluates and critiques CPTED principles in relation to urban design. While Cozens et al.
(2005) maintain that “there is a growing body of research that supports the assertion that
crime prevention through environmental design is effective in reducing both crime and fear of
crime in the community” others argue that the evidence is contradictory and inconclusive
(Pain 2000; Lorenc et al. 2013a; Lorenc et al. 2013b). For a crime to occur four elements
come together: the victim or target, location or setting, opportunity, and offender.
Disentangling the contribution of location or place-based aspects to crime is often impossible
while control groups are unreasonable. This is not to say that such strategies do not work,
rather that claims need to be considered carefully. It is difficult to establish a causal link
between actual crimes committed, fear of crime, and the urban space.
Likewise there is still little research in Australia that evaluates the impact of the application
of CPTED principles on people’s actual feeling of safety in an urban environment. This is
despite the fact that the federal government’s National Urban Policy lists ‘feeling safe’ as one
of the seven characteristics of a liveable city, along with being equitable, socially inclusive,
affordable, accessible, healthy and resilient (Department of Infrastructure and Transport
2011).
The pilot study reported in this paper is the first conducted in South Australia that explores
the link between CPTED principles and people’s feelings of safety in an urban precinct. The
research, conducted by an interdisciplinary team from sociology, property and planning law,
and architecture, used an area in Adelaide CBD to develop and test the methods to conduct
such study and to explore the relevant issues.
Brief background: CPTED in South Australia
CPTED has been integrated into planning and policy for many decades in South Australia.
Early research identified crime as one of the many issues that may impact both new and
existing communities (Knapman, Lambert & Manuel 1975; Sarkissian 1976; RGS 1978; Bell
1987). Later in 1989, Bell and Sarkission were engaged by the Crime Prevention Unit of the
South Australian Attorney-General’s department to report on the role of urban design in crime
prevention (Bell, 1991; Bell and Sarkissian Associates Planners 1991). Problem areas in the
Adelaide CBD were identified, an assessment of these areas carried out, and amelioration
measures suggested (Bell and Sarkissian Associates Planners 1991; Sumner 1991; Millbank
1991).
Following this, the Attorney-General’s Department produced a manual for crime
prevention officers (1999) and a CPTED Manual in 2001. In 2004 the Department of
Transport and Urban Planning released ‘Designing Out Crime: Design Solutions for Safer
Neighbourhoods’. This document is referred to in the region plans of the South Australian
Planning Strategy. Several councils in South Australia also incorporate CPTED principles in
their planning policies (for example City of Charles Sturt 2013; Adelaide City Council
2013a).
The most comprehensive and integrated documents are the Adelaide City Council with
Operating Guidelines (2013a), Safer City Policy (2013b), and Safer City Strategy (2013c).
Since 2005 the Council has conducted at least 3 Late Night Safety Audits per year at a
number of locations throughout the CBD, with a concentration on the entertainment precincts
(West 2012). Volunteers were taken to various sites and asked to rank how they felt on a
number of issues including how safe they would feel if they were alone, sightlines, cleanliness
and the behaviour of people in the area. The responses were analysed to determine the
locations considered most unsafe and to prioritise remedial work. Solutions have ranged from
improving lighting in dark laneways to using piped Barry Manilow music to dissuade loiterers
in another area.
The Study
In evaluating CPTED, there is a natural tendency to focus on finding out the reduction in the
number of crimes committed as a result of applying CPTED principles. This research, on the
other hand, was intended to develop a methodology to evaluate CPTED principles and their
relationship with urban design from the point of view of the people or users of urban spaces.
In other words, it examined what aspects of the urban design contributed to a feeling of safety
and comfort, or otherwise.
The area known as the East End (Figure 1) of the CBD in Adelaide was used as a case
study. This area was selected due to its long and significant history, its mixed-use character,
and the changes that have taken place in the past 50 years. In recent years the East End has
had a lively café culture during the day and at night, underpinned by the residential population
that consists largely of university students and retirees. The population swells during late
summer and early autumn when the parkland becomes a major venue for events held during
the Adelaide Fringe Festival, music festivals and a major car race.
The East End is not an area that is particularly associated with crime, although, as in any
other cities around the world, there have been a number of incidents including assaults, thefts
and vandalism as well as issues with harassments at particular times of the year. Further
changes to the East End are likely in the next few years with the re-location of the Royal
Adelaide Hospital to the West End.
The study area is bordered on two sides by parklands although to the north the parklands
are largely built on with the hospital complex and university campuses. To the west is Rundle
Mall, the main retail shopping strip of the city. Major roads that surround this area are: North
Terrace, East Terrace, Grenfell Street and Pulteney Street. Within the area are an east-west
street, Rundle Street, and Frome Street, which stretches north-south.
Figure 1: Case study area – Adelaide East End
Methods
The study was conducted through two main methods: a fine-grained built environment survey
and interviews with residents and people who work in, live in or frequently come to, the case
study area. The built environment survey was intended to assess the extent to which the case
study area exhibits features identified in CPTED theory. Results from the built environment
survey were then cross-checked against the interviews to identify whether areas that were
identified as ‘safe’ or of concern, according to CPTED principles, were indeed of concern or
considered safe and comfortable by the people who frequent this area.
A list of common CPTED principles was distilled from a number of sources (Parliament of
Victoria, 2013; Adelaide City Council, 2013; Brisbane City Council, 2000; City of Charles
Sturt, 2013). Based on these, four main areas were covered: (1) character and image, (2) built
form, (3) ‘eyes on the street’ and (4) pedestrian activity. Within each of these CPTED
principles are a number of safe design features. These are presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Surveyed safe design features
SAFE DESIGN FEATURES
CHARACTER AND IMAGE:
Does the area have particular character?
Is there a different mix of people in the space?
Is the area well maintained?
Is the distinction between private and public
clear?
Are there obvious security measures?
Are building uses, entrance and exits obvious?
Is there landscaping?
Is there street furniture or public arts?
BUILT FORM:
Describe the built form
Is there a variety of scale and material?
Are there blank walls?
EYES ON THE STREET:
Are buildings oriented to public spaces or
street?
Are there good slight lines?
Is there adequate lighting?
Is there activity in the space at all or some
times?
Can façade be used as natural ladders?
PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITIES:
Identify pedestrian activities
What materials are used for ground surfaces?
Is there frequent people activity?
Are there obvious pedestrian corridors and
easily identifiable destination points
Are there entrapments or concealment spots?
OBSERVATION AND DATA COLLECTED
Type of buildings and businesses; opening hours
Different age groups, type of users (eg. students, workers,
families with small children)
Maintenance and cleanliness of streets/paths/buildings,
waste collection areas and management
Entrances, separation and interaction between private and
public spaces
Presence of CCTV, gates, security bars, security doors
Signage, clear entry and exit paths
Type of landscaping (eg. planter boxes, street trees)
Type of street furniture (eg. benches, table and chairs,
sculptures)
Architecture style, building height
Type of materials, colours, textures
Indicate the presence and location of blank walls
Presence or absence of windows to the public spaces or
street
Presence of absence of obstructions to the buildings or
spaces where people gather
Illumination levels in spaces and brightness levels of
surfaces at night time; type of lighting and lamps
Type and occurrences of activities
Presence of structures that can be used as natural ladders to
the windows or roof
Note routes of pedestrians on the map
Type of materials used for paving / footpaths and streets
Frequency and volume of pedestrian activity; sound levels
Clear eye sight to pedestrian destination, presence or
absence of obstructions
Presence of entrapment or concealment spots (eg near car
park, services and waste collection areas
Built environment survey
The case study area was divided into four sections and a survey map and questionnaire were
prepared for each quadrant. These quadrants were formed ‘naturally’ by the existing main
streets. Each quadrant was further divided into several areas so that detailed data could be
clearly recorded. An example is shown in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2: Example of further division of the case study area for the purpose of recording
Before the data collection and recording took place, the researchers conducted general
observations for a number of times, both day and night, in order to familiarize themselves
with the study areas. The observations were conducted on foot, through the footpaths along all
the streets and laneways including those rarely accessed by the general public. These
observations helped the researchers have a better idea about the area and the physical
attributes that needed to be carefully observed and recorded.
The surveys were then conducted at different times of the day and evening, using a survey
form and a publicly-available cadastral map. Apart from observing the activities that took
place, the opening hours of each business was noted, pedestrian routes were marked as well as
the location of facilities such as on-street car parks, car park entrances, taxi stands, bus stops,
parking ticket boots, and telephone boxes. The map indicated the type of building, such as
offices, commercial and residential, however the researchers noted more particular
information about the buildings or businesses and recorded any recent changes in the types of
business activities.
Photographs of the areas, streets and buildings were taken during the day and night.
Particular attention was given to taking night-time photos of areas that were identified during
the day as possible areas of concern. In addition video footage was taken to capture the
atmosphere of the spaces both during the day and at night.
The illumination levels along the foot paths, at building and car park entrances and exits,
and near buildings were measured and recorded using a hand-held illumination level (light)
meter. Similarly, the noise or sound levels were measured and recorded for the same spots.
Data recording
Data from each area were recorded in separate worksheets in Excel. In each area, data of
safe design features as shown in Table 2 were entered for each property number (parcel label).
This method allows the data to be transferred into a GIS (Geographic Information System)
mapping program. Photographs were also taken using smart phones and these were also
entered into the GIS program, either by using the parcel labels or the location coordinates of
the object provided by the smart phone. Table 2 shows an example of data recording of one
area of the north-west quadrant.
Table 2: Example of data recording from the survey in Excel for one area in a quadrant
Data mapping
The data recorded in Excel were exported into GIS mapping using ArcGIS and arranged using
the grouping presented in Table 1 (character and image, built form, eyes on the street, and
pedestrian activities). The observations in each group as well as the groups are presented in
separate layers which can be turned on and off for clear viewing. Cadastral numbers are used
to determine which data are to be presented.
Two examples of the GIS mapping are presented below.
Figure 3: Example of GIS mapping for ‘Eyes on the street’ (yes = green; no = orange)
Figure 4: Example of GIS mapping for features of ‘Eyes on the street’ (e.g. pedestrian routes,
entrapment spots) overlayed with ‘Character and image’)
Interview
Interviews were conducted with people who lived, worked, or frequented the case study area.
Note that as this was a pilot study conducted over a relatively short period, the respondents
for the interviews were people who were known to the researchers. No wide recruitment from
the general public and business owners was conducted although this method could be
employed in future studies.
Although the main focus of the study related to the CPTED principles, the researchers did
not ask direct questions on this matter rather they tried to find out first what people liked or
disliked about the East End and what made them feel comfortable and uncomfortable. The
interview adopted an open ended method; the researcher only prompted simple questions to
then allow the interviewees to respond freely to the prompt. Oher impromptu questions were
also raised when the conversation naturally allowed those questions to be asked. A total of 18
interviews were conducted including six with business owners (one of whom was also a
resident), nine with workers who lived outside of the area, two local residents and one longterm frequent visitor to the precinct.
Analysis of survey vs interviews
The transcriptions of the interviews were analysed in terms of the categories recorded in the
built environment surveys and the comments were grouped under the same headings. Results
from the built environment survey were then cross checked against the views of the
respondents to identify whether aspects of the urban environment that reflected the CPTED
principles were referred to by the respondents as contributing to a sense of safety and comfort.
Results
Particular outcomes from the built environment survey are presented below. Detailed
discussions about the results from the interviews are presented elsewhere; however, brief
discussions about how people perceived the area in relation to each of the CPTED features
will be presented.
Character and image
Building
The survey identified similarities between the four quadrants in terms of types of buildings,
people and activities; however, there were distinct characters that were observed, particularly
between the western and eastern quadrants. The western quadrants had a more ‘fast-pace’
feel, due to the size of the buildings (larger size) and less engaging shopfronts, which means
people tended to walk by rather than stopping and sitting down. This image started to change
toward the east, where the individual buildings were smaller with more variety in the façade,
colour and style of the buildings, and more frequent entries to the building. People were
observed to slow down, window-shop, mingle and sit.
Maintenance
There were parts of the case study area that were observed to be poorly maintained,
particularly in areas not frequented by the general public such as the service laneways behind
the shops on the main roads. These laneways had uneven and broken surfaces, and rubbish
and used card boxes were seen lying around. The walls of the surrounding buildings were
poorly maintained and mostly of dark colours. These areas were not at all inviting and
suggested that they could be unsafe.
Security measures
There were several types of security measures noted in the case study area however these
were not obvious. There were no barred windows visible; however, CCTVs were installed at
pubs, night-clubs or drinking areas and near a police station. Apartment buildings usually had
restricted access through the use of entry cards or codes. Most shops and restaurants did not
have any visible security measures although most, if not all of them, had an alarm system.
Clarity of usage and access
It was not difficult to recognize most of the building types in the case study area due to the
nature of their activities (shops, restaurants, and cafes). Some buildings, however, particularly
of office types, were not easily identified either because the entrance was not easily found, or
no signage was visible. The most difficult access to find was to the residential buildings or
individual units; however, this may have been intentional to ensure the privacy of the
residents.
Landscaping and street furniture
Scattered street trees, some shrubs and pot plants lined many of the streets in the case study
area. Hard landscaping, benches and well-maintained trees were observed in the southeast as
and northeast quadrants; however, in the latter area there were less trees and vegetation, thus
this area did not have the same atmosphere as the open spaces in the southeast quadrant.
Other forms of street landscaping were artworks and painting on the walls. An interesting
artwork was placed on the blank wall of a police station perhaps to soften the image of law
enforcements. Some shops decorated their walls with paintings on the walls, providing an
attraction to the streetscape.
People’s perception vs findings from survey on character and image
The different, and often complementary, information obtained through the techniques
employed in the study was most marked in relation to the character and image of the case
study area. The terms used during the interviews to describe the character of the East End – a
destination, friendly, trendy etc – were based on people’s feelings, history and associations
with the place as well as the building types in the area. On the other hand the built
environment survey was necessary to record the types of buildings, their uses, opening hours,
security measure etc. Apart from a few references to coffee shops, these issues did not tend to
come up in the interviews.
Built form
The survey recorded that many of the buildings on both the north-west and south-west
quadrants were relatively large both in vertical and horizontal dimensions, compared to the
buildings in the eastern quadrants. The scale of these buildings gave a less friendly
atmosphere compared to the eastern quadrants where many of the buildings were singlefronted and between 2 and 4 stories. The residential development in the south-eastern
quadrant included high-rise (up to 8 storeys); however, balconies and other articulation of the
facades created a more ‘domestic’ appearance than some of the other multi-story
accommodation in the other quadrants.
Blank walls
Blank walls are often perceived as undesirable as they block the view and prohibit
surveillance from inside the building. Some blank walls were identified within the case study
area; however, none of them were extensive. Two areas were noted to have distinctively long
blank walls, and in both bases they were the back sides of multi storey buildings.
Colour
As expected, the colour of the façade did have impact on the perception of the space; variety
of colour can contribute to a sense of ‘liveliness’, black as well as pale, cream colour can give
a sense of ‘boring’ and ‘uninviting. While the former was supported by the survey, the
research found that the latter was not always true. Buildings that had black-painted or pale
colour painted walls, as long as there were activities in them, did not seem to deter people
from using them or being around those buildings. Also if the buildings were well lit at night,
the impact of the colour of the buildings seemed to be minimal.
People’s perception vs findings from survey on built form
While building scale or height can give a certain impression to the street, it was the presence
or absence of activities on the ground floor that was important for whether the space felt safe
or otherwise. One example noted in the survey was a multi-story apartment building at the
end of the dead-end street lined with buildings that were mostly closed. Nonetheless, people
were seen to walk to the end of this street and congregate as there was a popular eatery on the
ground floor of this apartment building.
The interviewees made no direct mention of ‘blank walls’; however, there were a few
locations where people said they felt uncomfortable or unsafe and the survey had identified
blank walls on both sides of the street. It is unclear whether these feelings were due to the
blank walls per se or due to the fact that as both sides of the streets had blank walls there was
no activity visible inside the buildings. None commented on areas where only one side of the
street had blank walls, and activities were observed around these areas. In other words, it
seems that a blank wall is not necessarily a negative feature in an urban design, as long as
there is a nearby activity that attracts people.
Eyes on the street
Facing the street
It was noted that buildings with windows to the street or footpath did not necessarily equate to
having ‘eyes on the street’. The survey found that if there was no activity on the ground floor
level of a building, or if the activities inside could not be seen from the street, there was, in
practice, no surveillance to the street. Areas that felt safer were those where people could
really look into the buildings and see or hear other people or activities inside.
Line of sight
There were a number of laneways in the case study area where it was difficult to know from
one end what was at the other end. Another factor that could affect the line of sight was the
built structures, in particular walls and columns of buildings. An example was a laneway that,
even though frequented by many people, did not provide a good line of sight due to very wide
columns (one meter wide) that supported the building above, thus blocking visual access to
the surroundings.
Lighting
Illumination levels were measured during an evening in various locations along the footpaths
of the main roads and laneways. Overall the streets and laneways had street lighting that
provided lighting levels around the light sources of around 15 to 50 lux; however, further
from the light sources, the illumination level could go down to 2 to 3 lux. Some areas that
were predicted to be dark and gloomy at night due to their appearance during the day were
surprisingly well lit at night with illumination levels achieving 30 to 50 lux around the light
sources.
People’s perception vs findings from survey on ‘eyes on the street’
When people discussed what they liked and valued about the East End, they consistently
referred to the café culture, friendliness, and liveliness of the area. Areas identified to feel less
safe were those with no one looking out from the building. The presence of people and
activity also meant the presence of sound (or perhaps better termed ‘noise’). While technically
the term noise means ‘unwanted sound’, in this case hearing the noise of people, particularly
at night, provided a sense of activity and surveillance, so that the noise became ‘wanted
sound’. Similarly, having adequate illumination at night did not necessarily equate to a feeling
of safety. The respondents indicated a number of areas that felt unsafe because there was no
activity around, yet data from measurements revealed illumination levels that conformed to
requirements.
Pedestrian activity
Pedestrian routes
Most pedestrian activity occurred along Rundle Street, Pulteney Street, and the roads closer to
Rundle Street while less foot traffic was seen along the southeast corner of the case study area
and all the back alleys and laneways. North Terrace was also frequented by pedestrians as this
is a major road with a number of bus stops; however, as there was almost no other activity
that attracted people to this area (no eateries, no shops), it often seemed to be deserted and
unappealing despite the fact that pedestrians’ presence was apparent. The same was found
along Grenfell Street, the southern boundary of the case study.
Entrapment spots
Several entrapment or concealment spots were identified around the study area. Most were
around car park entries and exits where the wall designed to separate cars from pedestrians
blocked the view from or to the door for the pedestrians. Other entrapment spots were found
in service laneways (with large rubbish bins blocking the view) and around some entries to
buildings with large columns that blocked the view from or to the doors.
People’s perception vs findings from survey on pedestrian activity
There were several features identified by the researchers that were not mentioned by the
respondents. For example, the researchers identified a number of entrapments locations and
potentially ‘scary’ spots in the case study area, such as the back alleys that were rarely used
by general public, dead-end lane ways or areas that were poorly maintained. However, most
respondents indicated that they had never visited those spots because there was no necessity
to do so. Or, if they heard about the unfriendly characters of certain areas and they did not feel
comfortable to be in those areas, then they tended to avoid going there, particularly on their
own. This perhaps indicates that people have used their personal safety strategies in dealing
with their surroundings. Whether or not this actually indicates that the area may be
unconsciously perceived as ‘unsafe’ can be debated, but being precautious is certainly part of
human instinct.
Summary of findings
This pilot study has developed methods to evaluate the link between CPTED principles and
urban design and people’s feeling of safety and comfort in an urban space. While it is
acknowledged that the number of respondents for the interviews was small, the research
found common themes that were mentioned as affecting all the respondents’ feelings of safety
in the case study area. They are:
1. Activity - is the key for feeling of safety, through the number of people, hours of
operation, the sound generated by the activity;
2. Familiarity - of shop owners, employees and visitors to the area;
3. Maintenance – lack of maintenance can lead to feeling of unsafe;
4. Urban design, including:
a. small shop fronts with lots of variety
b. clear line of sight including being able to see easily see from one side of street
to the other
c. good scale, that is the proportion of street/footpath to buildings on either side
d. clear mental map, through walkable distances and unobstructed path and
defined ‘ends’
e. active use of exterior space, such as outdoor dining (semi-protected with
verandahs etc)
f. privileging pedestrians over cars
5. Connectivity – both in term of infrastructure (footpaths, laneways, or streets) and
activities. Having connected laneways but with no activity along the way will not be
effective.
At the same time people have adopted personal strategies to feel safe, which include:
1. Avoiding some areas, particularly avoiding drinking venues at certain times of the
year
2. Changing tactics according to time, for example when arriving early or leaving
late, some businesses ask their employees to never walk alone
3. Using bicycles, which enable people to leave the area easily at any time and at a
faster pace than walking.
Conclusion
A pilot study to explore the link between CPTED principles and people’s feelings of safety
in an urban precinct has been conducted. The study was conducted through (1) a fine-grained
built environment survey to assess the extent to which the case study area exhibits features
identified in CPTED theory and (2) a series of interviews to identify whether areas that were
identified as safe or of concern, according to CPTED principles, were considered safe and
comfortable or of concern by the people who frequented the area.
The results demonstrate that while CPTED principles and guidelines are useful, they are in
a way ‘universal’ and that the particular context is a vital consideration. Factors that may
make one location feel unsafe may not have the same impact elsewhere. The research found
that while the built environment did play a role in people’s feelings about the case study area,
it was the presence of activity, connectivity and familiarity with the surroundings (including
people) that were most often mentioned by the respondents. Out of the many items in the
CPTED guidelines, the ones that made people feel safe were: variety of shopfronts or facades,
clear line of sight, good proportion of street/footpath and buildings on either side, clear mental
map, active use of external space, and having good pedestrian access. On the other hand, poor
maintenance and lack of activity contributed to people feeling unsafe or uncomfortable.
The pilot study has shown that the two sources of data (from the mapping and the
interviews) provided fertile information for the research. For a future study, the information
from the interviews could also be mapped onto the built environment survey maps to clearly
highlight areas of concern and areas considered to be safe and comfortable. Such GIS-based
maps will then provide rich information about an area to local authorities and community
groups and help identify those aspects to be maintained because they work well and places
that need improvement. Also, while the two methods proved to be appropriate for this study,
if the research were to be extended to a larger area of the CBD or another area, it would be
important to include more respondents, particularly those who frequent or visit the area at
various times of the day or year, and more residents.
Acknowledgements
The researchers wish to acknowledge Dr Jennifer Bonham for early contribution to this work,
Jennifer West and Sue Clearihan from Adelaide City Council and Wendy Bell from Bell
Planning Associates for the information provided and their support to the research. Also
acknowledged is Julie Franzon from School of Social Sciences for putting together GIS
mapping from the built environment survey. The research has been funded by the 2014
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) Interdisciplinary Research Fund and the 2015 Faculty of
the Professions Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Research Fund, at The University of
Adelaide.
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Pro-Feminist Urban Design
(for Safer Cities - Australia)
By Donnell Davis
A Paper for Urban Design Australia’s Safer Cities Program to be held in Melbourne in July 2015.
Making cities safer relates to how women contribute to the vitality and security of healthy
futures at all scales, from the personal, to the neighbourhood, to the cities, regionally and
globally. This paper links the legal understandings of safer cities mapped across these scales
with roles women play for better urban design. A matrix of triggers and tools provides a
positive path forward for safer cities.
Donnell Davis © Sisters 4 Sustainability, UN Habitat Safer Cities, CHEC, EAROPH, Urban Climate Governance
Building on the survey of safer cities conducted by the UN Habitat, and the 2007 UN Habitat
Enhancing Urban Safety and Security, I examine the definitions of safety and urban design scales in
order to consider the impacts on women, the roles women play and how women can contribute to
the solutions for safer cities. This becomes part of the understanding to base implementation of
Sustainable Development Goals 5(Equity) and 11(Cities), aligned with the 20 year plan for better
human settlements under the Habitat 3 Agenda for the United Nations.
Key assumptions include (1) Safety for women = safety for all. (2) Safety for women is broader than
harm arising from crime against the person. (3) Harm includes loss of basic essentials, like safe
shelter, safe food, clean air, clean water, and protection from existential threats of danger, disaster
and disease.
Background
The 2014 United Nations Organisation against Drug and Crime Commission session was hosted in
Vienna in May 2014. Non-Government Organisations debated issues to present to the Crime
Commission including femicide and safer cities: designing cities for peace and well-being. This event
supported the official launch of the UNODC Femicide Report that recognised contributions
worldwide and revealed the most unsafe cities, based on multiple-referenced rigorous data. This
session was diligently chaired by Her Excellency, Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol Princess of Thailand, who is
an advocate for human rights. In the absence of the scheduled opening speaker, I provided an
overview of findings of the United Nations Habitat survey of women on safer cities, on her behalf.
This set the scene for my overview of broader issues of crime against the person, property,
neighbourhood, city, regional ecosystem, nationally and globally. Accordingly, this also set the scene
for the following speakers on the role of police, case studies of femicide in 3 cities under review from
3 continents, and the project report on gender mainstreaming from the City of Vienna. The Director
of Public Prosecutions from Barbados, Charles Leacock gave closing remarks that condemned
femicide as immoral behaviour no matter what mask it wears.
Putting this into context, Dr Tibaijuka proclaimed that human settlements stem from “home (the
hearth) is where the woman is” (United Nations Habitat, 2009), and it is widely recognised that
housing is fundamentally important to women. Because women are the glue of a family, families
underpin neighbourhoods, and communities are the glue for cities, where cities are the economic
engine rooms that identify countries. Therefore, it is fundamental to ensure safety for women and
families in our society. As a result, of that logic the UN Habitat Safer Cities survey was undertaken
in 2013, to determine systemic actions to prevent femicide and to generally make lives safer for
young girls, women and youth, and families, and therefore, the community generally.
However, my approach aimed at making safer environments for women from several scales. (United
Nations, 1972) This was explained by an overview of vulnerability mapping allows a better
understanding of social issues, so decision makers can be better informed about future development
options. Finally a set of recommendations were provided as a way forward for designing and
implementing change for cities for peace and wellbeing.
In this way, my work can contribute to the understanding for implementing SDG 5 (Equity and
empowerment of girls and women) and SDG 11 (Inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities).
My Definitions:


