In our July 2001 print edition we looked at how security consultants are hailing the concept of ?designing out crime?. Here we see how the designers are meeting security professionals half way, thanks to the Designing out Crime team at the Design Council.
Security managers – have you ever wished for a secure place to leave your handbag? OK, so perhaps not all of you personally, but certainly plenty of your staff and customers have. For saying that the six ?hot products? most stolen are cash, credit cards, official documents, mobile phones, bags and purses and jewellery, it?s about time the people who design things like handbags do their bit to make them more difficult to steal. Hence initiatives such as In The Bag, a CD-ROM backed by the Design Council and the Home Office. Designers rarely think of crime prevention, it admits, yet astute design can reduce crime without harming (say) the ambience of a pub or restaurant. Designers at the Central St Martins College of Art and Design came up with furniture such as the chair with two grooves for a handbag-owner to slot their bag in; when sitting, their legs in contact with the bag complete a ?lock?. It?s discreet, yet is enough to deter the bag-thief. Other security-friendly items include a long and narrow shoulder bag (to make ?dipping? more difficult) made of slash-proof material; an airbag for a laptop, triggered by a snatch attempt; and a cube-shaped bag with straps and apparent zips on all sides, yet only one zip works. In the words of Dr Louise gamman, Project Research Director at St Martins, the project is not about changing people but encouraging smart, beautiful and anti-crime products onto the market.
In The Bag is a free CD-ROM on how to design things to be more crime-resistant. It includes the lecture Less Crime, by Design by Dr. Paul Ekblom of the Home Office. For a copy, write to Information Office, Home Office Crime Reduction College, Easingwold, York YO61 3EG or e-mail [email protected]. Contact: Design Council, 020 7420 5200.
