14 | APRIL 2020
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
SAFER AND STRONGER COMMUNITIES IN NORTHERN IRELAND
Thousands of buildings in Belfast and other cities and towns across Northern Ireland have had crime
prevention measures and techniques built in at the initial concept and design stage to deter and
reduce crime. These buildings include houses, apartments, hospitals, schools, universities and other
places, such as parks. This work is being carried out by District and Headquarters-based Designing
Out Crime Officers (DOCOs) led by Chris Sloan, who is the Strategic Lead for Crime Prevention with
the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). The work that is being carried out today amid hopes
that regeneration will prove to be an important route to help achieve safer and stronger communities.
The role of Designing
Out Crime Officers
It is the role of these civil-
ian DOCO staff to work with
architects, landscape designers,
builders and registered housing
associations to ensure that levels
of security meet the requirements
set by Secured by Design (SBD),
the national police crime pre-
vention initiative, which works
alongside Police Services around
the UK.
Their reference is SBD’s range
of authoritative Design Guides
for the design, building and
construction industry as well as
police forces. The Guides cover
a range of building sectors such
as residential, education, health,
transport and commercial. For
example, SBD’s residential Guide
is called Homes 2019.
Regularly updated to keep
pace with changing patterns of
criminal behaviour and advances
in design and new technology,
the Guides detail police recom-
mendations on the standards of
physical security, such as robust
doors, windows and locks as
well as guidance on development
layout and landscaping, such as
maximising natural surveillance,
creating defensible space and
minimising excessive through
movement. The purpose of the
guidance is to create a built envi-
ronment where crime is reduced
and people feel safe.
DOCOs Nicola Geddis and
Shireen Fisher from PSNI Crime
Prevention Headquarters Unit,
have agreed to share their pro-
jects and experiences of working
in a crime prevention role in
Northern Ireland. Three different
views of Belfast are shown in this
feature.
How SBD works in NI
Since April 2008, Registered
Housing Associations seeking
to undertake new build, major
rehabilitation and re-improve-
ment schemes – using Housing
Association Grant (HAG) funding
– are required to achieve SBD’s
Award for physical security and
layout and landscaping. HAG
funding is when a payment is
made to acquire land or buildings
and to build, convert or improve
housing for rent.
Achieving the SBD standard is
a requirement of the Department
for Communities (DfC), which
took over the roles and responsi-
bilities of the former Department
for Social Development (DSD) in
May 2016.
The DfC says the purpose is to
reduce the opportunity for crime
and fear of crime, and to create
a safer and more secure envi-
ronment. “Designing to Secured
by Design standards will be the
norm unless it can be demon-
strated that full compliance with
these standards would not be
commercially viable.”
DfC adds: “All schemes should
be designed to be sensitive to
their environment and con-
tribute to good quality of life
by ensuring they are safe and
inclusive, well planned, con-
structed and maintained, and
offer equality of opportunity
and services to all.”
The DOCOs will not sign off
on SBD developments until they
have been inspected and assessed
as meeting the standards in
accordance with SBD guidelines.
That’s a massive incentive for
housing associations to achieve
the SBD Award and for builders
to comply with SBD requirements
– a situation that doesn’t happen
elsewhere in the UK.
The art of persuasion
Unlike in England and Wales
where SBD is referenced in the
planning process and in Ap-
proved Document Q, and the
Building Standards in Scotland,
there is no such equivalent in
Northern Ireland.
This means DOCOs use their
specialist skills to encourage and
persuade architects, designers and
developers to understand the secu-
rity and community safety benefits
of including SBD in their projects.
This involves sharing good prac-
tice and available evidence, such
as crime reductions of up to 87%
on new residential developments.
The DOCOs report that archi-
tects and developers in Northern
Ireland are becoming increas-
ingly interested in SBD. Typical
queries coming through from
architects include how to make
drawing board plans or buildings
already under construction SBD
compliant. In addition, whenever
DOCOs undertake site inspec-
tions, site managers and builders
in general say that SBD devel-
opments are built to a far higher
standard and quality than those
in the private sector.
Backdrop of The
Troubles
The vast majority of develop-
ments incorporating SBD crime
prevention measures have been
introduced into Northern Ireland
following the 30-year period of
The Troubles, which culminated
in the Good Friday Agreement in
1998 – nine years after SBD was
launched.
PSNI is committed to being fair
to all communities and to work-
ing for the greater good wherever
and whenever regeneration op-
portunities arise. Many of these
developments the DOCOs have
worked on have been in socially
deprived areas and have been
proven to have changed lives for
the better with the potential to
continue do so for future gener-
ations.