“To make safe” includes the mitigation of risk of harm. Because this is a broad definition, I
include different crimes that impact on women’s and community safety. Enhancing Urban
Safety and Security addresses three major threats to the safety and security of cities: crime
and violence; insecurity of tenure and forced evictions; and natural and human-made
disasters.
“Urban Design” invokes broad connotations from grand landscape-integrated structures to
social places to detailed construction materials. It can be applied to creating small spaces
for quiet contemplation, to streetscape, to neighbourhood renewal, to city wide policy to
national law in the case of public health. (UDAL: 2000) (Major Cities Unit, 2011a)
Crimes in cities – triggers and toolkit solutions
In a more empowering holistic approach, scales of crimes can be identified in an urban context. In
the case of crime against the person, the trigger is often insecurity, fear, or some religious
misinterpretation; which were more ably addressed technically by the following speakers. In
contrast, the crime against property springs generally from inequity or intolerance, which could be
addressed by toolkits. (Brisman & South, 2013)
scale
trigger
Urban design toolkits
Personal DV/ femicide
property
personal stress
insecurity
inequity,
intolerance
insecurity
vulnerability
Quiet space, greenspace, Biophilia design, social
support systems, accessible places of worship
CPTED, affordable basic housing,
Crisis housing, crisis support,
perpetrator programs for community services
sense of place, street by street lab, community
renewal, EbD, participation, urban acupuncture,
retrofit, tactical urbanism, FSPUD, placemaking, NGP
vulnerability reviews to prioritise action
planned development, ESD, Landscape Oriented
Development, GOD, POD, TOD, community health,
urban futures thinking workshops
Fiduciary duty of care in regional governance
Food sensitive urban design, Vulnerability mapping
Earth charter. Low Carbon Cities,
Green Growth
Eco-centred governance, Ecocide ethics
Climate Sensitive City Toolkits®, WRR, Climate Policy
in Practice Cycle®, Weather the Storm toolkits,
resilient infrastructure assessment,
Climate Infrastructure Investment Evaluation
Migration management, social integration, post
disaster support systems, adequate safe havens
neighbourhood
City
Greed, status
negligence
Regional
vulnerability / food
Environment
Global
Hazards &
Climate change
Moral matters
survival
duty of care,
Lack judgement
conflict over
resources,
negligence
Accidental,
Inequitable
pollution
no preparation
conscience
Participation
rate - women
20% +
victims
Variable
Social
housing 78%
52%
27.3%
councillors.
Professional
participation?
75% + (food)
?
72% disasters
?
In Australia today, 2 women per week have died in this year directly from domestic violence, and
one in 5 women are experiencing some sort of domestic violence as defined under the scope of the
current legislation. (Never Alone: Batty: 2015) Up to 80 applications per day for protections orders
are being handled in Queensland Magistrates Courts alone, which was reported from the Domestic
Violence Taskforce chaired by Dame Quentin Bryce. (Queensland Domestic Violence Taskforce,
2015) As a result, triggers have been identified from stresses from insecurity and fear triggered from
external factors like loss of work and income, and perceived loss of status in the community. This
has been termed the pressure cooker in the home. This contravenes the ideal concept that “our
home is our sanctuary”.
Domestic Violence Taskforce Queensland 2015
Not now – not ever
As in the case of Rosy Batty, 2015 Australian of the Year, children are also vulnerable, and most
legislation now extends to all mixtures of residents of a home including ageing grandparents and
same sex couples. Child friendly cities implementation aligns closely with safer cities, but “family
friendly” is harder to define when different cultures frame the concept of family differently.
(International Secretariat for Child Friendly Cities, 2004) Safety for women may extend to maternal
mortality where Australia rates highly while undeveloped countries rate lower depending on cultural
support systems like traditional midwifery customs and supervised recovery for 40 days after
childbirth.
In the case of crime at the neighbourhood scale, this is spurred on from more local unrest, gangs,
intolerance, and ignorance. These circumstances are often referred to as pressure cooker
environments, or malos barrios. In response, a suite of techniques can be applied to make places
safer for women and all residents. Toolkits include “sense of place” programs to promote pride in
one’s own neighbourhood with a strong sense of belonging, Crime Prevention through
Environmental Design, urban acupuncture for specific hot spots, dangerous lanes and public spaces,
perpetrator beautification programs, urban gardens, greenspace community development, and work
programs for unemployed to deliver community services (Major Cities Unit, 2011b) In recent
months, internationally, psychological surveys measured the benefits of selected Biophilia
interventions, where quiet space with “peaceful nature” is proven to relieve stress from pressure
cooker built environments and such crime is significantly reduced. (biophilicities.org: 2015)
Culturally, Asian countries have religious names for such mechanisms. In fact, 177 countries have
underpinnings of harmony with nature as a code for conduct and the constitution. (lawnow.org:
2014) However, Australia and New Zealand does not. (Davis, 2004)
The following map illustrates 2014 findings on women’s physical security as a progress measure for
the Millennium Development Goal reporting systems. Some countries did not progress in 15 years.
(womenstats.org: 2015)
In the case of city scale, the town planning discipline arose from being a public human health
strategy. (Hallis & Bachelor 1948) Originally, access to drinking quality water, sanitation and fire
management, were the underlying purposes to develop a coordinated approach to managing human
safety. These town planning “governance” regimes were seen as a proactive fiduciary duty of care.
Meanwhile indigenous peoples exercised similar systems for thousands of years in less overt ways.
When a breach occurred, there was a formal system for complaint and remedy. Women were active
in the introduction, implementation, complaints and remediation of community safety breaches. In
local government in Australia, only 27.3 % of elected councillors are women, despite women
representing 52% of the population. (ALGA: 2014) In the town planning profession, more women
than men graduate from university with relevant qualifications, however, this does not transfer to
representative employment in that profession.
The town planning and health nexus continues when considering infectious diseases and pandemics.
Although the viruses may not be gender discriminating, the roles of women in these situations are
substantial, as they become proactive preventers of incidence, carers for the sick, and nurses for
elderly and organisers for community support. In many cases, exhausted women become the
casualties. In Australia, strong systems are in place to avoid, prevent serious damage and mitigate
the impacts of infectious diseases. In many neighbouring countries, this is not the case.
Long term safety and survival at city scale also needs to be considered in town planning and urban
design. The fiduciary duty of care for cities involves the long term impacts of development and
stewardship of natural capital. Crimes can include ecocide where decisions that defy the rights of
nature to exist in a city region, as development places ecosystems in jeopardy. Ecosystems provide
free of charge the services provided by nature for clean air, sequestration of carbon pollution,
purifying water and maintaining rich productive soils. (Brisman & South, 2013) Cultural, aesthetic
and spiritual benefits also result from maintaining local and iconic ecosystems. There is movement
towards supporting ecosystems and preventing intentional ecocide of flora and fauna which are vital
parts of healthy living in city-regions. In 2014, Ecocide was adopted as unacceptable behaviour and
may be tried in the International Court of Justice in The Hague. (ICE Coalition, 2011)
At regional scale, cities need to be recognised as a having a greater footprint for the provision of
food for the city dwellers. As corporatisation of food narrows variety, and climate change reduces
crop species and adequacy, the regional scale for safety and sustainability comes under scrutiny.
There are few legal mandates that can be enacted are (1) the fiduciary duty of care of government
approvals to develop in vulnerable areas or food bowls, and (2) the free trade agreements where
corporations exercise exclusive powers. These legal mandates have not yet been tested rigorously.
So, the criminal aspects of food security are not yet properly defined. However, access to and safety
for clean, nontoxic food for human consumption is strengthening. The role of women in food
production in this regional context cannot be underestimated with conservative findings of 75%
participation worldwide. (Larsen, Turner, Ryan, & Lawrence, 2011)
Additionally, regional water catchments impact on the flexibility of food production, and where
water is privatised or improperly managed, the argument arises where water being recognised as a
human right (Chapagain, 2004). (Barlow, 2007) As a consequence, regional climate impacts on food,
water and public health need to be considered. As a result, Food Sensitive Urban Design is now
workshopped in cities and regions that are under threat. (UNEP, 2012) Food Sensitive Urban Design
incorporates local market economics, shared open spaces in cities, food miles for carbon footprinting calculations, and promoting genetic diversity of food species for resilience. FSPUD. (Victora
Health & Victoria Eco Innovation Lab, 2011)
But, the scale of regional safety has more to consider. Regionally, there is data to compare
vulnerabilities that can isolate those in higher distress who might deserve extra care. In Australia,
regional vulnerabilities have been measured for over a decade and 8 capital cities have been
mapped. Although the census has historical data, the VAMPIRE data for assessing vulnerability is
most valuable for future planning for cities. The data includes household income, mortgage stress,
inflation, oil vulnerability (cost of energy and fuel as a percentage of household income), and car
dependency. Vulnerable people in these scenarios experience difficulty in meeting financial
obligations of a mortgage and car ownership/ usage, so are financially stressed with future
projections of worse living conditions. Better regional Urban Design could assist in promoting public
transport to those locations to reduce car dependency, by providing additional social infrastructure
like hospitals and schools closer to vulnerable communities, and by providing choice of lower cost
housing, hence lowering the long term stress that might exacerbate risks to community safety.
The following set of maps illustrates Australian city-regions and their respective vulnerabilities as at
2006, (which incidentally shows decision-making for infrastructure in a poor light since 2001) The
maps are coloured according to the local statistical area (postcode) average from census data and
representative recorded household survey sampling over statistically valid periods. The red
illustrates over 30% of household budget spent on mortgage and over 25% of household budget
spent on oil dependency factors. (Jago Dodson and Neil Sipe, 2006) Apart from economic
understandings for the current lifestyles, it indicates vulnerability for the future with fossil fuel
dependency and rising household living costs. This could be used as a good green governance tool
for projecting future development risks and for determining essential infrastructure investment.
(Donnell Davis, 2015)
Australian city-region vulnerability mapping as at 2006 (Jago Dodson and Neil Sipe, 2006)
Brisbane
Gold Coast
Perth
Melbourne
On a broader scale, women’s safety has been acknowledged as high priority where disaster has been
experienced. These disasters may be human induced or natural, but in all cases, where the woman
cares for the home and children, she is danger. The 2013 Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines Review
assessed that 72% of those in most vulnerable category were women, where 4 million people were
displaced, damages cost $US14 B, and the impact was double that of the 2004 Tsunami. (Climate
Reality: 2014) In Australia, a report on women’s roles in disasters finds that many disasters result
from extreme events attributed to climate change. Women’s Voices from the Floodplains (Carole
Shaw, Judith van Unen, & Virginia Lang, 2012) and Weather the Storm Toolkits (National Rural
Women’s Coalition) for disaster preparedness are especially written by women for Australian
women.
Climate change is an existential threat and is the greatest killer on earth. In one day in 2007, more
people in France died from a heat wave than the twin towers terrorist attack in 2001. In 4 hours,
Typhoon Haiyan killed millions of people in Asia in 2013. In the tropics, more diseases are reported
and spread than ever on recorded history. In dry countries, more people are forced to move because
they are unable to grow crops and are facing starvation. (CHOGM, 2013) (Birkeland, 2008; Fraser,
2014; The Centre for Policy Development, 2010)
The UN “Climate Change and Cities” study produced a raw data map of “Pressure Cooker Cities”, socalled because they are experiencing rapid urban development simultaneously with high greenhouse
gas impacts and sea level rise that result in extreme weather events. The figure below shows the
size of cities as blue dots and the scale of climate change impact in red, orange and yellow shading.
In 2011, determining the vulnerability of climate change has become more refined from the raw
data of rapid growth cities with natural hazard exposure (from United Nations Habitat) to a more
sophisticated calculation of risk undertaken by the Potsdam Institute and the World Bank. (UNU,
2011) The world risk report categorises risk into (1) uncontrollable natural hazard exposure, (2)
susceptibility to harm to greatest populations, (3) coping capacity through preparedness and social
cohesion to respond effectively to events, and (4) adaptation which relies on good governance
systems for prevention, mitigation, crisis management and recovery systems, with options for
migration and relocation of displaced peoples. (Gamlen, 2010; Herpen, 2012)
With the new lens of more sophisticated analysis, the risks can be better understood and addressed.
The map below shows highest risks in pink. Australia, although exposed to nature’s wrath has scored
favourably with coping mechanisms and adaptability, so appears green with lower risk factors.
Australia ranks 119 on the risk index, with pink countries ranking in single digits.
Each country measures its rate of urbanism and its gender analysis to some extent. Published crime
statistics generally only address crime against the person and crime against property. However, at
international levels other accountability systems for human wellbeing are considered and measured
based on best evidence is available. Each country addresses it safety in cities in its own ways under
generally accepted headings. (GenderCC – Women for Climate Justice, 2010) Internationally,
women’s safety has been linked strongly to the roles they play in disaster situations, including
conflict and natural catastrophes. (Postdam: (UNU, 2011) Climate change is labelled as our greatest
moral, social and economic challenge of our time. (Gurría, 2013) (Eminent Persons Group CHOGM,
2012) (Davis, 2013)
Consequently, a human development index alone is not useful for strengthening the role of women
to address safety, equity or empowerment.
But, the role of women should not always be as the victim in the climate change sphere. The
following pages illustrate 36 international women who are leaders in their fields in combatting
climate change. Climate Justice, spurred on by Human Rights Commissioner and Former Prime
Minister of Ireland, Hon Mary Robinson, addresses both the social interventions and the climate
governance issues. Climate Justice is defined in six ways and deals with the ethics in decision making
that has been missing in our current policy frameworks. (Mary Robinson Foundation, 2011) (UN
Habitat, 2011) (Earthjustice & Australian Climate Justice Program, 2009) These principles can be
applied to Urban Design for safer cities.
Given these different scales of safety for women, there is one general theme that resonates. To
make cities safe, involve women in the planning, managing and governing of the interventions and
tools described in this paper.
Recommendations:
1. Actively seek more women’s participation in local, regional, national planning
2. Encourage greater representation of women as decision makers
3. Facilitate ongoing advisory roles for women for project implementation
4. Promote women in professional bodies (because 55% engineering students, 70% planning
students don’t always convert study to careers)
5. Promote recognition of women in urban design excellence awards
6. Encourage women’s voices for eco-justice & climate justice because climate change is an
existential threat and the biggest global killer.
Christiana Figueres UNFCCC
Costa Rica Latin America
Mary Robinson Climate Justice
Foundation, UNHRC , PM Ireland
Marlene Moses, UN
AOSIS, Nauru (Pacific)
Helen Clark UNDP –
PM New Zealand
Queen Beatrix of Netherlands
Sustainability Gov, Earth Charter
Margareta Wohlstrom
UNISDR
Lykke Leonardsen
Copenhagen Climate Strategy
Janine Benyus – biomimicry design
Christine Van Weizsacker
ECOROPA & DHG
Janis Birkeland – positive
development Canada -ANZ
Sr Senolita Vakata
Caritas
Princess Bajrakitiyabha
Mahidol of Thailand
Yolanda Kakabadse WWF
(Ecuador)
Norliza Hashim, Sec Gen Eastern
Region Organisation for Planning &
Human Settlements (Asia)
Dyan Currie
Commonwealth Assoc of
Planners (Aust)
Sandy Stewart
Sustainable Engineers
Amanda Katili Niode, National
Climate Council Indonesia
Jan Petersen Hairou
Commission NY
Wendy Steele
Climate Security
Judith Rodin Rockefeller
Resilient Cities (USA)
Kate Auty Sustainability
Commissioner Victoria
Julie Gelfand, CESD Canada
Jillian Broadbent
Clean Energy Fund Chair
Donnell Davis
Climate Sensitive Cities
Sr Wendy Flannery
Pacific Climate Frontline
Kelly O'Shanassy
Conservation Foundation
Polly Higgins
Eradicate Ecocide
Morag Gamble
SEED international
Khairiah Talha
Former SEC Gen EAROPH, MIP
Annie Leonard
Story of Stuff
Climate Reality Leadership
Janelle Rees
Veena Sahajwalla
Climate Council
350.org Sue Cooke
Louise Cox
International Union Architects
Jean Palutikof IPCC,NCCRF
Appendices
1.
2.
3.
4.
Global Map of Peace 2014
Global Map of Prevalence and Sanction of Rape and Sexual Assault
Women’s Earth & Climate Action Network Declaration
References
Women's Earth and Climate Action Network - A Declaration
Women of the World Call for Urgent Action on Climate Change & Sustainability Solutions
We are the mothers and the grandmothers, sisters and daughters, nieces and aunts, who stand together to care for all generations across
our professions, affiliations and national identities.
We are teachers and scientists, farmers and fishers, healers and helpers, workers and business peoples, writers and artists, decisionmakers and activists, leaders and thinkers. We work in the halls of power, the halls of faith and the halls of our homes.
We are gathering to raise our voices to advocate for an Earth-respecting cultural narrative, one of “restore, respect, replenish” and to
replace the narrative of “domination, depletion and destruction” of nature.
We are committed to a transition from a future of peril to a future of promise; to rally the women around the world to join together in action
at all levels until the climate crisis is solved.
PREAMBLE
Climate change threatens life as we know it on our one and only home planet. Our children, our grandchildren and all future generations
are in danger. Natural systems upon which all living things depend are in jeopardy.
The world’s governments have committed to avoiding a global temperature rise of 2.0 C degrees. But emissions of Greenhouse Gases
(GhGs) are setting us on a course toward a likely 4.0 C (7.2 degrees F) temperature rise. Scientists repeatedly warn this will cause
unprecedented, large-scale disruptions of human and natural systems, food and water insecurity, and untold loss of life.
We are experiencing more frequent, extreme weather events, droughts, floods and displacement of millions around the world.
International commitments and national responses of governments have not been equivalent to the escalating urgency and local
communities are bearing the brunt.
Humanity is in a crisis - a dangerous, carbon fueled, urgent climate crisis. This crisis is not only a scientific reality, but also demands the
moral imperative to act. Future generations depend upon our capacity to solve climate change before it is too late.
The time is now to usher in a sustainable future.
Among the most severely vulnerable to climate change are women, Indigenous Peoples, and those who live in extreme poverty. Climate
disruption, including disasters and their enduring effects, is jeopardizing livelihoods and well-being around the world.
Unsustainable consumption and production reverses development gains in the global North and the global South: Women and men of
industrialized nations have a responsibility to educate themselves, examine their worldviews, commit to action, and lead by example.
No one person, organization, community, province, region, or nation is capable of solving the challenge of climate change alone. This is a
time for collaboration at a global level as never before required.
We are coming together to demand a just and necessary transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, to reduce consumption by our
families and communities and to actively embrace a high quality-low footprint lifestyle.
We are coming together to embrace a new way of living with each other and the Earth.
We have a choice: between a path of continued peril and a path towards climate justice and a safe and clean energy future. We can and
must join together as women to take action with common but differentiated responsibilities for achieving sustainability.
We must act now for ourselves, for future generations, for all living things on Mother Earth.
DECLARATION
We are gathering from diverse cultures and backgrounds.
We are gathering from diverse nationalities, faiths, families and professions.
We are gathering in defense of our children, grandchildren, and the generations beyond.
We are gathering in defense of the animals, plants and natural systems that are under siege.
We are gathering and uniting in solidarity to grow the global women’s movement for climate action and sustainable solutions.
We are gathering to put the world on notice that women will take action at all levels to avert the trajectory of a 4 degrees C (7.2 degrees F)
rise in global temperatures.
We are gathering to ensure that the sovereignty of communities to design and determine their own destinies into a thriving future is
respected.
We are gathering to take action and chart a new course.
The science is clear. There is no more debate. The time for action is NOW.
We will answer humanity’s increased vulnerability with our increased commitment.
We know that while women are among the most negatively impacted by climate disruption, we are also key to creating climate
solutions.
We stand together to accelerate a Global Women’s Climate Action Movement.
We, the undersigned, call on ourselves, our communities, and our governments to:
Cancel plans for future carbon developments and deforestation and bring atmospheric CO2 concentrations back below 350 ppm;
Divest from dangerous and dirty fossil fuel developments – coal fired power plants, oil shale fracking, deep-water oil drilling and Tar
Sands and rapidly phase out fossil fuel subsidies;
Put a price on carbon and implement carbon-fees and Financial Transaction Taxes;
Call for urgent action prior to 2020, in order to accelerate the phase-out of greenhouse gas pollution and to close the gap between
the science and national pledges; action is needed at all levels, from the grassroots to the United Nations;
Negotiate and ratify a binding, international climate treaty of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) to reduce carbon emissions;
Prioritize adaptation funding to build community resilience for those most affected by climate change in existing climate funds under
the UNFCCC;
Increase available funding for adaptation and ensure that community-based groups, including women’s groups, have direct access
to those adaptation funds;
Invest in an energy revolution with massive and swift expansion of conservation, energy efficiency, and safe energy by

