Fear of crime can be disabling to individuals and communities. It affects people’s health and wellbeing, can prevent people from carrying out their day to day activities, and can drain trust and cohesion from communities. It is often caused by poorly lit areas, with limited sightlines and ‘hiding spots’. These build up fear of crime and anti-social behaviour, but also poor signage and lack of maintenance can contribute to reduced feelings of safety. Often the issue isn’t about reducing crime itself, but making people feel safer.
The issues preventing residents from feeling safe in their area should be identified and designed out of public spaces, with help from the residents who experience it. The police should also employ officers who are trained in designing out crime. Often, if there are negative feelings of safety it takes initial action to encourage residents to be more involved.
At the start of the programme the King Square Estate was one of the worst estates in the area for fear of crime. This was due to large areas of the estate and the park that were hidden and out of site, as well as areas around the blocks that were poorly lit and under cover, encouraging large groups of young people to congregate. Police Officers were invited to the steering group meetings along with the designers, local residents and members of the council to view the designs and help develop them to design out fear of crime and create a space with natural surveillance. This included improving the lighting, designing out areas that had previously encouraged young people to congregate, and cutting back some of the higher, dense foliage in the park.
