Designing out crime

Anyone who has ever been burgled knows what a nightmare it is to lose treasured possessions and – maybe even worse – to feel that their home is no longer a safe place. I know that it left me feeling far more insecure than I’d have anticipated. So this case study, on how good design of housing developments can reduce crime levels, caught my eye immediately.

Based on research by two University of Huddersfield researchers, Professor Rachel Armitage and Dr. Leanne Monchuk, the case study shows how the research findings were of practical use to the police, local councils and legislators.

Write a compelling problem statement

The problem statement is the foundation on which an impact case study is built. If it is well written, it will intrigue the reader enough to want to know how the issue was solved and what positive changes have resulted.

Here the authors start well by stating that a successful crime prevention initiative, developed by police forces in the south of England, had failed to be extended to the rest of the country because it lacked the independent supporting evidence needed to get it more widely funded.

Called Secured by Design, the scheme recommends design features to architects and planners that reduce the incidence of crime in new housing developments. These include not using high fences (which provide intruders with cover) and avoiding footpaths that run behind properties (which can help an intruder legitimise their presence).

Because the initiative was ‘unproven’ thousands of houses were being built that were more likely to be targeted by criminals than was necessary.

Make the narrative easy to follow

A REF assessor has to read dozens (if not hundreds) of case studies. In the same way your school teachers said your exam marks could be negatively affected by poor handwriting, I have no doubt that a case study that is difficult to understand will perform less well than one that is written clearly – even if the impacts described are of similar reach and significance.

The structure of the impact case study template encourages a logical flow. But within the sections it is important to provide context and join the story up so that the reader has no trouble understanding what happened when and why. I always recommend that writers use language that can be understood by an educated lay person. Sometimes this involves defining terms and ideas that seem obvious to the author, but could confuse a non-expert.

In this case, the description of the research and findings takes the reader on a journey. Initially the study investigated if the Secured by Design initiative worked. The research showed that houses built using the guidelines experienced 55% less crime than those that did not. Next the researchers widened the study beyond the Secured by Design recommendations and considered the relative impact of a larger set of 50 different design features. They found that being on a corner plot increased crime by 18%, and being on a through road, rather than in a cul-de-sac, increased it by 93%. This provided evidence for risky features to be ‘designed out’ as well as positive ones to be designed in.

Police Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCOs) advise planners on proposed housing developments, and Armitage and Monchuk were asked to investigate if the DOCOs applied the design principles in a consistent way. They did not, so the findings were incorporated into a new DOCO training scheme.

To my mind, the impact narrative shows very convincingly how the research helped develop the original ‘best practice’ created by the police and took it to a new level.

Take control of making impact happen

The impacts described are impressive. For instance, we learn that there were 500,000 homes built to the Secured by Design standard between 2013 and 2017, across the UK.

One thing that stands out for me is the way Prof. Armitage took control of ensuring the evidence was heard. The implementation of the recommendations was threatened by a government initiative to reduce ‘red tape’, so she took steps to ensure it moved forward. A letter to The Times that she coordinated, signed by 69 leading national and international agencies, warned of the link between deregulation and higher crime rates. It provided the impetus for further debate in parliament and eventually, Secured by Design was the only piece of new Building Regulation to be passed that year.

All impact types are important

A broad range of beneficiary and impact types is very desirable, as it’s a hallmark of strong Reach – one of the REF assessment criteria. In addition to the policy impact, we also read about a crime prevention handbook that was handed out to members of the public. And, in the final paragraph of their impact narrative, the authors reveal that the research directly informed the allocation of £25m of Home Office funds.

This case study shows how research that might, at first glance, look fairly run of the mill, can lead to very impressive impacts. It earned a well-deserved 4* rating.