implementing radically increased efficiency standards and

generating 100% of all new electricity from renewables

incentivizing conservation and reduction of consumption, especially in the Global North;
Recognize that the transition to renewable energy does not justify or require a massive increase in mega hydro dams, biofuels and
major monoculture biomass plantations that cause displacement, food insecurity, human rights abuses and deforestation;
Prioritize natural forest protection and increase funding for natural reforestation;
Reject Greenhouse Gas emissions reductions schemes that come from high-risk technologies which create irreversible damage to
human and planetary health including tar sands, shale gas, nuclear energy, and geo-engineering;
Embrace and implement common but differentiated responsibilities to solve the climate crisis between the global North and global
South;
Implement new economic indicators and structures that encourage sustainability, Buen Vivir (living well), and abandon models for
limitless economic growth;
Recognize that the planet’s freshwater heritage is under threat and that abuse, over-extraction and displacement of water is a
major cause of climate chaos. Essential to the recovery of climate stability is a strong plan to conserve, protect and restore the
world’s watersheds and rebuild the health of aquatic ecosystems;
Take action to protect one of our essential life support systems – the world’s wild oceans – as a start, protect 20% of the world’s
oceans by 2020 and 40% by 2040 in marine preserves and sanctuaries;
Fulfill existing international agreements on women’s equality and climate change by

ensuring implementation of gender-responsive climate change policy and programs

ensuring all climate financial mechanisms embrace the internationally agreed principles on gender equality, nondiscrimination, human rights and women’s empowerment

recognizing that gender-sensitive climate policy benefits men, women, children and the planet;
Respect and learn from the Traditional Ecological Knowledge, wisdom and experience of the world’s Indigenous Peoples;
Respect and implement the Rights of Women, the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Rights of Nature and the Rights of Future
Generations;
Take individual action on a daily basis to avert climate chaos and to implement solutions at all levels.
This is the clarion call to the women and men of the world.
References
Barlow, M. (2007). Blue Covenant - The Global Water Crisis and the coming battle for the right to
water. New York The New Press NY.
Birkeland, J. (2008). Positive Development: from vicious circles to virtuous cycles through built
environment design. Cronwall: Earthscan UK.
Brisman, A., & South, N. (2013). A green-cultural criminology: An exploratory outline. Crime, Media,
Culture, 9 No 2(Downloaded from cmc.sagepub.com at Uni of Southern Queensland on
January 13, 2014), 115-136. Retrieved from doi:10.1177/1741659012467026
Carole Shaw, Judith van Unen, & Virginia Lang. (2012). Women's Voices from the Flood Plains - an
economic gender lens on responses on disatser affected areas in Queensland and Victoria
(pp. 42): Justice & Equal Rights Access International.
Chapagain, A. H., AY. (2004). Water footprints of nations: Value of water Vol. 1: Main Report.
Research report series No. 16
CHOGM. (2013). Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) Colombo Declaration on
Sustainable, Inclusive and Equitable Development (pp. 4). Colombo, Sri Lanka: CHOGM.
Davis, D. (2004). Good Green Governance - policy & performance management framework for
sustainability. In Envirobusiness (Ed.), Measuring our Progress Towards Sustainability in SEQ
(pp. 111). Brisbane Australia: Brisbane City Council.
Davis, D. (2013). Climate Sensitive Cities. Paper presented at the Joint Society for Human Ecology &
International Sustainability Scientists Canberra.
Donnell Davis. (2015). Climate Sensitive Infrastructure (H. Konami, Trans.). In H. K. a. H. Sabo (Ed.),
EAROPH Regional Forum 2015 (pp. 123). Ureshino JAROPH - Japan Regional Orgasniation for
Planning and Human Settlements.
Earthjustice, & Australian Climate Justice Program. (2009). Petition to the World Heritage
Committee: The Role of Black Carbon in Endangering World Heritage Sites Threatened by
Glacial Melt and Sea Level Rise (pp. 46). Oakland CA USA & Ultimo NSW: Earthjustice and
Australian Climate Justice Program.
Eminent Persons Group CHOGM. (2012). Annex 2 A Draft Charter of the Commonwealth (pp. 9).
Perth: CHOGM.
Fraser, M. (2014). Australia's Role in the Pacific
Advance - Winter 2014 - Essays, opinions and ideas on public policy (pp. 44). Canberra: ANU - Public
Policy School.
Gamlen, A. (2010). People on the move: Managing migration In today's Commonwealth - The first
report of the Ramphal Commission on
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Germany: GenderCC – Women for Climate Justice.
Gurría, A. (2013). The climate challenge: Achieving zero emissions. Paper presented at the OECD
Climate Challenge, London.
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Real Contexts for Real Learning: The impact of integrating CPTED into the teaching of
the New Zealand Curriculum.
Fleur Knight
Real Learning Facilitator
Murrays Bay School
North Shore
Auckland
2015 Safe Cities Confernece
Melbourne, (VIC) 8 July 2015
Real Contexts for Real Learning: The impact of integrating CPTED into the teaching of
the New Zealand Curriculum.
Author: Fleur Knight
Real Learning Facilitator
Murrays Bay School
Keywords: CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design), integration, New
Zealand Curriculum
Abstract:
This paper explores how real life contexts can be integrated into the New Zealand Curriculum
(Ministry of Education, 2007), and the positive impact this has on children’s learning.
Authentic learning typically focuses on real-world, complex problems and their solutions (as
recognised in the Social Sciences Strand), and it reports on and discusses the authors
approach to developing a programme of learning that promotes democracy, encourages active
inquiry learning and examines the autonomy-supportive behaviour (Bozack, Vega, McCaslin
& Good, 2008) that encourages deeper learning and commits responsibility of directing the
learning pathway, over to the students. The context used in this case study is CPTED (Crime
Prevention through Environmental Design) a programme used worldwide by community
groups such as the Police, Councils, town planners, the justice system, landscapers and
security firms (Ministry of Justice, 2005). CPTED is a Social Science that recognises how the
design of an environment impacts on how people think, feel and act in that environment. The
teaching of CPTED, aligns with the vision of the New Zealand Curriculum to have learners
who are confident, connected, actively involved, life long learners and also to the need for us,
as educators, to grow responsible members of communties in the future.
This study makes use of stories from the classroom and critically analyses case studies and
comments on the practice of the author who demonstrates a passion for implementing real
learning philosophies using authentic contexts as a way of encouraging learning through
critical discourse and student leadership of learning pathways.
Case Study One:
This case study describes how the author engaged learners in authentic real life contexts by
integrating the teaching of CPTED with the New Zealand Curriculum.
The teaching of CPTED began with the realisation by the author that her teaching about
“caring for our environment’ was ineffective, and although her students were already
working with the community to clear waterways around Auckland city, involvement in this
activity alone was not transformational enough to generate action or value changes in her
students. The students did not demonstrate an observable transfer of learning from this
activity to other environments. Using these observations the author recognised the need for
her students to have a much deeper understanding about the cause and effect of environments
on people. So by adapting the content of the Social Sciences strand of the New Zealand
Curriculum (that states; “students are expected to explore how societies work so ‘they
themselves’ can participate and take action as critical, informed and responsible citizens”
Ministry of Education 2007), she sought expertise from the Police, and CPTED experts such
as Tony Lake (who has had more than 36 years with the Queensland Police) and adapted the
CPTED principles and understandings for use in the classroom.
The teaching of CPTED includes 8 principles:

Natural Surveillance is about being able to see what is happening in an
environment.The proper placement and design of windows, lighting, and landscaping
increases the ability for people to see and be seen.

