More homes and buildings have been designed to prevent crime in West Yorkshire than anywhere in the UK outside London according to new figures.
In excess of 10,000 properties in West Yorkshire have now been given Secured by Design (SBD) status by West Yorkshire Police after being designed and built with the assistance of the force’s Architectural Liaison Officers.
The buildings, which include award winning multi-million pound health centres, housing estates, car parks and more would form a small working town in terms of mixture and size if they were together in one place.
The success comes with the completion of a new housing estate in Allerton, Bradford, which has been designed in partnership between the Force, Manningham Housing Association and builders Strata homes and means there are now 10,019 SBD buildings in the county.
It has been welcomed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) who believe West Yorkshire Police is one of the countryโs most successful Forces at working in partnership to implement Secured By Design principles in buildings.
The Force currently has eight architectural liaison officers who work across all districts with developers and local authorities to help design new buildings at the planning stage to ensure they are as resistant to crime as possible.
Notable projects carried out within the Architectural Liaison team have included a £900-million scheme to design out crime at Primary Care Trust Centres and schools in Bradford and which won a Secured By Design Innovation Award earlier this year.
Others include the multi million pound Enhanced Primary Care Trust Centres in East Leeds and Lower Wortley which were all designed with designing out crime in mind.
Architectural Liaison Officers also took part in a project to improve Mallard Court in Low Grange in Bradford to help reduce crime levels.
While the existing buildings could not be upgraded to full SBD status, the improvements which addressed lighting, landscaping, natural surveillance and introduced private space were credited by helping to reduce burglary by 90 per cent in 12 months following the completion of work in 2006.
Meanwhile, following its success at implementing Secured By Design, the Force is to hold a major conference to promote the subject this September at the Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford on September 12th.
Delegates from across the County are being invited to attend the briefing to listen to the latest advice and best practice on the subject of designing out crime from national experts.
Michael Brooke, Force Architectural Liaison Officer for West Yorkshire Police, said: "We are absolutely delighted to have become the first area outside of London to have passed the 10,000 mark for SBD buildings.
โThis demonstrates both the enthusiasm of the Force and our partners for adopting these principles and working together to try ensure the risk of crime in new buildings is minimised.โ
Craig Houston, Construction Director for Strata Construction, added:
โWe have been pleased to work with West Yorkshire Police on this project to ensure the new estate has been built to the highest security standards. โSecured By Design is an important factor for us, from the earliest stages
of planning a building, to make sure the residents who eventually move
in have the best possible start in their new homes.
Ruby Bhatti ,Chair of Manningham Housing Association. said: "Providing a real quality of life for our tenants is a priority for us which is why we have been pleased to work with our partners in West Yorkshire and Strata to build security into these new homes right from the planning stage.
"We hope our tenants enjoy many secure and happy years within them."
Mr Brooke, meanwhile, said work was now underway to finalise details for the West Yorkshire Police Designing Out Crime Conference in September.
โWe hope that as many delegates as possible will come to the conference in September to hear more about SBD and designing out crime, to share best practice and hopefully help encourage the use of these important principles. โSecured by Design is a tool to reduce crime and it is a tool that works,โ he added.
Background:
Secured By Design is an awards scheme run by the Association of Chief Police Officers which encourages developers to โdesign out crimeโ in new buildings at the planning stage.
For a home to receive a Secured By Design certificate it must reach the criteria in two sections:
Part A: Design and Layout
This section includes the layout of a property and its grounds, lighting, access, secure car parking and other aspects relating to its external design, location and its surroundings.
Part B: Physical Security
To comply with part B of the Secured by Design certificate a building has to meet standards for the physical security it offers for the householders including the type of doors, windows and locks used and more.
