Can burglary prevention be low-carbon and effective? Investigating the environmental performance of burglary prevention measures

Abstract

There has been limited study to date on the environmental impacts of crime prevention measures. We address this shortfall by estimating the carbon footprint associated with the most widely used burglary prevention measures: door locks, window locks, burglar alarms, lighting and CCTV cameras. We compare these footprints with a measure of their effectiveness, the security protection factor, allowing us to identify those measures that are both low-carbon and effective in preventing burglary. Window locks are found to be the most effective and lowcarbon measure available individually. Combinations of window locks, door locks, external and indoor lightings are also shown to be effective and low-carbon. Burglar alarms and CCTV do not perform as strongly, with low security against burglary and higher carbon footprints. This information can be used to help inform more sustainable choices of burglary prevention within households as well as for crime prevention product design.

Crime and fear in public places

“…Schemes deploying multiple interventions alongside CCTV generated larger effect sizes than did schemes deploying single or no other interventions alongside CCTV. As for the effect on safety perceptions, several studies show inconclusive findings of the effect of CCTV or that its effect was dependent on other security measures such as lighting (Cozens & Davies, 2013;Fussey, 2013;Peek-Asa & Casteel, 2010;Sanders & Hannem, 2012;Skudder et al, 2018;Yavuz & Welch, 2010).…”

The architecture of crime and fear of crime

“…Schemes deploying multiple interventions alongside CCTV generated larger effect sizes than did schemes deploying single or no other interventions alongside CCTV. As for the effect on safety perceptions, several studies show inconclusive findings of the effect of CCTV or that its effect was dependent on other security measures such as lighting (Cozens & Davies, 2013;Fussey, 2013;Peek-Asa & Casteel, 2010;Sanders & Hannem, 2012;Skudder et al, 2018;Yavuz & Welch, 2010).…”