Breaking the cycle: fundamentals of crime-proofing design

Wootton, AB; Cooper, R; Davey, CL; Press, M

Abstract

If a product or service can readily be used as a tool by criminals to victimize others or increases the vulnerability of its users to certain crimes, then it is likely to have declining sales in the marketplace. Crime-resistant design of products and services thus benefits industries and businesses as well as consumers. In "design-centered solutions," designers are using their skills and knowledge of criminal behavior to develop products that are not easily converted to tools and targets of crime. The agenda for designers is expanding to encompass consideration of how the design of a product or service may facilitate or impede crime related to the product's use. This chapter presents four fundamentals of "design against crime:" consult, develop, test, and deliver. Consulting involves conversations with a wide variety of stakeholders who can provide crime-related information that informs product-development strategy and practice. The development phase involves research that yields knowledge of potential crime risks and problems associated with the product, environment, or service being designed. Testing involves the validation of all design solutions in terms of achieving the intended crime prevention measures of the design. The final stage, delivering the product/service, consists of marketing the crime-resistant design features of the product/service. The remaining sections of the chapter discuss models of criminal causality and the crime life-cycle model so as to provide a knowledge base of criminogenic factors and criminal behavior that should be taken into account in designing products/services.

Citation

Wootton, A., Cooper, R., Davey, C., & Press, M. (2005). Breaking the cycle: fundamentals of crime-proofing design. In R. Clarke, & G. Newman (Eds.), Designing out crime from products and systems (179-202). Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press

• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2005
• Deposit Date: Jan 28, 2009
• Pages: 179-202
• Book Title: Designing out crime from products and systems
• ISBN: 1881798585
• Publisher URL: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=232977