Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk 26 THE door industry journal summer 2022 Industry News The Importance of Secured by Design Every day Police Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCOs) are working closely with builders, developers, local authorities and housing associations to incorporate Secured by Design’s (SBD) police crime prevention standards into buildings. But why is this work to improve the physical security of buildings so important? Part of the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives portfolio, SBD was created in 1989 following the housing boom of the 1960s-1980s when there was a huge and urgent demand for housing, with estates being built quickly and often cheaply without any basic security. This resulted in a significant rise in burglary and in response, the Police Service set up SBD to combat this. SBD seeks to improve the security of buildings and their immediate surroundings to provide safe places to live, work, shop and visit and police forces throughout the UK have specially trained DOCOs who offer police designing out crime and SBD advice free of charge, from initial concept and design through to construction and completion. Over one million homes and commercial properties have been built to SBD standards with reductions in crime of up to 87%. Several local authorities have even gone so far as to introduce SBD standards as a planning requirement. Critical to improving the physical security of buildings and the surrounding area is the use of products such as doors, windows, locks, walling systems and fencing systems that meet SBD’s security requirements. SBD developed a product-based accreditation scheme over 20 years ago – the Police Preferred Specification, which provides a recognised standard for all security products that can deter and reduce crime. SBD work with manufacturers and standards authorities to ensure that security standards are current and updated to keep pace with emerging crime trends. The Police Preferred Specification scheme requires all security products to meet or exceed the performance expectations
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