Kevin Hook, a Metropolitan Police Designing Out Crime Officer (DOCO), was presented with the ATLAS Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of over a decade of service .
Kevin, pictured left, began in September 2003 with the Met, serving on the front line for eight years before going into crime prevention. He became a Crime Prevention Officer in 2011, then as a Crime Prevention Design Advisor in 2012, and joining the newly established Met DOCO team in September 2012, as one of its foundational members.
In his 13-year career in Designing Out Crime, Kevin delivered a volume and quality of work that speaks for itself, say police. He issued Secured by Design (SBD) certification for 17,896 residential units and over 712,000 square metres of commercial space. In addition, he laid groundwork of developments on track to meet SBD certification, including 25,597 residential units and over 1.2 million square metres of commercial and retail space.
His influence goes far beyond certification. Kevin completed over 780 planning responses, conducted 116 Counter Terrorism Security Adviser (CTSA) referrals, and carried out 155 Environmental Visual Audits (EVAs), generating more than 465,000 words of observations and recommendations to shape safer, more secure environments. Kevin was among the first DOCOs in London to secure blanket SBD planning conditions, not only for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets where he was lead DOCO, but potentially the first of its kind in the country. This work laid the groundwork for embedding crime prevention principles at the earliest stages of development.
His leadership and excellence in the role were formally recognised in 2023 when he received the Bob Knights DOCO of the Year Award.
Kevin’s success has been underpinned by exceptional time management, an in-depth understanding of Secured by Design principles, persuasive negotiation skills and a strong commitment to collaborative working with local authorities and partners. The result has been a demonstrable reduction in crime, anti-social behaviour and policing demand in the areas he has supported. Now promoted to sergeant, Kevin has made the decision to return to frontline policing, but leaves behind a legacy in the field of crime prevention.
Kevin said: “I have been privileged to work in one of the most important and yet internally underrated areas of policing, and it was with great reluctance that I have moved on.
“Dealing with architects, developers and local planning teams, the DOCOs ensure that a proactive security and safety strategy is in place for all new build and many proposed refurbishment developments pre-planning. In doing so, they are raising the standards of the built environment by enhancing security measures, resulting in a better quality of living and safer working environment by reducing crime and the fear of crime held by the public.
“By ensuring success is shared through social media and advertising increases trust in the police service at a time when it is low. With so many other strands also covered including Park Mark, Places of Worship, Sanctuary Scheme and Op Bridger, as well as supporting local policing teams with EVAs, this is an area which also generates funding through various streams assisting with the costs of modern day policing further still.
“I would like to thank all of my colleagues both past and present who I have worked with in what is a very challenging, but also a very rewarding role.”
At Secured by Design’s ATLAS training event, Police Crime Prevention Initiatives CEO Guy Ferguson, pictured right, and South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Lauren Poultney, as head of profession for police Designing Out Crime Officers, presented Kevin with a certificate.