Territorial reinforcement uses buildings, fences, pavement, signs, lighting and
landscaping to define ownership and define public, semi-public and private space.

Natural access control is about the cause and effect of entrances and exits, fencing,
lighting and landscape to limit access or control flow.

Maintenance focuses on maintaining all common areas to very high standards,
including entrances, and right-of-ways. Lack of maintenance shows that people do not
care for their environment, and the perception can be formed that nobody is watching
out for that environment or for the welfare of others, in that environment.
 Capacity recognises that places have a capacity to maintain a social, physical or
economic balance. This is called the “Threshold Theory”. Balance can be tipped
creating a detrimental effect on the way the society functions. For example, too many
skate parks in one area of the community.

Cohesion is the supportive relationships and integration between neighbourhood users
to maintain a sense of safety. Strong cohesion will increase a neighbourhood’s ability
to deal with issues effectively as they arise. Cohesion is evident when there are strong
relationships between individuals and groups within a neighbourhood. The people
from neighbourhoods with strong social cohesion have positive self-esteem.

Connectivity relates to the relationships a neighbourhood has with places outside the
immediate community. This includes co-ordination with government agencies such as
Council and community partnerships.
Culture is about a neighbourhood creating a unique space. What is special about that
Community? What symbolises that community? (Saville, 2009).
Adapting CPTED for schools involved integrating curriculum areas and curriculum key
competencies into teaching and learning. The aim of this was to develop deeper levels of
understanding of the New Zealand Curriculum and the Key Competencies by students to
improve student engagement and ownership of learning.
Examples of how CPTED was integrated into the key competencies to create learning
objectives and outcomes:

Symbols and text: Articulate and apply the Principles and language of CPTED.

Participating and contributing: Site visits. Interviewing stakeholders.

Thinking: Interpret information from surveys, apply findings to a community.
Theorise/calculate the cost of crimes such as grafitti. Analyse the impact of
environmental design. Design artworks for a community, based on criteria set by the
community, following investigation, comparasion and judging.

Relating to others: Demonstrate understanding of other people’s viewpoints.Work cooperatively with peers to identify problems and possible solutions in environemntal
design.

Managing self: Plan what skills need to learn, form criteria, plan and work to meet
deadlines (Ministry of Education, 2007).
How the Teaching of CPTED Grew:
The author initially taught the four principles of CPTED to her class. After analysing their
school enviroment using CPTED principle understandings, the students created murals for
their school that depicted natural images from their local environment. The aim was to reduce
the amount of graffiti and vandalism that was occuring at their school after hours, by showing
the community that they cared for their environment
Artworks being presented to Apples Preschool, Whangaparaoa and Kindy Cottage,
Auckland.
This context involved integrating social sciences, science, technology, the arts, literacy and
mathematics. The students also learnt how to apply key competencies such as relating to
others. Following community recognition of the students work a local kindergarten made
contact with the author and asked if her students could create artworks for their outdoor area,
that was being repeatedly tagged and vandalised during weekends. The students interviewed
staff and pre-schoolers to ascertain what they wanted on their murals. They then created
prototypes, e-mailed them to the kindergarten, and enlarged selected designs to murals. The
artworks were created to criteria set by the kindergarden and then delivered and mounted. The
students continued to gain a higher profile for their work and two other pre-schools
commissioned artworks, enabling the students to form bonding relationships with toddlers,
gathering and working to set criteria, and creating artworks to define a sense of place to deter
grafitti and vandalism.
Two students presented their understandings of
CPTED Principles principles at the National Police
CPTED Conference in Nelson .
Case Study Two:
Integrating curriculum and practice: How the improvement reflects what works for
children.
In 2012, four teachers, from one team taught CPTED to their students. Each class applied
CPTED to their school to improve the appearance of their school and reduce the frequency of
vandalism and grafitti.
One class designed, resourced, planted and maintained new landscapes. The second class
designed and created mosaics for the new gardens. This involved testing and creating footings
out of concrete to reduce the opportunity of theft. A third class created framed artworks for
the pool area that was being repeatedly tagged. A fourth class created artworks to cover blank
white walls around the school.
Each of these initiatives were driven by the students. The students worked with the teachers to
create their learning journey, identifying what they needed to know and what they needed to
do in order to create their product. This approach changed the students motivation as they had
a deeper understanding of what they needed to know and why, which impacted on the
students level of engagement. The students recognised the need to engage the community for
expertise, materials and tools.
The teachers explicitly taught the key competencies with questions such as; What does
managing self look like in our classroom? What expertise do we need from the community?
In
Students engaging with the community to improve the community
the teaching of CPTED, ‘organisers’ are used to help children process information and see
trends, relationships and key ideas. This organiser was designed for the specific learning
purpose of investigating the cause and effect of different surfaces, and how different surfaces
change what we see.
How do different surfaces affect what we see?
Type of
What
Where
Why is
What is the
Surface
does this
are these
this type
effect of this
mean?
surfaces?
of surface
surface on
used?
what we see?
Pluses
Minuses
New
Ideas
Opaque
Transparent
Translucent
Community consultation occurred at the beginning of this learning, when students were
collecting resources for their initiatives and at the end, when they shared their learning with
members of Police, CPTED experts, parents, University lecturers and senior staff of their
school.
The following year, the teaching of CPTED expanded to include 8 classes of students. A
nearby township asked students to create artworks to hang in vacant shop windows that were
being repeatedly smashed. Students designed artworks to meet criteria set by the business
association. They identified skills and knowledge they needed to create these artworks.
Students investigated styles and colours used by other artists and developed art prototypes .
The students recognised the need to involve the affected community in this initiative, so they
worked with a class of students from the area to complete the artworks. The artworks
currently hang in vacant shop windows, and are moved frequently as shops are tennanted. The
value of this initiative is reflected in the fact that the business association are still moving
these artworks, eighteen months after they were created.
Students from two schools
working together to create
artworks for vacant shop
windows.
In subsequent years, students applied CPTED to improve the environment for patients at a
children’s hospital. Students visited the heart ward and worked with staff to develop specific
hospital criteria. They created a ‘distraction mural’ and 3 dimensional sea creatures that could
be moved around the ward for long term patients.
To measure the impact of these artworks on people at the children’s hospital, surveys were
distributed to staff, patients and families associated with the ward.
The survey results showed that:
92% of staff stated that art at Starship had a positive impact on patients.
53% of families said artworks had a positive affect on them
23% of doctors said that artwork had a positive effect on them
23% said art gave patients a sense of belonging
This data proved that the artworks were having a positive impact on patients, families and
staff of the Heart Ward.
Artworks created by students for Starship Children’s Hospital as part of CPTED
In 2014, the author attended Professional Development in Christchurch with Greg Saville.
(Gregory Saville is adjunct professor in the National Security Program at the University of
New Haven, USA. He is an urban planner specializing in CPTED) and learnt how to conduct
CPTED Safety Audits of environments.
The author (as the Real Leaning Facilitator) then taught these skills to senior students who
carried out CPTED safety audits of their school. Audits were conducted during the day and at
night because environmental safety is dramatically affected by light. Students applied the
safety map as a tool and made recommendations to improve the safety of their school. These
recommendations were actioned by the school community and Board.
Students presenting findings to the community
Students conducting a CPTED audit of Murrays
Bay School using a walker
Some of the Quality Recommendations made by the students to improve their school:
 Improve visibility of signage to the dental clinic to stop confusion by visitors
 Add clear signage so pedestrians can clearly see where the entrance is
 Trim vegetation around the concrete steps to make them easier to see
 Add sensor lights to the junior playground.
 Resurface the concrete area outside. Fill in the holes.
 Resurface the walkway so the surface is flat and the drains are laid under the ground.
 Enlarge the staff car park so cars can turn and leave without backing out.
Four Year 6 classes then conducted CPTED safety audits of different sectors of the
community. This involved students making site visits and drawing safety maps of their
facility. The students wrote full CPTED Safety audits including recommendations. All of
these sectors acted on or used the data collated in these safety audits. The pre-school that was
audited used their safety audit as part of their ERO Report and the council used their audit to
make recommendations to the future designs of three bus stations around the city. The
learning was relevant, authentic and needs driven by the community. The students’ actions
generated long-term sustainable change to the community they audited.
Students auditing Kindy Cottage Preschool.
Case Study Three: Bus Station Context
The bus station context originated from the CPTED safety audits the students had completed
on their school. The local council asked the students to carry out CPTED safety audits of a
local bus station in their city.
These were the recommendations made to council by the students:
 Add a metal grid to the storm water drain to reduce access by vandals and taggers.
 Add more braille for the sight impaired.
 Oil toilet door to make it easy to open.
 Add artworks to make the bus station more inviting and welcoming.
 Add clearer signage to platforms.
A problem area identified at the bus
station by the students.
Students carrying out CPTED safety audits of
the bus station with the local Transport agency.
The students then worked with the council to
action the recommendations they had made to improve the bus station. Students applied the
CPTED principles of community engagement to one of their recommendations (Saville,
2009). Initially, they needed to ask the community whether they wanted artworks in their bus
station. Students created surveys to determine: Whether there was a need in the community
for murals, what community members wanted on the murals, what the community thought
symbolized their community and whether they or someone they know, could help create
murals.
The Students surveyed residents, retailers and customers from the local area.
The Survey revealed that:
93% people interviewed wanted murals in Sunnynook Bus Station
66% of the people surveyed lived in Sunnynook, others were visiting, or had businesses in
Sunnynook.
24% residents said they would be interested in creating a mural on the day-people either felt
they were not good enough at art or were too busy with work or study to create a mural
themselves.
15% residents said they possibly knew someone who would be interested in creating a mural
Students interviewing residents and retailers from the Sunnynook community.
Other Data Collected from the Survey:
Residents were asked : What represents the Sunnynook Community?
Summary:
85% of the people surveyed thought Nature/Native New Zealand plants and birds represented
Sunnynook.
98% thought green spaces and parks represented Sunnynook.
50% felt Sunnynook was about the mix of cultures
30% felt sporting events typified Sunnynook
40% of the people felt children symbolized what was important to Sunnnynook.
From the surveys students were able to determine that the community wanted murals. They
also wanted murals that symbolised, and had meaning to their community. Students analysed
the data and found that the community wanted a wall of art that represented change over time
in the community from early 1900’s to present day. This involved integrating mathematical
statistics and the time, continuity and change strand of the social sciences curriculum.
The students then developed a concept to bring members of the community together in an art
painting day outside the local supermarket called “Painting in the Car Park” .
Artists from the community chose the style and subject they wanted to paint.
Artists from the community at work
Examples of the Murals
Created by the Community for the Bus Station
The eye of change by Alastair Blain.
The trees of Sunnynook by Hayley
Garcia.
Native plants and birds of Sunnynook by
Native Birds by Ashleigh Vissor.
Murrays Bay School students.
How the teaching of CPTED reflects what works for students:
This programme works because:
It is real: the context and process are not contrived, or limited to a classroom setting.
CPTED has been used by Police in New Zealand, Australia and Canada as part of crime
prevention for over 40 years. Councils, planners and architects in cities such as Glasgow,
Sascatoon and Christchurch use CPTED in their urban designs.

The authenticity of teaching CPTED to students is validated by how the community
used the information gathered by the students.

Students have ownership of their own learning: What they learn is what they need to
learn. The purpose for learning is authentic and explicit to the learner. The skills,
processes and pedagogy inherent in learning that is real, are sustainable because they
give the student life skills they can apply long term.

The students’ voice was taken seriously by the council, because they were in essence,
experts in their field and they were meeting a real need in the community, from a
youth perspective.

The learning process involved a wide range of skills and interests.

The students learnt to rely on each other to utilise individual skills

Students felt empowered.

