Police Prepare 'CPTED' Promotion Plan... Improving Environment of Women’s Safe Return Paths, etc.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] On the 29th, the National Police Agency announced that it has prepared the '2020 CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) Policy Implementation Plan' to create a living environment where people can feel safe from crime.

CPTED is a crime prevention technique through environmental design. In Korea, the National Police Agency first selected Bucheon City as a CPTED pilot project city in 2005 and began environmental improvement projects. Since then, it expanded to Busan and Seoul in 2013, and currently, it has become a major policy of local governments in conjunction with urban regeneration projects in old downtown areas.

This year's CPTED policy will focus on ▲promoting nationwide women’s safe return home routes CPTED projects ▲strengthening the capabilities of specialized crime prevention diagnosis police officers (CPOs) and establishing a project management system ▲creating a legal and institutional foundation for CPTED ▲hosting the 5th Crime Prevention Awards.

The police plan to first analyze crime vulnerability factors and improve the environment accordingly across nationwide women’s safe return home routes. Based on analyses of crime occurrences, 112 emergency calls, and floating population, infrastructure will be intensively invested in 20 women’s safe return home routes that require urgent and extensive environmental improvements. For locations needing small-scale improvements, crime prevention facilities such as lighting, emergency bells, and closed-circuit television (CCTV) will be installed in a customized manner. Additionally, 200 vulnerable households, including low-income single women, will be selected for a pilot project distributing security window bars and insect screens to prevent intrusion crimes.

The plan also includes directions for improving various laws and systems. First, the enactment of the 'Act on the Establishment of Crime Prevention Foundations' will be pursued to enable national-level support. This bill will stipulate community responsibilities for crime prevention and clearly define CPTED diagnosis and certification. Furthermore, the 'Crime Prevention Building Standards Notice,' which currently mandates the installation of access control facilities only in apartments with 100 or more households, will be revised in consultation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to require mandatory installation at shared entrances of multi-family and multi-unit houses, which are the main living spaces for single-person households.

A police official stated, "Through the policies implemented this year, the nationwide CPTED projects will become more sophisticated, and collaboration with government ministries and local governments will be further expanded."