About us
See other news storiesFighting crime from the drawing board
15 August 2007
Four respected designers are joining the government's new anti-crime Design and Technology Alliance.
The alliance of independent design experts will work to raise awareness about how design can be used to make life more difficult for criminals. Along with the Home Office, they will spread the word both in the public and private sector about designing out crime as part of the government's overall crime strategy.
The alliance's founding members, Sebastian Conran, of Conran and Partners, and John Sorrell, chairman of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, have been joined by:
- David Kester, chief executive of the Design Council
- Jeremy Myerson, professor of design studies at the Royal College of Art
- Gloria Laycock, director of the UCL Centre for Security and Crime Science
- Lorraine Gamman, director of the Design Against Crime research centre at Central St Martins School of Art and Design
More design experts are expected to join the alliance before its first meeting in September.
Working towards key goals
They will all be working on certain key goals, including:
- creating design that addresses specific types of crime and disorder
- implementing such design on a broader scale, working with businesses and the police
- inspiring better design through commissions, awards and publicity
- proving that design against crime can be both attractive and useable
- advising on the development of new innovations based on people's real needs
Using design intelligently
Design and technological innovation have often been used in the past to stop specific crimes, and to solve complex societal problems. Well-known examples include:
- the development of routine baggage screening technology in the 1970s - it directly decreased aircraft hijackings from 70 per year to 15
- the recent introduction of chip and pin technology at retailers - it slashed credit card fraud by 46%
- the development of ACPO Secured by Design (new window) standards for home building - houses built to those standards are 25% less likely to be burgled
- the construction of gates on 5,000 alleys in Liverpool - burglaries have dropped by 37%
Critical to driving down crime
Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said innovative design played a critical role in driving down crime in England and Wales by more than a third over the last decade.
'Much of the 51% fall in vehicle crime can be attributed to design improvements such as immobilisers and toughened glass,' he said. 'The Design and Technology Alliance will seek to build on these achievements.
'They will champion the message that designing out crime is about sustainable and innovative design of products, space and places to make crime unattractive and communities safer.'
He encouraged businesses to accept 'as routine' the responsibility to ensure that new products and services do not inadvertently create new crime opportunities.