The high level of community engagement reflected the level of authenticity of the
learning, because the learning was seen as being relevant and meaningful to the
community.
Improvement Achieved for All Children
In 2012 and 2014, the author conducted 2 surveys to validate the effectiveness of teaching
CPTED as part of Real Learning to year 5 and 6 students at the school.
When asked what they enjoyed about this learning:
59% of pupils identified the theory as one area of Real Learning they enjoyed.
53% described the performing arts as one area of preference.
47% named technology,
42% the visual arts and
40% named science as an aspect of real learning they enjoyed.
All pupils identified at least 2 areas of preference. These results surprised the teachers
because they initially had reservations about the theory and philosophies of CPTED being too
difficult for the students to understand.
When asked whether real learning had changed the way they feel about learning?
22% pupils said that Real Learning made them feel more like adults.
75% said they were now more aware of what was going on in the world, and felt they could
make decisions about whether an environment was safe or not.
3% said that learning in this way had not changed the way they felt about learning.
When identifying curriculum areas:
97% of the students were able to consistently explain what Science they had learnt over the
two years.
81% of the students were able to explain aspects of learning that involved the Social Sciences
94% of students were able to identify Technology they had covered as a result of this Real
Learning.
93% of students were able to articulate what areas of the Visual Arts they had covered as a
result of this learning.
73% of students identified Mathematics they had worked on as a result of statistical analysis.
Student perception of the key competencies:
An average of:
84% of the pupils felt they had improved in their ability to think. Many pupils identified the
graphic organisers as tools that had assisted them with thinking.
90% of pupils identified that they had improved in their ability to work and relate to others
because of the variety of learning situations which varied from one on one, group work, class
team and community.
75% identified improvement in the number of times and opportunities they had had to share
their learning with others in the community.
76% felt their ability to write had improved.
79% identified an improvement in their ability to problem solve. Many pupils recorded
science and technology as their reasons for this.
87% of the pupils thought they developed better organizational skills because as one student
said “Real Learning doesn’t work if you are not organised. You would never get anything
done!!”
Student’s ability to identify skills they had worked on as part of their real learning with
CPTED:
98% of pupils were able to identify specific scientific skills they had worked on
96% of the pupils were able to explain technological skills and processes they had learnt
96% of the pupils were able to identify specific visual art and/or dance skills
These high levels of recognition of the curriculum and skills within curriculum areas are the
result of pupils having ownership of their learning, being taught what they needed to know,
when needed.
Academic Results from International Competition and Assessment for Schools (ICAS).
These results show the average scores across the Year 5 and 6 team for ICAS Science from
2010-2014. The integration of science into Real Learning contexts such as CPTED, have
resulted in a more extensive coverage of the science curriculum, which has led to improved
student achievement in science at the school.
Parent Survey Results:
88% of parents recognised an improvement in their child’s ability to solve problems.
84% felt their child had improved in their ability to relate to others.
78% saw an improvement in their child’s ability to manage and organise themselves.
70% recognised when their child contributed and participated by involving the community in
their learning.
84% of parents identified a positive attitudinal change in their child toward learning as a
result of this "Real Learning".
These surveys also found that:
94% of the parents were able to explain that CPTED is about community health and safety
23% of the parents were able to explain the CPTED Principles.
These results reflect high levels of transfer between what is being taught at school and what is
being talked about at home. This is a measure of student engagement, as students share their
learning with their families.
What Learning is needed to bring about change and improvements?
These are the knowledge and skills teachers need, to improve outcomes for students:

Make meaning of the New Zealand Curriculum, both in theory and in practical
application.

think flexibily about how to apply their prior teaching knowledge and skills to new
problems.

understand their students background and levels of achievement and develop networks
of support for students

engage students in their strengths and interests, to build confidence and improvement
in other areas.

break learning journey into parts, related to the needs of students.

scaffold learners according to needs. For example, a student who finds reading
difficult may need work paraphrased and placed on teacher dashboard, so they are able
to take notes by reading research that is at their level.

engage learners in initiatives that are real and meaningful to them.

use a range of ICT tools for skills such as mindmappimg, research, graphing for
example.

utilise resources effectively. Involve the community in resourcing and expertise.

apply the inquiry process fluently, as it is in real life.

be comfortable going backwards, being reflective and improving on practice. This
requires high levels of trust between teaching staff.

have (or develop) strong intra-personal intelligence

use evidence about student engagement and progress to inform practice by asking
critical questions about teaching practice.

develop understandings about the effect their practice has on student outcomes.
Scaffolding for teachers by Management that support student outcomes:

Indicators for the curriculum key competences, at each level created by teachers for
teachers .

Coaching Programmes help to support teachers to gather evidence about their practice
and how this impacts on students.

Ultimately the teacher needs to develop a deep pedagogical understanding of how the
New Zealand Curriculum and the Key Competencies in the New Zealand Curriculum
relate to real life.

Teachers need to make contact and utilise the skills from a wide range of experts from
their community.
Professional artist transferring student designs to improve the school playground.
What changes were made and improvement achieved?

How were learning tasks and experiences redesigned to engage teachers, children
and young people?

A progression of changes made to teaching and learning in order to improve
achievement and sustain learning over a 5 year period at the school.

2010

Principles of CPTED taught systematically, very theory based. Only taught by the
author in her classroom.

Science/social sciences/technology/arts taught in a two year cycle.

Planning context the same across teams.

Competencies included in planning but not fully understood by teachers or students.

No progressions of improvement in competencies, or understanding about how the
Curriculum Key Competencies relate to real life.

Students were beginning to develop an understanding of the essential areas in the New
Zealand Curriculum. This was being achieved by explicit teaching that linked the
skills to the needs of students.

Organisers were used infrequently in classrooms. Those used were generic and non
specific to the learning.

Very limited community engagement. Teacher driven and involved resourcing.

2015

Principles of CPTED taught in relation to other contexts, not in isolation.

Programmes involving CPTED generated and driven by community need.

Principles taught in relation to other contexts, involving the local community from the
beginning of the learning.

Science/social sciences/arts and technology fully integrated into context based on
CPTED philosophies.

Assessment of skills in science, social sciences, technology and arts specifically
related to the skills and context taught.

Major shift in pedagogy schoolwide, focussing on the need for learning to be real.
How students were involved in learning experiences.

Students had a sense of purpose and understood that their actions could impact on the
community.

Students were more engaged in their learning because they had ownership of their
own learning.

The learning was based on an authentic need that was ‘real’.

Students were informing and engaging the community

Students were ‘hands on’, working with professionals from the local community.

Students needed to meet the standards of the other community members.

Students teaching parents, community groups about the cause and effect of CPTED.

Students driven to learn new skills in order to be part of the community initiative.

High level of student engagagement evident by the number of students who offered to
work outside of school hours.

Students teaching members of the community .
How teachers were engaged in further learning to deepen professional knowledge and
refine skills.
2012- Fleur appointed as Real Learning Facilitator at the school. Worked alongside teachers
and students to make learning as real as possible for students.
2010-2015- Teacher worked with Tony Lake to upskill knowledge and ability to apply
CPTED and Safegrowth to improve communities.
2012- Development of Professional Learning group that sets strategic goals for the School
around engagement of Students.
2012- Tracking sheets for Curriculum Coverage for identification of Curriculum areas that
have been covered and curriculum areas that need more professional development.
2013- In staff meetings teachers share examples of CPTED integration. These staff meetings
help to develop increased competence in the teaching of real life learning contexts to students.
2015- Planning template develop by Professional Learning Group to develop consistency in
planning schoolwide.
.
Curriculum Coverage Achieved by Intergrating CPTED into Teaching and Learning:
Social Science school wide coverage: In 2013 and 2014, the year 5 and 6 teams covered all
strands of the Social Sciences Curriculum, including Economics.
Science school wide coverage: Indicates that when students integrate their science
understandings into real life contexts they are able to cover more strands, more often in a
year. Interesting to note the growth in science coverage, as the contexts for learning have
broadened from classroom, to school, to community.
Key Lessons Learned and Strategies to help continue building on success.
Challenges:
The teacher needs to be able to:

logically unpack how decisions are made, and replicate these progressions in the
learning.

wrap the curriculum around the learning needs and goals identified by the students.

relate the curriculum to real life, and integrate curriculum areas as we do in everyday
life.

design learning experiences that are relevant to, and interest the students.

use technology and resources effectively by relating theory to real examples for more
in depth student analysis and understanding.

assess and build on skills and knowledge as student’s learn.

utilise effective teaching strategies to meet the needs of a diverse class of students.

have a clear understanding of the key competencies so they can be taught explicitly to
students so they can develop skills in identifying, improving and assessing the key
competencies independently.

explicitly teach the curriculum key competencies to students so they can apply them to
real life situations at school, home and in the community.

justify purpose.

motivate and engage students by making connections to the lives of students

effectively assess student achievement

form a community of support for students.
Students need to be able to:

develop the skills associated with the curriculum key competencies early on in the
learning.

identify what they need to know, so teachers could incorporate these needs into their
teaching.

believe that their learning can make a difference.

know that their learning has a real purpose.

understand how to transfer skills and key competencies from one area of the
curriculum contexts to another.

idenitify and understand the learning process- the small steps to achieve goals

understand why it is important to involve the school and local community in their
learning

