U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

CRIME PREVENTION THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN: THE TALLAHASSEE MODEL

NCJ Number
145166
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 60 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1993) Pages: 130-133
Author(s)
M L Tucker; B Starnes
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes Tallahassee's (Florida) strategy of using concepts of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) in all major new construction in the city.
Abstract
CPTED emphasizes the natural surveillance of access points to buildings. Such design fosters a perception of risk to would-be offenders. This is achieved by locating access points to the property in a way that uses the natural environment to help in surveillance. In 1992, the Tallahassee Police Department hired a full-time crime prevention specialist to serve on the city/county Planning Commission's Technical Coordination Committee. The committee reviews all building and site plans for countywide construction, except single-family residential homes. The crime prevention officer's role is to persuade other committee members that the application of CPTED principles in building design will save the developer money over the long-term and produce a safer environment. The goal of the police department is to have CPTED concepts and applications codified into the formal planning process. CPTED success stories are presented for a municipal golf course and a downtown park.