Crime Prevention Ottawa and police are advocating environmental design as a strategy to curb crimes such as bike theft – a common occurrence in Centretown.
“Crime prevention through environmental design involves understanding the relationship between physical design and levels of criminal activity, and then manipulating design to reduce the incidence of crime,” says a Crime Prevention Ottawa report.
The report explains that people often make decisions to commit crime based on whether they think they will be caught. Therefore, dark and secluded places attract crime.
The most recent Ottawa Police Service crime statistics show that residents of Somerset Ward are, on average, 18 per cent more concerned about crimes such as vandalism, break and enter, theft from vehicles, bicycle theft and drug deals than residents in other wards.
To help prevent these crimes, police are auditing the design of structures in the city and Crime Prevention Ottawa is educating citizens about altering their homes and businesses to deter crime.
“I always recommend to the architects or the planners to move the bicycle racks to a more pedestrian-traveled area so that anybody who wants to steal these bikes risks being seen by others,” says Sgt. Claude Parent, of the Ottawa Police Service’s Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Unit.
“You see it at schools also, where they take the bicycle racks and they put them near the garbage dumps to put the bikes out of the way,” Parent says. “But you should actually put those bicycle racks closer to the window.”
Ottawa’s city hall has bike racks located in front of a large window so thieves risk being seen by people both outside and inside the building.
Alayne McGregor, secretary of Citizens for Safe Cycling, says cyclists are worried about how the city is currently converting traditional parking meters to electronic kiosks.
“Parking meters were some of the best places to park your bike,” McGregor says. “They were very visible and made it more difficult for thieves to steal.”
Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes says the city should have more bike parking cages. “There are some office buildings that have their own bike cages, but we could do with more of those on the streets,” she says.
Holmes also says office buildings should have bike locks inside parking garages so employees are not forced to leave their bikes on the streets.
In addition to preventing bike theft, Parent says changes to structural design can help prevent crimes like break and enter.
Parent recommends using fences and signs to establish ownership of property, trimming vegetation and having proper lighting to ensure good natural surveillance.
Crime Prevention Ottawa is hosting a conference on Oct. 26 to educate people about using design to prevent crime.
Nancy Worsfold, executive director of Crime Prevention Ottawa, says the conference will offer different sessions geared towards community members.
In addition to crime-fighting design changes, Worsfold says Crime Prevention Ottawa advocates maximizing the use of crime prevention services in neighbourhoods.