Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk 24 THE door industry journal spring 2024 Industry News 35 Years of Designing Out Crime and Protecting Communities Secured by Design (SBD), the police initiative to guide and encourage those engaged within the specification, design and build of new homes and those undertaking major or minor property refurbishment, to adopt measures to reduce the opportunity for crime, celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2024. Initially, only the police forces of Kent, Sussex and Surrey in the southeast of England utilised the design criteria being offered by the scheme. However, due to the positive results of early evaluations, by 1992, all 53 police forces throughout the UK (including Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales) had adopted it and assigned staff to operate and manage it. These individuals were referred to as Architectural Liaison Officers (ALO) or Crime Prevention Design Advisors (CPDA), now more commonly referred to as Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCOs). The Role of the Designing Out Crime Officer Liaising with planners architects, designers, developers and those responsible for the refurbishment of buildings of all types, DOCOs provide ongoing specialist advice to enable building designs to be as safe and secure as is reasonably possible, promoting an awareness of the principles of crime prevention through design to both build awareness of, and ensure the adoption of, recommended security standards and specifications. Over the years the importance of the role of the DOCO has grown exponentially, with the DOCO role now being designated as a specialist role within policing in recognition of the highly specialist knowledge and skills that a DOCO must possess, and the criticality of their role in reducing crime. The DOCO role is referenced within planning policy for England, Scotland and Wales, adding significant weight to their involvement in issues of design and both the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG) promote creating safe and sustainable communities, encouraging pre-application discussion between planners and DOCOs, and also involving architects, developers and key stakeholders. DOCOs are recommended as a source of assistance by the Centre for the Protection of the National Infrastructure (CPNI) due to their comprehensive, specialist training. Ensuring products are fit for purpose In the early days, SBD engaged with industry bodies and manufacturers to tackle the variations in the security of the product being sold. With SBD driving the market, it resulted in test houses being created and certification bodies set up to meet the demand and the reduction in the overall cost of secure doorsets and windows. This work over many years has raised the awareness of the importance and benefits of security throughout the standards and construction industry. Today, products like doors and windows have to be certified by a United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) certification body before being considered for SBD’s Police Preferred Specification. Knowing that a product is fit for purpose is critical. The accreditation scheme SBD operates on behalf of the UK Police Service provides a recognised standard for all security products, ensuring that they are sufficiently robust to resist physical attack by casual and opportunistic burglars. It is the only way for companies to obtain police recognition for security-
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