take resposibility for their learning

be engaged in their learning

apply their learning to real life contexts
Summary:
Success builds on success. One successful initiative leads to another real learning opportunity.
The context for learning must be based on a real need in the community or school.
CPTED impacts on all of us, because we all live in communtiies, therefore the understandings
are universal and relevant to us all.
Teaching CPTED to students enables communities to develop a youth perspective on
community issues.
Learning about CPTED transcends the walls of the classroom, and has a life long impact on
the hearts, minds and actions of learners so they can participate and take action as critical,
informed and responsible citizens.
References:
Bozack, A. R., Vega, R., McCaslin, M., & Good, T. L. (2008). Teacher support of student
autonomy in comprehensive school reform classrooms. Teachers College Record, (11),
2389–2407.
Saville, G. (2009). Moving forward in neighbourhood development. Built Environment, 35,
386 - 402.
Ministry of Education.(2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.
Department of Justice. (2005). National Guidelines for crime prevention through
environmental
design in New Zealand, part one. Retrieved June 18, 2015, from
http://www.justice.govt.nz/publications/publications-archived/2005/nationalguidelines-for-crime-prevention-through-environmental-design-in-nz/part-1-sevenqualities-of-safer-places
Department of Justice. (2005). National Guidelines for crime prevention through
environmental design in New Zealand, part two. Retrieved June 18, 2015, from
http://www.justice.govt.nz/publications/publications-archived/2005/nationalguidelines-forcrime-prevention-through-environmental-design-in-nz/part-2-implementation-guide
PSIM
Physical Security Information Management
Ollencio R.J. D’Souza B.E., MMgt, SMIEEE
TechnologyCare
27 Regent Street
Putney NSW 2112
Safecities Conference
Pullman, Melbourne on the Park, (VIC), 8th July 2015
PSIM
Physical Security Information System
ABSTRACT: Cities are complex environments with diverse human compositions and are constantly
morphingi into suburbs with unique traits. This paper will explore the “workflow” of a city focused on
safety, suggest possible ways they operate, examine “people” traits that gravitate to it and what the
definition of a safe city could be.
Technology is never far away as a “tool” and the growing plethora of sensors delivers the capability
to detect and capture activity related to risk laden scenarios.
The presentation will show how and from where data, in the security industry, is being collected in
increasing quantity, and how they build into a fertile reservoir of knowledge facilitating a
“predictive” approach to security risk management. This paper will present a few technologies,
techniques and tools used today to harness the knowledge inherent in everyday data. The presentation
will take the audience through what sensory devices deliver as they are used to enhance human
capability to fight crime, increase functionality relevant to countering a "threat", and utilise the
opportunity presented by a Physical Security Information Management System (PSIM) to “catalogue”
this data, assist with "analysing" the "data" to improve the outcomes. The paper will show how
“predictive” approaches are very dependent on the volume of data collected from multiple sources
and why the existing technology silo mindset needs to change, especially since the internet has made
connectivity and sharing ubiquitous. Examples presented will share customer based experiences
where in-house security assets were used to collect relevant data to visualise statistical trends that
deliver a deeper awareness and understanding of activity that leads to or triggers risk laden events.
Keywords: PSIM, Physical Security Information System, Predictive Analytics, Business Intelligence
Introduction
Security departments in local & state Governments understand the multi-dimensional cost to
the city from security related events especially the growing menace of terrorism. This factor
necessitates a proactive stance on security to identify potential risks and threats as opposed to
being reactive to issues which might have already impacted the city or region’s social and
commercial reputation.
The security industry has grown accustomed to working in technology “silos" such as
intruder Alarms, Access Control, CCTV, etc. each with its own management system and
raison-de-etre’1. However if the methods used in “forensic” and “real time” investigation are
observed, it is obvious that “data” or “clues” from different perspectives are implicitly sought
1
Raison-de-etre’ French, “reason to live”, used commonly to single out purpose.
to improve the “richness” of the data pool. Beyond this; correlations, statistical weighting,
trending, etc. are used to extract inherent “knowledgeii” or purpose from an unexpected or an
innocuous repetitive “chain of events” providing predictive information to the decision
making hierarchyiii.
Sensory devices deliver “data” relevant to the event or "threat" and management systems
provide the tools and opportunity to "analyse" the "data" to improve outcomes. The term
“Integration” has been used to generally describe one system sending and receiving
information from another – a single focused purpose, event by event, quite out of step with
the current Business Intelligenceiv concepts and trends.
Technology Silos
v
Intruder
Technology Timeline
Access Control
c
CCTV
BMS
Volume of data in the physical security world
Energy
On/Off
Contacts
Make/Break
Signals
Codes
Multi-status
(Ademco)
Swipecard
IDs
Audio
Listen-in
Complex
Comms over
RS485
“networks”
Distributed
Wireless
Remote
Management
Cards with
Site codes
+more
Smart tokens
CCTV
2 Way Voice
Analysis
20KB
Time line
50MB
BioTokens/Cards
Cloud based services
Biometrics++
Business Intelligence
Focus
IP Video
VoIP (SIP)
(two way)
CCTV
Analytics
ANPR
2 way digital voice Powerful analytics
Analysis
Data, video ,voice
c
c
0KB
IP Centric
Internet
(public essential service)
Biometrics
v
c
v
IP Centric
Communications
Wired/Wireless
1GB
Integrated
Functional
User Interfaces
PSIM
n-TB
c
Easy to use
Converged services
Internet of things
Digital data
Made public
For research
& statistical trending
Public sensor
Infrastructure
(Traffic, Weather,
G Earth, Gunshots,etc
n-PB
Cloud based
v c “Big Data”
Repositories
v
(Hadoop)
Smart phones
NFC
© Ollencio D’Souza 2015
1000x-PB
NOW
Figure 1 How data and convergence has progressed over the last 30 years
Figure1 show the trend from the early days of “security” where an “on/off”- “make/break”
signal was the only “data” generated. But this quickly progressed to more data as codesv
embedded in the signal delivered a lot more “data”. Following the introduction of “access
control” using swipe cards, the data that needed to be storedvi and managed increase by more
than a factor of 10 and grew exponentially as the technology was adopted as a security
validation service and not as an administrative “ID” token, which it actually is.
When CCTV was introduced “image data” increased by an order of magnitudevii that got the
IT world interested and involved because of the large attached storage potential. However all
these sources of data remained independent in their own technology silos and is largely the
same today. Synchronisation of key fields in all these systems was and is only considered
when requested.
As we moved forward in time, functions from one silo were built into another silo. For
example intruder alarm panels began to do access control. CCTV was not easily absorbed
because the access/alarms management systems were not able to manage the large volume of
“video” data that was generated leaving the CCTV systems on their own.
The emergence of the IPviii device environment especially with in the Digital CCTV arena –
forced the industry to adopt an “IP” approach to everything. Alarms were sent to the central
station over IP, Access control became all IP even to the “edge” devices.
The industry product manufacturers attempt to guess future functionality required of systems
and have begun introducing “converged” functionality. A large IP video company added
access control functionality to its video management package and one has to wonder whether
the move is to muscle into the access control market or deliver “integration” of two key
functions, to their clients. So the need to converge functionality over an already converged
networked environment such as TCP/IP portends a future where operational functionality and
user interfaces will also converge.
Where does all the “Data” come from?
Understanding a few fundamentals on the wide range of sensor devices available today,
knowing how "data" is generated collected and analysed to infer its relevance to a risks or
threat in order to develop a more credible decision making trigger is an important start.
Technology solutions (Figure 2) are modern
day tools. Humans have always used tools
to enhance their capability and thereby
climbed up the evolution tree. The physical
security industry uses tools to enhance the
How Technology Enhances Human Capability
• Visible/IR/Thermal, etc
• Track,Tag, Rec, Rev,Srch
• Fisheye, stitch, Panorama
Zoom,Pan,Preset position
• “pattern matching”
• Verification of objects in
database (1 to 1 match)
• LIVE visuals of objects, events,
location, activity..
24x7 Visibility
Memory/Recall/Review
360degree visibility
“Detect “
“Recognise”
Visualise
operator’s ability to function effectively.
Figure 2 Technology Enhances Human Capability
We can only act if we know i.e. are
aware of a threat. Sensors of various
Sensors provide us “visibility”
Visible & Invisible
Electromagnetic Spectrum Imagers
Scientific
Research
Security/Safety
Mfg Industry
Security/Safety
Security/Safety/Mfg
Security/Safety
Security/Safety
Sources of “electromagnetic
energy”
Sensing / Detection / Analysis
Conversion
to Electrical
Signals
Electrical
To visible
Spectrum
signals
Can be
Analogue Domain
Or
Digital Domain
Conversion to “human” useable
format which leads to
kinds provide us the data using electromagnetic energy right across the electromagnetic
spectrumix. Sensors exist in nearly every part of the electromagnetic spectrum – the security
industry generally uses IR, Thermal, Visible and in some cases spectrum in the x-ray and
radio waves segment – just for sensing and detection. Communications is another significant
technology tool.
Figure 3 The security industry has learned to use sensors in most of the electromagnetic spectrum
Figure 4 Listening for unusual sounds related to known
events
There are specific tasks that are best done by
a machine because these tasks are repetitive
and not very challenging. Human
weaknesses, especially those that deal with
emotion and memory give rise to poor data collection due to poor powers of observation and
distraction. But if a machine was to perform a mundane task it would do it reliably and
repetitively without “feeling” or “feeding”. These
machines produce “data” - harnessing "data" from
disparate technology managed events across
disparate systems at sites across the city, such as an
alarms data from Building Management System
(BMS), Intruder alarm systems, Access Control
Systems, CCTV systems, Fire systems, traffic
management systems, etc. would constitute the rich
Figure 5 The HUMAN needs help
data pool needed by the city to understand normality, abnormality, trends,
enable recognition of a confluence of events previously associated with that type of incident.
Data – Where does the security data come from?
Physical Security data is delivered from many systems including those not connected with
security and safety such as number of people, vehicles, trucks, logistics triggers, etc. Security
events such as disallowed access, biometric confirmation, face detection, voice match for
unusual sounds, etc could be data inputs to data pool to develop recognisable patterns which
could deliver credible confirmation on the level of risk when there is a recurrence of similar
events in previously documented patterns. Other areas where security would extract
information are visitors to a location – how many, when, with whom, to meet whom, etc.
Tools used to collect this data
Software is a good place to start. With software one can
Figure 6 Biometric data gathered
link to multiple systems over a network
and extract data of relevance into a
database which can act as an operational
tool and analytic source. Data from
sensors and subsystem components will
only grow. Gathering this data,
cataloguing it and making it useful to
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Biometric “data” Gathered
Face
Ears
Voice
Speech
Gait
Typing
Handwriting
Signature
Finger
Hand or Palm
Iris
Retina
Skin
Thermal pattern
Soft criteria
Medical (DNA/Dental
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Eyes, nose, mouth relationship
Feature of the ear cartilage
Speech timbre and spectrum
Standard phrases – mapped
Movement of body, arms, legs, feet
Keyboard click techniques mapped
Character forms, variation, pressure,
Character ,flourish, variations, image
Minutiae, size, relationships, type
Size, print, markings, relationships
Iris patters and unique points
Blood vessel formation on retina
Texture, pores, hair, relationships, col
Thermal map, fat glands, etc
Name, height, weight, ethnicity, gender, eye /skin colour, etc
“chemical composition of the human being”
detect live correlations and post event
forensic analysis and decision making, is important. This is a role a Physical Security
Information Management system is built for and fulfils very well.
System Automation and a PSIM
A vast amount of “sensory” data is sent to system management controllers. For example a
card reader sends information to an Access Control System, a licence plate camera reader to a
LPR system, video analytics and detection for example, of wrong direction of movement
detected by a camera, will be sent to the CCTV system, etc. This process indicates a siloed
approach to the management of the
valuable data, some of which is
discarded at the source because the
systems are built for a singular purpose
and not as a “data gathering” tool.
This is where a PSIM steps in. In a
siloed technology environment – a
Figure 7 Types of data gathered
PSIM performs the very critical
function – of collecting relevant data from all sub-systems on the network and enabling
security operatives to “analyse, access, respond and visualise” and be more effective in
implementing security. How else would a security operative make sense of all the data across
different systems at different locations and draw relevance and correlation to risk laden
events occurring at that moment somewhere else relevant to the event?
Why Analytics
Analytics is a natural progression from when there is a lot of something (data) and one has to
“distil” it down to essentials that make sense without throwing out the original data and using
the older data as a “knowledge” base.
A few examples of good detection technologies show why analytics is a very useful and
effective tool in the fight against crime especially when detection functions can be tailored to
meet the needs of a particular environment.
Figure 8 Different
Types of Detection
“Detection automation” > data
The Image 6
shows a few
mundane tasks
being carried out
by analytic
systems.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Cyclists
Skaters
People
Precise thermal temperature readouts of grid stacks, Rig status
People and status counts on rigs using all means – tags, physical counts, readers
biometrics etc
6. Automatic number plate recognition. etc
A video detection system detects “people” fall into categories like running, riding a bicycle,
skateboarding, stopping on a busy thoroughfare, number plate recognition for automated
logistics and visitor management, starting and leaving the premises suspiciously, going in the
wrong direction, etc. A human would not be effective in this situation because it is too
mundane and repetitive for a human to stay attentive and not get distracted.
Workflow is an important tool to create / document a security management plan. Workflow
examples show how tasks are identified to achieve an end result or objective. When these
tasks are known they can be “delegated” to human or to a “machine”
Figure 9 Ecosphere - AppVision
A PSIM is a convergence platform which pulls together data, command and control from
various relevant subsystems. The analysis of this data is managed and visualisation tools in
AppVision are every effective to present information to meet operational requirements.
PSIM Integration happens at
PSIM - Integration Platform
two levels;
1. At the hardware level
2. At the “data”
•
communication level.
At the hardware level the
•
PSIM can link to systems
and subsystems using
“client” like engagement.
As a technology integration platform
–
–
–
–
Delivers a “Unified” user interface
Agnostic to hardware/ brand/ function
Manages data, control & of disparate subsystems
A tool to implement cross functional operation
As a data integration platform
– Can collect “data” across subsystems to SQL (dbase)
• Transactional data (date&time, card number, event number, LPR number, etc)
• Operational data (operator log-ons, activity, operator/system responses, etc)
– Can deliver cross functional linkages (logic) to “bind” interdependencies
– Can automate and optimise reporting across functions
This method simply means
that AppVision acts as a client on the network to a device or directly connects to the system
or subsystem (like a controller).
On the “data” and communications
level AppVision is able to collect the
data required from the system or
subsystem and add it to its own SQL
database. Even panel databases are
imported and AppVision then acts as
Figure 11 PSIM "data"
integration
capability
Figure
10 Functionality
Convergence
the defacto head end of the system. Having the ability to communicate with the system or
subsystem – AppVision PSIM is able to manage all data “catalogues” and queries for analysis
and reporting.
The PSIM is the “missing
link” required to manage
disparate systems and the
converging data coming from
siloed technology groups
(Figure 11)
Today there are alarm panels
that act as Access Control and
do some BMS. Access Control systems that can do alarms and BMS and CCTV. CCTV
VMS’s that do all including access control, Fire safety, Automation, etc. Two industry
manufacturing leaders of IP video system have added Access Control and home automation
to their system functionality. The convergence trend is obvious. There is one limiting factor
in the configurations presented to the market where there is always a dominant technology
which remains the “master” that “enslaves” the other embedded technologies. This is no way
