Crime and residential security shutters in an Australian suburb: Exploring perceptions of ‘Eyes on the Street’, social interaction and personal safety

The use of crime prevention technology continues to expand within the urban environments of post-industrial cities. Target-hardening technologies such as alarms, shutters, bars, gates, walls and CCTV are increasingly being used to protect retail, industrial and residential properties. The use of sec...

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Main Authors: Cozens, Paul, Davies, T.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Palgrave MacMillan 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/24346
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author Cozens, Paul
Davies, T.
author_facet Cozens, Paul
Davies, T.
author_sort Cozens, Paul
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The use of crime prevention technology continues to expand within the urban environments of post-industrial cities. Target-hardening technologies such as alarms, shutters, bars, gates, walls and CCTV are increasingly being used to protect retail, industrial and residential properties. The use of security shutters on windows in residential settings in Western Australia is a relatively recent development. This trend is increasing, despite a lack of evidence to support their effectiveness in reducing crime. This article investigates crime and security shutters in a residential setting and reports on the perceptions of 353 respondents (residents in a Perth suburb). The survey explores perceptions of crime and ‘eyes on the street’ and contrasts perceptions of crime associated with shuttered and non-shuttered properties. Respondents were shown photographs of properties as environmental stimuli to elicit insights into their perceptions of burglary risk, levels of surveillance of the street, levels of social interaction and levels of safety. Although shutters were perceived to reduce burglary in individual properties, this was believed to be at the cost of reduced surveillance, social interaction and personal safety at the street level.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-243462019-02-19T05:35:23Z Crime and residential security shutters in an Australian suburb: Exploring perceptions of ‘Eyes on the Street’, social interaction and personal safety Cozens, Paul Davies, T. Defensible Space crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) situational crime prevention (SCP) ‘eyes on the street’ residential security shutters The use of crime prevention technology continues to expand within the urban environments of post-industrial cities. Target-hardening technologies such as alarms, shutters, bars, gates, walls and CCTV are increasingly being used to protect retail, industrial and residential properties. The use of security shutters on windows in residential settings in Western Australia is a relatively recent development. This trend is increasing, despite a lack of evidence to support their effectiveness in reducing crime. This article investigates crime and security shutters in a residential setting and reports on the perceptions of 353 respondents (residents in a Perth suburb). The survey explores perceptions of crime and ‘eyes on the street’ and contrasts perceptions of crime associated with shuttered and non-shuttered properties. Respondents were shown photographs of properties as environmental stimuli to elicit insights into their perceptions of burglary risk, levels of surveillance of the street, levels of social interaction and levels of safety. Although shutters were perceived to reduce burglary in individual properties, this was believed to be at the cost of reduced surveillance, social interaction and personal safety at the street level. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/24346 10.1057/cpcs.2013.5 Palgrave MacMillan fulltext
spellingShingle Defensible Space
crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED)
situational crime prevention (SCP)
‘eyes on the street’
residential security shutters
Cozens, Paul
Davies, T.
Crime and residential security shutters in an Australian suburb: Exploring perceptions of ‘Eyes on the Street’, social interaction and personal safety
title Crime and residential security shutters in an Australian suburb: Exploring perceptions of ‘Eyes on the Street’, social interaction and personal safety
title_full Crime and residential security shutters in an Australian suburb: Exploring perceptions of ‘Eyes on the Street’, social interaction and personal safety
title_fullStr Crime and residential security shutters in an Australian suburb: Exploring perceptions of ‘Eyes on the Street’, social interaction and personal safety
title_full_unstemmed Crime and residential security shutters in an Australian suburb: Exploring perceptions of ‘Eyes on the Street’, social interaction and personal safety
title_short Crime and residential security shutters in an Australian suburb: Exploring perceptions of ‘Eyes on the Street’, social interaction and personal safety
title_sort crime and residential security shutters in an australian suburb: exploring perceptions of ‘eyes on the street’, social interaction and personal safety
topic Defensible Space
crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED)
situational crime prevention (SCP)
‘eyes on the street’
residential security shutters
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/24346