Dear Editor,

Most conversations about crime begin after an incident occurs. We ask who committed the offence, how it happened, and what punishment should follow. Far less attention is given to a more preventive question: Are we designing and maintaining communities in ways that make crime easier to commit?

In my work assessing physical security across sites in Jamaica, I have come to see environmental design as one of the most overlooked tools for reducing opportunities for crime.

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) rests on a simple principle: The physical environment can influence human behaviour. The term was introduced by criminologist C Ray Jeffery in 1971, while architect Oscar Newman’s closely related concept of defensible space helped shape its practical application to buildings and communities. Well-designed and properly maintained spaces can discourage offending, support legitimate activity, and reduce fear. Neglected environments may provide concealment, weaken community oversight, and create easier access for those intending to offend.

Across Jamaica, the warning signs are familiar: a poorly lit roadway forces pedestrians through darkness; an overgrown lot blocks sightlines and creates places of concealment; an abandoned building may provide opportunities for unauthorised occupation and vandalism; and a bus stop without adequate lighting, clear visibility, or properly defined access points can leave commuters feeling exposed, particularly women, children, older adults, and persons with disabilities. These conditions do not cause crime, but they may widen the opportunities available to those willing to offend.

Community parks often tell the story in reverse, not through one sudden hazard, but through gradual decline. Once lighting fails and damaged equipment remains unrepaired, families may stop using the space. As legitimate activity declines, the “eyes on the street” that once discouraged wrongdoing may also disappear. The park does not become vulnerable overnight; it becomes vulnerable through neglect and attrition.

Housing developments can help reverse this pattern. Clearly marked entrances, visible walkways, maintained landscaping, and active communal spaces support natural surveillance and strengthen residents’ sense of ownership. Broken lights, hidden corridors, and neglected common areas do the opposite, eroding confidence and making suspicious activity harder to detect.

When I assess a site, the questions rarely begin with cameras or guards. They begin with the environment. Can people see and be seen along every pathway? Are entrances appropriate for the site’s function, clearly defined and capable of being effectively monitored? Does landscaping conceal or reveal? Are public, private, and restricted areas clearly separated?

Developers who apply this lens during the planning phase may reduce the need for costly reactive security measures later. Retrofitting security features is often more expensive and disruptive than incorporating them into the original design.

This is not merely theoretical for Jamaica. The Ministry of National Security already has dedicated CPTED leadership, and in May 2025 a two-year, US$2-million initiative was launched with the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the Pan American Development Foundation, and the United States Embassy to strengthen safety in five communities, including Parade Gardens and Majesty Gardens. The Comm-Unity Resilience and Transformation (CREATE) project combines CPTED training and improvements to community spaces with youth, family, and other social interventions.

Jamaica, therefore, already has the institutional foundation to expand the use of CPTED. What is needed now is for these principles to move from selected communities into standard practice for development projects islandwide. Every major project — whether housing, transportation, recreational, or commercial — should confront one essential question: Will this design help people feel safer, or will it quietly create opportunities for crime? This question should be asked before the first brick is laid, not after the first incident occurs.

Sometimes the strongest security measure is not another patrol or another camera, it is a community designed, used, and maintained so that crime has fewer opportunities to take root.

Renee Watkis

renedicken@hotmail.com