to run any business intelligence function because data is hidden in different product
functional layers and only associated to the master on event.
A PSIM changes all this. As explained in figure 11, a PSIM brings in the data and loads it
into its own SQL database. This enables better independent collection and management of
data from “sensor” subsystems on the “siloed” architecture of the existing solution.
What is a PSIM expected to do?
•
Correlate data from all connected systems
•
Facilitate the automatic or manual operational relationships between the security
systems.
•
Guide an operator through event resolution via Standard Operating Procedures and
workflows.
•
Increase operator efficiency and reduce operator-training requirements with a single
common operational interface.
•
Integrate the control and monitoring functions of multiple, disparate physical security
(access control, intrusion detection, video surveillance, Fire Alarm, asset tracking),
traffic Manager, computer aided dispatch (CAD) and other systems
•
•
single intuitive operator interface
Provide a consistent abstraction and representation such that users can operate and
monitor the integrated systems.
•
Data from devices and subsystems received
•
Analysed using reliable filtered reasoning to produce information.
•
Decisions are made based on this information (knowledge)
– Knowledge = information + experience
– Better decisions are made from “Knowledge”
– Knowledge has a “historical” component to it
•
Decisions (operational/tactical/strategic) generate “responses”
•
Which results in more data added to the knowledgebase.
•
Resulting in better predictive capability
•
New data arriving is “analysed” more effectively using “knowledge”
Integrate, Analyse & Visualise Data sources
VideoWall
Monitors
Flashing ligts
Hotspots
can be
created at
event
location
Speakers
Sounders
Microphones
Speakers
Keyboard
Mouse
Switches
Video “pop up”
Video Wall
Video “Multi”
Hot Spot
Transparent hot
spot can be
created on
device image in
live video – I/O
options delivered
PTZ Control
Relay Outputs
Mobiles
D-Phones
Hotspots can also link to all
the relevant information on
the event
-Location
-- footage
-- remote control
Hot Spot
-Location
-- footage
-- remote control
In the case of fire data –it is “predict or else”! Which means models like weather models are
used on the live data coming in to deliver “visualisation “that depicts what is happening on
the ground whilst creatively analysing the data providing opportunity to predict future trends.
Fire Threat Modelling
© Ollencio D’Souza 2014
Intensity
Size
C
Typical Fire Hot Spot
Hot Spot Clusters
Data collected centrally
Area
Temp C
Inten %
Size m2
Dir SWNE
Prox to centre
1
280
20%
50
Se
2Km
2
350
50%
80
NE
5Km
3
400
80%
100
EW
100Km
Predicts
direction
& Reach
Centre of Gravity of the fire
Charts direction & helps predict reach
Figure 12 Using data from "hot spot" measurements to predict direction and intensity
Getting all the data, analysing and or checking against set parameters to create credible
information is an important step. Creating a database with such “information” content
delivers benchmarks (trends) against which decisions can be made.
SafeCity – a definition
What makes a city safe? Is it crime? Is it poor hygiene? Or a poor sense of self worth
brought about by a dilapidated environment?
Defining a safe city in terms of crime would be difficult because crime emerges, gets
displaced, changes form and involves different people and different age groups each
requiring a different response.
Establishing Scenarios of Concern
•
Typical Scenarios in a city
– Hooliganism (intimidation of the public - “reclaim the city”)
– Misbehaviour – hurt to person or public
– Vandalism (+environmental – illegal dumping)
– Robberies
– Accidents (attending to them quickly so it does not erupt)
– Stealing (break and enter)?
• What would deter and prevent it happening – then prosecute
First and foremost is how does a city work?
How Important is WorkFlow?
• Workflow formalises the process used to achieve desired
outcomes
• A Workflow documents all functional blocks
– Monitor activity (e.g. with cameras)
– Manage Access (e.g. with door card/control)
– Detect “intrusion” (our classification of unwanted activity –
use sensors that “think” i.e. analytics)
How would a city manage incidents?
How would a city engage with its citizens, good or bad?
What kind of real time incident “data” does the city generate?
Are these tackled as they come?
Would there be a benefit in establishing trends and linking these historical facts (knowledge)
to resources required?
How would a city develop a
coordinated approach to the many
different scenarios presented to the
hierarchy to manage? Is it
deploying the latest technology
and plenty of it?
Or should the city be more
concerned about;
1. Getting data from existing systems
2. Creating an “evidence/trend” data bank which would enable live and forensic analysis
to be conducted easily to get to the reasons behind the incident?
3. Could the city become smarter and proactive and detecting and predicting issues?
4. Would the city be able to estimate resource costs to manage these incidents/events?
We can now examine possible solutions to these important questions by understanding what
tools and methods are available for the city to progress to being hardware agnostic and more
data centric.
Live and event data from every event
would reside on the legacy or system
that had the detector connected to it.
For example;
-
Access Control event lists
would reside on the system that
managed it – such as an access
control system or an intruder
system with access control
capability.
-
Intruder data would reside in the security panel memory or in the monitoring control
room.
-
CCTV would reside on storage servers located at a central point to which cameras
would be connected directly or via a network. Again data held in the CCTV system’s
data storage units (DVRS, NAS boxes, etc) is isolated to this system and possibly
location.
When faced with a “connectivity” problem there are “Standards” to fall back on.
Communication standards are used to determine how systems physically connect so they
can share data and command instructions.
The PSIM is a standards base communications/integration platform which knows that the
data coming from these system is unique and must be placed (catalogued/entered) into the
SQL database so live and used data from all systems will linked and presented to the
operator to “query” so that a consolidated report (live or post live) can be generated on a
live incident or forensic investigations are carried out on past stored incidents so
correlations can be established.
Estimating Costs of Managing City Safety
Workflow established to a great degree the operational activity required to meet operations
key performance indicators (KPI).
From each defined task there are choices to be made – should it be done by a human or a
machine?
For each human operator (trained or untrained) there would be a cost per hour.
If a machine is used to automate the task the resulting cost of the machine should be used
instead of the human operator cost.
A simple Process Mapping exercise using cost profiles for each task - is shown below;
Start
Monitor
Machine
Detection (Video
Analytics)
Sub-Process
Human Detection
Sub Process
Data Store
Programmed
Response
Check
yes
Report
no
The estimated cost of any process can be simulated – and options tested so optimised costs to
do the task can be determined.
Examples of typical man-machine task allocation using “workflow”
1. For access control systems;
a. Failure to authenticate at the door can be resolved by using two ID techniques,
the second one can be prompted for when the first one fails and linked into
another token such as an SMS to the person’s phone giving him a pin to
confirm his ID.
2. CCTV footage of the incident is a “verification” process which when done by a
human cold incur significant costs to keep one person on the job 24x7. So a biometric
(e.g. face or finger print) recognition system could be used .
3. What appears on the operator console to enable proper decisions could be – record of
person visible (CCTV) , call mobile automatically, initiate response automatically, etc
Automating security is easy when all the tasks can be identified so they can be given to the
appropriate operative – human or machine.
Physical Security Information Management Solution
The city is a complex morphing environment and requires an operating environment that
“collects” the latest data, catalogues it (i.e. puts it into a database) and then enables live and
forensic information queries to it to quickly deliver actionable intelligence and trend analysis.
We shall review what is possible with a PSIM to enhance the city operations to perform more
effectively.
Typical City Scenarios – Work Flow
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Parks: Unruly behaviour, fights, accidents
CBD: Vandalsim, robberies, disruption
Petrol Station: “Drive Off”
Retail Store “High value item Theft”
Retail: Flow through for day
Bank: “Customer Service Levels”
Roads: “Illegal Parkng”
Museum: Stealing display items
Logistics: Stop Consignment missing
Healthcare: Enforcing visiting hours
Healthcare: Patient wandering
CBD Entry/Exit: Tailgating
Perimeter security: Confirm breach
Enterprise Level
&
Linked scenarios
Automation helps
Improves effectiveness
Consistency
Reliability
“logical linkage”
Understanding typical scenarios provide security management to simulate, prepare and test
out potential responses to any “combination” of data from disparate systems.
Examples;
1. Audio and video analysis detects loud sounds (audio) and groups gathering (video).
2. These bits of data automatically initiate a “message” to the area – to disperse.
3. If the status does not change in set time, initiate a “deterrent” such as a ranger patrol
vehicle.
4. If the status still persists – the call automatically goes to the police response team for
law enforcement action.
It can be seen from this WORKFLOW that the process has been automated to a point basic
everyday events would not take up the operator time, could be verified either by technology
or law enforcement – so that the risks are mitigated at that location.
What is PSIM ?
• PSIM = Physical Security Integration Management
• PSIM is the most open method of unifying different technologies and brands for use
in security command & control rooms
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
System Integration – all security and BMS systems
GUI mapping and asset geolocalisation
Real time alerts
Rapid responses - Common Operating Procedures
Incident log and reporting
Figure 13 USER INTERFACE (HMI)
A typical legacy system user interface configuration would be multiple monitors, multiple
keyboards, multi points of system management control.
The difficulty in this mix is that the operator is kept very busy moving from one machine user
interface (HMI) to another – leaving the key operational task unsatisfactorily actioned.
The right hand side of Figure 13 shows how all system data and operational control is pulled
into one user interface making it simpler and less taxing for a human to operate – providing
credible / actionable information via this one HMI (human machine interface)
AppVision is a PSIM with many different interfaces already developed a provided free of
cost with the basic product. This allows
the security hierarchy to plan their
workflow around the equipment they
have and integrate all the data from these
legacy or new systems into the global
command and control user interface.
Some of our driver integrations include
CCTV / Video Surveillance
Avigilon, Axis, Bosch, Camtrace, DM,
Honeywell, Intellex, Sensormatic
Genetec, Geutebrück, GeoVision, Hikvision, JVC,
Lilin, Milestone, Onssi, Mobotix,Mobotix
Panasonic, Nice, Samsung, Sony, VDG, Vicon
Honeywell Active Alert, Foxstream, UDP, …..
Intrusion and Fire Detection Systems
Honeywell Galaxy, Ziton
ARD Isoview,
GE/ ARITECH CD150 & Master …,
Bosch DS7400, D6600, UTC FP2000, Erobus, …,
C+K / APLEX, 3GS, Siemens Sintony & Sipass
ELKRON MB 60/500, MP200 …,
TELEM Belledonne,
ATSE, DEF, ESSER,
Tecnoalarm DIALOG 128
cctv systems can be interfaced very easily
Other
TOA, Commend, Zenitel Stentofon
ASCII, KNX, TCP / IP, Modbus,
Inter server, SNMP, OPC
SCADA, Building Automation and Control
EIB/KNX, Merlin Gerin, Honeywell,
Johnson Controls, MODBUS / JBUS master or
slave (Modicon, April, ...),
UNITELWAY, ETHWAY, FIPWAY
Telemechanics, SINEC-H1, SINEC-L2,
3964R Siemens, SYSMAC-WAY (Omron),
MELSEC (Mitsubishi), MEWNET (Matsushita),
DF1 (Allen Bradley), SUCOMA (KlocknerMoeller), SOFBUS (Sofrel)
Access Control
ARD, ATS Master, ASSA ARX
ASICE, Cardax (Gallagher), DDS, I2E
GE SECUREPERFECT & GE Facility Commander
Maxxess, NEDAP AEOS, SYTEL
Siemens, Synchronic, TDSI, Winpak
Many others
AppVision is a gateway for external access control software
to become a multi protocol graphic interface. Contact us for details.
The Future
The world of the “Internet of Things” is quite similar to what the security industry has been
doing for years only on a much wider scale and
not just security sensing.
Impact: “Networked” (IoT) Tech
Security devices have moved to being IP
devices that reside and communicate over an IP
•
•
Ethernet network. The scope will widen and
the “exclusivity” of the “sensor” technology
•
IOT – “Internet of things”
What is it to the security industry?
– Networked (IP) devices
(increased mobility)
– New unique “sensor” devices
– New ways to “visualise”
Industry will require agility
– To absorb the technology
– To find new ways to operate
•
•
•
Will develop into generic “sensors” for
public to use
Will deliver much needed status of
various issues such as traffic, weather,
other threats, etc. directly via public
access.
Links to multiple “scenarios” will make
this information very useful e.g. “is it
safe in the city” – Ans – Safety level 3 –
too crowded, temperature high, traffic
slow, Accident on main street, exit only
out of side street. Walking difficult.
Cycling impossible. Do not take children
delivered by the security industry is expected become ubiquitous along with energy, home
automation, building automation, etc.
Business Intelligence
Many businesses are ensuring that the data they collect and the information they analyse
should deliver better insights into their operational and commercial status.
“Business” Intelligence (BI)
• Data driven insights
–
–
–
–
What happened
Why & how did it happen
What is happening
What will happen (predictive – is it in line with threat
assessment?)
• What data is generated
– By physical security systems
– By other systems on site – that have an influence on security
– How can this data be used to improve BI
The term “data driven insights” is what a PSIM would do for security objectives.
Understanding what happened, why, how and what is happening is past present of the event.
But the real benefits of this “data driven” strategy is what sill or a happen – which is
predictive in nature and could reduce costs and PR trauma of an organisation by pre-empting
potential occurrence of risk laden events.
Examples of the usage of everyday data are shown below;
Example 1: Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway
A war memorial frequented by visitors and people who use it as a thoroughfare to reach the
railway station or Bray’s Bay another park on the river bank.
Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway - People
Traffic Count Analysis 2014
100000
80000
60000
40000
20000
0
0:Going to Hospital
5:Speed-ing count
1:Going to Rhodes
6:EC-towards
3:Car Park Enter
7:EC- Away from
4:Car Park Exit Count
8:Centre Piece
Services delivered –
a) A narration service at every commemorative “station” recreating each operational
position on the Kokoda Campaign trail in Papua New Guinea (WWII).
b) Security from vandals and miscreants for park and BBQ area
c) Safety of many school children and elderly who visit the education centre located on
the same site where the stories are told via a multimedia presentation
d) Over 5 large events per year when commemorative services for over one thousand
people are held.
Justifying and proving patronage, understanding usage and maintenance requirements,
mapping behaviour of visitors, etc – all important to the “business” manages of the site.
What has been depicted in the graphs above – are different entrances and areas in the war
memorial and their “occupancy” night and day showing usage and general “access” points to
the site allowing a deeper understanding of the people and vehicle traffic through the
memorial.
Note: Existing physical security hardware was used to generate data which was analysed to
extract “business intelligence” which helps the owners plan financially (cost of maintenance),
operationally (attendance of staff during high traffic periods).
Example 2:
The shopping centre wanted to know which were the peak hours, entrances used, which
direction people travelled and general incident management across all areas of this large
campus.
The existing security investment was used for this exercise. The results brought out some
key aspects – of traffic flow through the complex, how it affected business at each precinct
such as food court and shopping etc, management of incidents including failure of building
automation such as air-conditioning and other devices.
AppVision:
The PSIM examples and other 3500 locations where it has been deployed indicate that the
data driven insight that a PSIM provides is quite significant – opening up opportunities to;
1. Response to incidents is quicker, more decisively, better informed and it is a more
effective operation.
2. The system is agnostic to hardware which allows the security manager or owner to
change hardware at will and still retain the common interface with functionality
specifically tailored for the site & business.
3. Reporting is automated – so management has a window into what is happening at site
and what possibly could happen if the analysis provides insight into issues of concern.
Figure 14 Shows overall operational status as reported by PSIM AppVision
Automated reports from data in database
“The data driven management tool set delivered by AppVision not only provides automated “report
generation” but a command, control and data visualisation capability bringing together data from all
the disparate systems connected to the AppVision PSIM”
Surveillance Live
& Recorded
Video Analysis
Video/Audio over
Networks
Safe Lock
Management
Audio
Record/ Archive
Access Control
Biometrics
Mass Storage
The AppVision ecosphere
Time and
Attendance
Building Control
Input – Ouput
relays
SMS
Perimeter Intrusion
Detection
GPS Tracking
Intruder Alarms
ATM Monitoring
Parking
Management
Fire Alarms
Prysm© 2012
References:








