Seeing is Believing: Notes Towards a Visual Methodology and Manifesto for Crime Prevention through Environmental Design

‘Seeing is Believing’ is a special edition of the international journal 'Crime Prevention and Community Safety' guest-edited by Gamman and Pascoe (50/50%) linked to the Designing Out Crime Association (DOCA). Our joint introduction criticised the shortage of ‘benchmark images’, and suggested the need for an international visual archive of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) benchmarks to increase DOCA’s research base. Overall it emphasised the role of photos/design aesthetics in making CPTED effective.

My first paper in the issue, co-authored with Pascoe (50%), compares a practice-led design process/model I have developed for the DAC Research Centre with CPTED models. Its discussion foregrounds alternative ways of understanding design and crime issues. It demonstrates how design research can inform a rigorous framework, adding a new dimension to DOCA’s otherwise craft-oriented approach, which has previously not addressed what is meant by “design”.