Industry News
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 civilian 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 prevention
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
recommendations 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
8
through movement. The purpose
of the guidance is to create a built
environment 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 projects 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-
improvement 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 responsibilities 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 environment. “Designing to
Secured by Design standards will be
the norm unless it can be demonstrated
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 contribute to good
quality of life by ensuring they are safe
and inclusive, well planned, constructed
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 Approved 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 security and community
safety benefits of including SBD in their
projects. This involves sharing good
practice and available evidence, such as
crime reductions of up to 87% on new
residential developments.
The DOCOs report that architects
and developers in Northern Ireland are
becoming increasingly 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
inspections, site managers and builders
in general say that SBD developments
are built to a far higher standard and
quality than those in the private sector.
Backdrop of The Troubles
The vast majority of developments
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 working for the
greater good wherever and whenever
regeneration opportunities 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
generations.
MAR/APR 2020
locksmithjournal.co.uk
Issue Takeover
Magazine Sponsor