Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) and the New South Wales crime risk assessment guidelines: A critical review

Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) guidelines have been adopted in Australia and internationally. In 2001 CPTED guidelines were introduced in New South Wales (NSW). Since their introduction there has been little discussion or scholarly analysis of these guidelines. This article seeks to address this gap through a critical analysis of the NSW guidelines and related crime risk assessment reports. On the basis of this analysis, we argue that the guidelines provide limited direction for the compilation of crime risk assessment reports and little guidance to local authorities (that is councils) assessing development applications. The existing guidelines are based on four CPTED concepts, which limits assessment of crime risks and the lack of diagrams, photos or illustrations reduces their overall utility. While the introduction of the guidelines triggered an increased focus on ways to design out crime, our research suggests the guidelines require revision. Guidelines from other Australian jurisdictions (such as Victoria) provide a potential model for how the NSW guidelines could be improved.