Budaraju, D. Performance of Control Room Operators in Alarm Management, 2011
Vishton Prof. P, Understanding the Secrets of Human Perception, The Great Courses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRMMzY4kdlk
D’Souza Ollencio, The Importance of Process Mapping in the Physical Security Industry especially before system
integration, 2013
Damanjovski Vlado, CCTV (best selling book on CCTV)
AVInaptic Digital Video measurement and analysis software
VisualParadigm – business process modelling, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXImBt_HnNo
D’Souza Ollencio, Video Analytics, Make it work for you! – 2014 April
CIO Insight, http://www.cioinsight.com/it-strategy/big-data/slideshows/why-cios-need-to-use-predictivemetrics.html/?kc=CIOMINUTE04022014STR1TOC&dni=115865749&rni=22575302#sthash.d9RNQJd2.dpuf
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1260329/Worlds-largest-cities-morphing-overcrowded-megaregions-defined-poverty-pollution-UN-report-warns.html
http://pmcruz.com/information-visualization/the-morphing-city
i
Knowledge
Decision making heirarchy
iv
BI concepts
v
Ademco codes
vi
Card Tokens developed from magnetic stripes to programmable smart chips with much higher capacities
vii
CCTV storage requirements
viii
Internet protocol short for TCP/IP networks
ix
Electromagnetic spectrum
ii
iii

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Petra Warman: Crime prevention through Environmental Design

VIEWMONT MALL Scranton, PA

Cops are crunching data to stop baddies before they strike

WESTGATE VILLAGE

Volume 11, Issue 2 June-December 2012