Even landscape plantings and pavement designs can "develop a sense of territorial control while potential offenders, perceiving this control, are discouraged" (Otterstatter 2008). A well-maintained area can create a sense that the potential criminal is being 'watched' and that the property is not friendly to criminal activity. Visible monitoring devices, such as 'blue lights' on college campuses, which enable people who are assaulted to quickly summon the police, and the presence of electronic visual monitoring devices in open areas and in public places such as shopping malls can also decrease crime. Even if officers can not be present at every lonely corner, or even if these devices cannot be monitored 24/7, the visual reminder that some form of watchfulness is likely can be a criminal deterrent. So can what CPTED criminologists call "natural access control," or "a design concept directed primarily at decreasing crime opportunity by denying access to crime targets" such as limiting the creation of alleyways between buildings, for example, and brightly lighting as many places as possible where crimes may be committed (Otterstatter 2008). The CPTED policy of "target hardening," or maintaining window locks, dead bolts for doors, and visible interior door hinges simply makes it more difficult for individuals to commit crimes and thus act as deterrents. It is better and more cost effective to prevent rather than prosecute crime.

Of course, the ideal is to combine such environmental reforms with improved monitoring, and the active surveillance of identified potential or real criminals. But when this...

The mere presence of a law enforcement officer can deter crime, but in the absence of this possibility, knowing that one could easily be summoned by an alarm or that one could be watching via a camera or be watching hidden away, clearly monitoring an open space is the next best thing.
Finally, given the presence of cell phones and other monitoring devices in modern life, a final resource to recruit is the public. Encouraging the public to be vigilant and report crime quickly and educating members of the public as to what to watch for, what to report, and how to use their personal technology for the public good is another important facet of modernizing every level of the modern police force. The public is not a paid member of the force, but everyone can benefit by increased public knowledge and reporting of crimes. The public also has valuable crime-prevention technology at its fingertips in the form of cell phones -- as well as its eyes and ears.

Works Cited

O'Connor, T. (7 Aug 2007). "Informants, surveillance, and undercover operations."

MegaLinks in Criminal Justice. Retrieved 6 Jun 2008 at http://www.apsu.edu/oconnort/3220/3220lect02c.htm

Otterstatter, Robert (6 Jun 2008). "CPTED Crime Prevention." CPTED Watch

Retrieved 6 Jun 2008 at http://www.cpted-watch.com